A project by PortSide NewYork

Welcome to 400+ years of Red Hook!  Inclusion is a theme in this e-museum that memorializes forgotten, overlooked and erased histories. It’s a resource for locals, tourists, history buffs, urban-planners, educators, students, flaneurs.  It tells NYC’s maritime story in microcosm.  Explore:

  • our waterfront past & present
  • contemporary Red Hook retail, arts, non-profits, schools, recreation, transit
  • flood prep & resiliency info

Explore via menus, the search window, or interactive map. On the map, click the colored, numbered dots to expand multiple items in that location. Then, click on a pin to explore that item. Anchor icons mean sites of major importance.More about this site

Click empty spot on map to activate it

1861-Insurance Maps of the Warehouses-Brooklyn_Title page.jpg

Insurance maps of the Warehouses, &c. in Brooklyn, 1861 By The Red Hook WaterStories team

William Perris was a first in producing fire insurance maps for Brooklyn. The Great fires in 1835 and 1845 that destroyed large sections of the New York City made it clear to insurers the utility of…Double Page Plate No. 8; [Map bounded by Hamilton Ave., Bowne St., Imlay St., Commerce St., Ewen St., Ferris St.; Including Wolcott St., Sullivan St., King St., North Pier St., South Pier St.]Page…
BrianMoore-SeaSpeed13 - C3ifL9CWIAAHDL1.jpg

Deck work doesn't wait for weather. By The Red Hook WaterStories team

Photograph of an able-bodied seaman working in snow flurries at Ira S. Bushey and Sons' old shipyard. The end of the line he is working on has been folded back and braided into itself to form a loop.…
One Share of One Dollar of the Red Hook Building Company

Red Hook Building CompanyBy The Red Hook WaterStories team

The Red Hook Building Company was the brainchild of Col. Daniel Richards, a man who grew up in upstate New York. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825 and had a powerful economic effect, Richards was…Select text from the Proposal. (A pdf of the full original is linked below) "The advantages of Brooklyn as a place of residence, as well as for commercial purposes - in view of its proximity to the…

Random Items

Cowhey Marine Hardware operated in Red Hook for about 150 years. The rump remains of the business was at 440 Van Brunt Street, the northwest corner of Van Brunt and Beard Street, and closed in 2005.…

Construction of The Atlantic Dock - a massive, man-made harbor for deep water ships, began on June 3, 1841. The erection of stout stone warehouses and towering grain elevators that could handle…● Text from an Advetisement in Doggets New York City Directory for 1847 Storage for Grain, Flour, Sugar, Molasses, Cotton, ETC., AT THE ATLANTIC DOCK, NEW-YORK. FORTY ACRES WATER SURFACE WITHIN…

The Red Hook Building Company was the brainchild of Col. Daniel Richards, a man who grew up in upstate New York. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825 and had a powerful economic effect, Richards was…Select text from the Proposal. (A pdf of the full original is linked below) "The advantages of Brooklyn as a place of residence, as well as for commercial purposes - in view of its proximity to the…

Browse all 1082 Items