Jane's Walk (From Home): Gowanus

Gowanus was first settled by Dutch colonists in 1636. No one knows how Gowanus got its name; it was once thought to derive from the Lenape name Gouwane, but this has since been disproven. (Incidentally, the Iroquois word Gowanda means “a body of water on a long island,” which would be fitting for the original Gowanus Creek, but the Canarsee were not part of the Iroquois confederacy and therefore the name would likely not derive from this word.) In the 17th and 18th centuries, Gowanus was a marshland oystering and for cattle grazing in and around the Buttermilk Channel.

This tour is presented by the Center for Brooklyn History with Daniel Pecoraro, a museum educator and a licensed New York City tour guide living in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Daniel can be reached at dp@history.works. As a former industrial center and current Superfund site, and already in its transformation from derelict neighborhood to arts hub to playground for gentrification, Gowanus is one of the most interesting and dynamic neighborhoods in Brooklyn. How did a natural creek become a canal; how did it become one of the most polluted sites in New York City; and how is it, in spite of the pollution, becoming one of the hottest neighborhoods in which to reside? This Jane’s Walk will attempt to answer these questions, with a focus on the past, present, and future of Gowanus as told by traveling south to north through its five bridges (and the Culver Viaduct).