Erie Basin
Erie Basin, at one time dubbed “The busiest place in the Port of New York” is a large man-made protected harbor near the southern point of Red Hook. Its U-shaped breakwater, well over one-half mile long, encloses a large area of water. The basin was originally a major center of the world wide grain trade, and then later of ship building and repair.
1 Erie Basin - A History of its Early Years
Erie Basin, at one time dubbed “The busiest place in the Port of New York” is a large man-made protected harbor near the southern point of Red Hook. Its U-shaped breakwater, well over one-half mile long, encloses a large area of water. The basin was…
2 Title Fight: Louis Heineman vs. William Beard
No man ever, perhaps, got so much the best of old Beard as did Louis Heineman, the housemover of the Twelfth ward”
(The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 19, 1891)When Louis Heineman died in 1904, he was reportedly 104 years old, and likely the oldest man…
3 Oral History: Hank Dam, recollections of WWII work at Todd Shipyard. 2005
When interviewed at a vigorous 82 years of age, Hank Dam laughs hard remembering the WWII slogan of Todd Shipyard “the difficult we do every day, the impossible takes a little longer.”
Hank is clearly proud of the ingenuity and hard work of his…
4 Oral History: John Gladsky, marine salvage, the demise of the Todd Shipyard. 2005
John Gladsky is the definition of a colorful old salt. He is a marine salvor and the principal of Gladsky Marine and has an old-time Long Island accent. His oral history expresses nostalgia for the Todd Shipyard and criticism of public policy that…
5 Oral History: Gerard Rokosz: Last Dry Dock Manager of New York Shipyard. 2005
Gerard Rokosz is a man deeply in love with his former job as the last dry dock manager at Todd Shipyard. At the time of this 2005 interview, he was working for a marina and nostalgic about the shipyard: "seeing my old office collapsing makes me…
6 Oral History: Michael Gallagher, Last General Manager of New York Ship Yard Co. / Todd Shipyard. 2005
Michael Gallagher, last General Manager of New York Shipyard, successor to Todd Shipyard, interviewed two weeks before selling the site to IKEA, talks about the shipyard, its history and final days. Gallagher represents the 5th generation of his…
7 Much Cotton at Red Hook
Cotton was king in Red Hook from the 1870s to 1910. In 1901 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle more than once used the headline "Much Cotton in Red Hook" to describe how "the cotton docks and warehouses at Red Hook and the German-American stores at the foot of…
8 SS GREAT REPUBLIC in Erie Basin: 1867
The trans-Pacific sidewheel steamship GREAT REPUBLIC built by Henry Steers in Greenpoint being fitted out in Graving Dock No. 1 of Erie Basin.
The photo was taken in 1867. The dock is one year old. The Erie Basin breakwater is unfinished and at…
9 Giant Timber Raft, 1888
A giant timber raft, 595 feet long and 55 feet wide, containing 22,000 ‘sticks’ (logs) was floated from the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia to the Erie Basin, Brooklyn, in 1888. An experiment in cost savings, it was calculated that if the wood was…
10 Erie Basin: The Photography of Jenny Young Chandler, 1890-1915
Newly married and recently widowed in 1890, Jennie Chandler Young began working as a photojournalist to support herself and her two-month old son. Using the moniker "Brooklyn Girl," she worked until 1915 for theNew York Heraldas a gifted…
11 Valkyrie III [in Erie Basin], 1895
The racing yacht VALKYRIE,was the unsuccessful British challenger of the ninthAmerica's Cuprace in 1895 against American yacht DEFENDER. While in dry dock in Erie Basin, being redied for the race, she was a popular attraction.According to the New…
12 Erie Basin canal boats, ca. 1900
Canal boats moored in a tightly-packed cluster in the Erie Basin ca. 1900. These flat bottomed boats, moved grain, potatoes and a variety of other produce and goods down the Erie Canal to Brooklyn's Red Hook. In the warm months they were ususally…
13 Erie Basin - One of the Most Interesting Sections of This City, 1900
Few people other than those who have business there are acquainted, except by name, with the part of South Brooklyn known as Erie Basin. Yet it is one of the most interesting sections of this city and one that is never so inactive as not to be well…
14 Big Fire in Erie Basin, 1901
A huge fire destroyed Beard's Wharf in Erie Basin. The steamship Idlewild was destroyed, but luckily drifted away and prevented further damage to other ships.
15 Sewerage, Erie Basin and The Report of the Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of New York, 1910
Sample No. 2, Marked from 017 Erie Basin.
Found: Numerous small worms resembling round worms, 0r Nematodes. Numerous diatoms, Oogonia, Conferva filaments, bits of wood, considerable plant epidermis. Ulothrix, Botryococcus braunii, Schizomeris…
16 Colonies of Cozy Canal Boats Cluster for Winter In Quiet, Land-Locked Havens of Brooklyn Basins, 1911
This article from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sunday, March 12, 1911, recounts the winter-time lives of Erie Canal barge families who winter in Erie Basin.
Colonies of Cozy Canal Boats Cluster for Winter
City of Inland Navigators Prepares for Annual…
17 Erie Basin photo, 1920
An aerial view of Erie Basin taken in 1920 by Perry Loomis Sperr. In the crook of the breakwater that protects the basin's piers is Thos. A. Crane's Sons' dry dock. The white building at the center rear of the view is the New York State Barge Canal…
18 Agwisun Oil Tanker Blast, 1926
Agwisun Oil Tanker BlastSeveral blasts tore through and shredded much of the 4,000 ton Agwisum oil tanker as it was undergoing repairs in the yards of the Robins Dry Dock and Repair Comapny. The effects of the explosions were felt as far away as Park…
19 Workers Compensation: Joseph Stephens v. Beard's Erie Basin. 1928
In 1928, Joseph Stephens, an employee of Beard's Erie Basin, tripped on a winch handle, fell and hurt his arm. The State Industrial Board awarded him compensation for the days he was unable to work. Beard and the Travelers Insurance Company…
20 Port Authority Grain Terminal and Columbia Street Pier, 1950
Aerial View, looking north, of the Port Authority Grain Terminal and the Columbia Street Pier, June 25, 1950.
In the photograph, the Grain Terminal, is the large rectangular cement building, located at the right mid-section. Behind it to the right…
21 War Materials about to be shipped out From Erie Basin, 1941
"An aerial view made from an American Airlines plane of Erie Basin where 15 ships are shown ready to load crated war material crammed on piers. Vividly reflected in the photo is the manner in which vital war aid for Britain is flowing speedily from…
22 Todd Graving Dock, Photo by John Bartlestone, c. 2005
Architectural photographer John Bartlestone was one of many who called for the saving of Todd shipyard in Erie Basin. For more than 140 years - until February 2005 that graving dock had been used to repair large shipping vesels.This photograph is…
23 NYC Council Hearing on Waterfront Regulations, 2005
"I think everyone here will agree that New York City's Waterfront has enormous opportunities for new recreational facilities, new housing, new businesses, and that we are going to be seeing an unprecedented level of waterfront development over the…
24 Lion Scares in Erie Basin, 1921
In The Brooklyn Standard Union’s column about reader’s interesting experiences, Gustave tells how a BIG cat gave him the shock of his life when he visited a tramp steamer docked in Erie Basin. (A tramp steamer is ship without a fixed schedule or…
25 Yankee Tomcat Pirate, 1923
A Red Hook cat invaded the British steamship BADAGERY while the vessel was docked in Erie Basin and proceeded to terrorize the small members of the crew. Katy Cockroach, the cook’s speckled hen, stopped laying eggs and became “lean and wan” from…