Amazing 1905 Photo Of Bensonhurst Park Surfaces On eBay

We came across this incredible image of Bensonhurst Park taken 108 years ago in 1905. The image, plastered on a postcard, is up for auction on eBay.

This photo pre-dates our previous Bensonhurst Park find which was dated 1911. What’s amazing is that this photo, taken by photographer J.K. Gehler, is almost of the same spot taken by S. Strauss in 1911, even capturing the “NO DOGS ALLOWED” sign that stands freshly painted on the lawn.  It does seem like some of the benches had been moved around in the six years separating the photographs. Like in the Strauss photo, Gravesend Bay is visible in the distance.

I’m about to get a little fanciful here but sometimes I wish it were possible that time portals existed in the city’s public parks. I would love to stroll to Bensonhurst Park and leap back to 1905 and explore what it was like. The same goes for Coney Island. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see Southern Brooklyn when it existed primarily as a luxurious resort destination for the city’s wealthy and elite? I know, I know, I’ll go back to dreaming.