Making Home: Bay Ridge Exploration

When I visit a place, I look into its history, find its hidden goodies, look at with curiosity and hunger.  Doesn’t your home deserve this level of attention to detail, if not more?  Determined to not take home for granted and to claim it as all my own, I explored and found more to love… than my couch.

Did you know that Bay Ridge used to be called Yellow Hook?  The 17th century Dutch settlers thought the area had yellowish sand… in contrast to Red Hook’s reddish sand!  (Hook referred to the corners of land.) Yellow Hook was changed to Bay Ridge in the 1850’s because of the negative association of Yellow Fever.  New York City was within a Yellow Fever epidemic from the late 1700’s/early 1800’s which killed thousands. “Bay Ridge” was chosen, in reference to the glacial ridge that helped create the the area’s characteristic views, both of Manhattan and, later, the glorious Verrazzano Bridge-Narrows Bridge that is always over my shoulder.  This is Bay Ridge.

Your Dutch roots are coming through…

Bay Ridge’s Owl’s Head Park used to be home to the Murphy Estate.  Murphy was a Brooklyn “founding father,” mayor of the City of Brooklyn in 1842 and 1843 and later a New York Senator. As Senator, he drafted the bill that would start construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.  His estate was sold to some rich guy in 1866 and he made it all gorgeous, refurbishing the mansion and adding an observatory tower and horse stable.  All of which were left in a state of disrepair and were later demolished in 1940.  I was disappointed that I could not explore the abandoned estate.  But the park had much to offer a Sunday morning.

The rich guy I mentioned, Eliphalet W. Bliss. On the park’s gates you still see his initials. The Owl’s Head nomenclature is disputed.

Views from the top of the ridge.

It’s a trap!

So much lush green…

It’s all about the gorgeous trees at Owl’s Head.  That one in the distance was my favorite. 

Getting hungry watching this butterfly

Across the way, where the Belt ends and the B.Q.E. begins is American Veterans Memorial Pier, Bay Ridge’s ferry landing! Yes, for $2.75 you can hop on a ferry that originates at Bay Ridge (read: you get your pick of seats/standing spot) and travel to Sunset Park where you can transfer to another ferry that goes to the Rockaways or continue onward to Red Hook, Atlantic Avenue, D.U.M.B.O., and Wall Street in downtown Manhattan (Or on weekends, head one more stop to Governor’s Island.) 

The 9/11 Memorial on the pier. Brooklyn Remembers…

The Belt Parkway Promenade also begins at the Pier 69 (the ferry landing, a.k.a. American Veterans Memorial Pier) and ends in Bensonhurst by the old Toys R Us. Like most (all?) greenways in New York City, concrete blockades are in place at entrances to deter terrible things from happening by terrible people.

There she is in the distance

Based on the urgency in his call, this bird was either hungry or looking for a mate.

The 80th street overpass is covered in Love Locks, but these little rusted ones seem to be memorializing fire fighters? 

Old Glory Lookout

Long days of energy exertion justify sweet bites at Little Cupcake Bakeshop. I got the vegan carrot cake cupcake.

And from the last night of The Summer Stroll on 3rd Avenue. Kind of a big deal here in Bay Ridge, which means it’s doubly difficult to find a parking spot near my apartment.  

Goodnight, Bay Ridge. More later…