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Images of America: New York
The Brooklyn Navy Yard
Not much larger than a few city blocks (219 acres, plus 72 acres of water), the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of the most historically significant sites in America. It was one of the U.S. Navy's major shipbuilding and repair yards from 1801 to 1966. It produced more than 80 warships and hundreds of smaller vessels. At its height during World War II, it worked around the clock, employing some 70,000 people. The yard built the Monitor, the world's first modern warship; the Maine, whose destruction set off the Spanish-American War; the Arizona, whose sinking launched America into World War II; and the Missouri, on whose deck World War II ended. On June 25, 1966, the flag at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was lowered for the last time and the 165-year-old institution ceased to exist. Sold to the City of New York for $22.4 million, the yard became a site for storage of vehicles, some light industry, and a modest amount of civilian ship repair.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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October 22, 2019
“There are places in this world that ache with history, places that have had such a profound effect on who we are and how we got this way, that the past has never left them.”
So says the author, Thomas Berner, at the beginning of his book, The Brooklyn Navy Yard. What follows is a fascinating catalog of photos, maps, and drawings, interspersed with tidbits of history that bring the grandeur of the old New York shipbuilding yard to life.
At first the yard built sailing vessels: the sloop USS Peacock (1828), that sailed to Antarctica in Lt. Charles Wilks’ exploring expedition; and sloops of war such as the USS Somers (1842), a naval training vessel whose pupils mutinied and were hung—the swinging bodies can be seen in the drawing of the vessel, hanging just beneath the flag. The yard was often on the cutting edge of technological progress: It turned out its first steam vessel in 1835, and though it did not build the famous Monitor, it completed, outfitted, armed, and crewed the all-metal vessel in 1862. The yard was a crucial part of the Union’s rapid build-up of its navy during the Civil War, contributing mightily to the naval blockade. Later it built battleships, destroyers, and aircraft carriers, and supplied eight of the 90+ ships bombed at Pearl Harbor. Berner includes photos of some of the actual “Rosie the Riveters” who went to work in the yard when men were scarce. There is much here for the WWII enthusiast—even more so than for Civil War—and for this group of history lovers, the amazing photos of Pearl Harbor being bombed etc. would likely make the book well worth the price. Berner makes a convincing case that the yard did, indeed, build many of the fascinating actors in naval history.
The book is more visual than textural—much of its pages are filled with images and much of its text consists of captions for those images. This is frustrating if the reader is hoping for details about the day to day workings of the yard, for there is not much print to be had. Fortunately the illustrations are wonderful, almost making up for the annoyance of little text, and the captions are full of fun detail. For example:
[On a drawing of the Naval Lyceum] One of the world’s first military think tanks was created at the yard when the Naval Lyceum was established in 1833.
[On a photo of Quarters A] …the commandant’s residence, known as Quarters A, is believed to have been designed by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the White House.
[On a drawing of the crowded naval yard in 1861] The average number of BNY employees and the annual payroll rose from 1,650 and $679,000 in 1861 to 5,390 and $3,735,000 in 1864 and 5,000 and $3,952,000 in 1865.
For Civil War buffs, there are about 50 pages relevant to this era, and many photos, maps and drawings that are otherwise hard to come by. The lack of text is unfortunate. It is a good place to start if the Brooklyn Navy Yard is of interest, for it does orient the reader to the general history and layout, but the book is in no way comprehensive. In all well written and recommended (enjoyable, but limited) if naval history is your bailiwick.
[NOTE: I bought the Kindle edition, which made the size of the drawings, maps and photos quite small; I had to look the images up on the web to see larger versions. A paper or hardback version would be better if you want to take a very close look.]
So says the author, Thomas Berner, at the beginning of his book, The Brooklyn Navy Yard. What follows is a fascinating catalog of photos, maps, and drawings, interspersed with tidbits of history that bring the grandeur of the old New York shipbuilding yard to life.
At first the yard built sailing vessels: the sloop USS Peacock (1828), that sailed to Antarctica in Lt. Charles Wilks’ exploring expedition; and sloops of war such as the USS Somers (1842), a naval training vessel whose pupils mutinied and were hung—the swinging bodies can be seen in the drawing of the vessel, hanging just beneath the flag. The yard was often on the cutting edge of technological progress: It turned out its first steam vessel in 1835, and though it did not build the famous Monitor, it completed, outfitted, armed, and crewed the all-metal vessel in 1862. The yard was a crucial part of the Union’s rapid build-up of its navy during the Civil War, contributing mightily to the naval blockade. Later it built battleships, destroyers, and aircraft carriers, and supplied eight of the 90+ ships bombed at Pearl Harbor. Berner includes photos of some of the actual “Rosie the Riveters” who went to work in the yard when men were scarce. There is much here for the WWII enthusiast—even more so than for Civil War—and for this group of history lovers, the amazing photos of Pearl Harbor being bombed etc. would likely make the book well worth the price. Berner makes a convincing case that the yard did, indeed, build many of the fascinating actors in naval history.
The book is more visual than textural—much of its pages are filled with images and much of its text consists of captions for those images. This is frustrating if the reader is hoping for details about the day to day workings of the yard, for there is not much print to be had. Fortunately the illustrations are wonderful, almost making up for the annoyance of little text, and the captions are full of fun detail. For example:
[On a drawing of the Naval Lyceum] One of the world’s first military think tanks was created at the yard when the Naval Lyceum was established in 1833.
[On a photo of Quarters A] …the commandant’s residence, known as Quarters A, is believed to have been designed by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the White House.
[On a drawing of the crowded naval yard in 1861] The average number of BNY employees and the annual payroll rose from 1,650 and $679,000 in 1861 to 5,390 and $3,735,000 in 1864 and 5,000 and $3,952,000 in 1865.
For Civil War buffs, there are about 50 pages relevant to this era, and many photos, maps and drawings that are otherwise hard to come by. The lack of text is unfortunate. It is a good place to start if the Brooklyn Navy Yard is of interest, for it does orient the reader to the general history and layout, but the book is in no way comprehensive. In all well written and recommended (enjoyable, but limited) if naval history is your bailiwick.
[NOTE: I bought the Kindle edition, which made the size of the drawings, maps and photos quite small; I had to look the images up on the web to see larger versions. A paper or hardback version would be better if you want to take a very close look.]
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