Remember the English spa town of Bath in Somerset? Bath Beach in Brooklyn shares its name. This neighborhood was envisioned as a seaside escape for wealthy families.
Bath Beach. It is located on the southwestern edge of Brooklyn on Gravesend Bay. Today I will tell you a bit about the history of this special place.
Once upon a time Bath Beach did have a beach. The beach was lost in the mid-20th century. It was paved over to create the Shore Parkway. Now a promenade allows access to a sea wall.
In the mid-19th century freed slaves were given land. This became one of Brooklyn’s earliest African-American settlements in Bath Beach. Mount Zion Baptist Church was at the heart of this community. The church later moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The population grew in 1863. Steam dummy railroad service connected Bath Beach to Brooklyn’s horsecar system. This linked it to 25th Street and 5th Avenue in Sunset Park.
Once Bath Beach had its own amusement park. Coney Island was close by but Bath Beach offered its own attractions.
Bath Beach is now a working-class community. It has semi-attached houses and small apartment buildings. Many Italian immigrants arrived in the early 1900s. They settled in Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights. This led to a large Italian American community. Since the 1990s many other groups have arrived. Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European immigrants now call Bath Beach home.
The streets here have a special naming system. Cropsey Avenue, Bath Avenue, and Benson Avenue run parallel to Shore Parkway. The cross-streets are numbered with “Bay” like Bay 7th Street. Every third “Bay” street is replaced by a numbered avenue.
Bensonhurst Park is located at Cropsey Avenue and Bay Parkway. Enjoy the Shore Parkway bike path. Visit Bath Playground for some fun.
Bath Beach is accessible by the D train. Stations include 18th Avenue and Bay 50th Street. Several bus routes also serve the area.
You can find the Ulmer Park branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Bath Avenue. It has been here since 1951.
During the 1970s, 86th Street was used in movies such as The French Connection and Saturday Night Fever. The Red Hot Chili Peppers also filmed a music video here. Even John Wick rode a horse here.
Vincent Favale, co-founder of Comedy Central, is from Bath Beach.
Bath Beach offers a mix of history and cultures. It is a neighborhood with its own unique story to tell. I encourage you to explore more of it on your own.