Category: 1900s-1960s

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…

Bensonhurst got its name from Arthur W. Benson, founder of the Brooklyn Gas Light Company, who, in 1835, began “to purchase land near the old family farm in…

When Italians first began to pour into New York late in the 19th century, a new era was underway—one of technological advances, divisive conflict over immigration, and, most…