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Flashback Friday: Wallabout Market In The Brooklyn Navy Yard, Circa 1900

Flashback Friday: Wallabout Market In The Brooklyn Navy Yard, Circa 1900
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Museum Collection.
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Museum Collection.

Did you know that there used to be a major produce market in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, called the Wallabout Market, back in the turn of the century?

It makes sense, since the Navy Yard was a hub for shipbuilding, cargo transportation, and commercial life. This photo, taken in 1900 on a lantern slide, shows Yard workers in the market, surrounded by watermelons and what looks like either onions or some kind of fruit, such as apples.

Photo via Brooklyn Museum collection.
Photo via Brooklyn Museum collection.

The market was begun in 1877 and lasted until 1941 when the land was reclaimed by the U.S. Navy for use during World War II. In its prime, it sat between Flushing Avenue, Wallabout Canal, Washington Avenue, and the Naval Hospital.

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