You can see Red Hook and Gowanus shoreline changes in this illustration of two maps overlaid, the 1766 Ratzer map and one by Eymund Deigel using a 2004 NYC map. 

Bernard Ratzer was a military surveyor who mapped the Gowanus marshes and farms in 1766.  His map is the most accurate known survey of the Gowanus area, and is presented here with current buildings and draft historical research notes for finding out more about your neighborhood.

Eymund Diegel, urban planner, fit the Ratzer map to a 2004 New York City digital base map data by using surviving common remnant street intersections (Red Hook Lane, Flatbush Ave). Diegel's map has some French language terms as it was created for a bilingual school program.