By Brooklyn’s “golden era,” 1920-1957, Italian stores were popping up everywhere, as were parishes named after Italian saints. The smell of fresh marinara lingered in streets like 18th Avenue (also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard), and the foundations of traditions like the annual Festa di Santa Rosalia were laid down. At the same time, there was also a large Jewish migration to Bensonhurst, including an influx in the aftermath of World War II. Still, Italians remained the majority. In that time, Bensonhurst’s residential growth also skyrocketed. In 1949, real estate developer and father of the GOP frontrunner Fred Trump built an apartment complex near Belt Parkway that became “the largest private housing development in Brooklyn.” Then, in the 1950s, an increase in immigration from southern Italy by the thousands brought a new and prosperous workforce.
