Brooklyn

Brooklyn, a city of the United States and capital of King's county, New York state, stands on the west end of Long Island. The East river, a strait about three-quarters of a mile wide, separates it from New York city, with which it is, however, connected by about a dozen lines of steam ferries, and the East river suspension bridge, the longest of its kind in the world, being close on 6,000 feet in length, completed in 1883, with accommodation for foot, vehicular, and tramway traffic. In the city itself are, for internal communication, two lines of elevated railways, and numerous lines of tramcars. The Atlantic dock, covering an area of 40 acres, the Brooklyn and Erie basins, covering areas respectively of 60 and 40 acres, are among the largest works of the kind in the United States. There is also a United States navy yard, of about 40 acres. Brooklyn has a water frontage of 10 miles, a circumference of 22 miles, and an area of 25 square miles, and is the centre of an extensive trade as well as the seat of large and diverse industries. It is also one of the first cities of the United States, being provided with straight and commanding streets - in many cases lined with trees. Among its amenities particularly worthy of note are the Greenwood cemetery, comprising an area of 400 acres, and adorned with numerous fine monuments, and Prospect Park, of 570 acres, and laid out at a cost of about 12,000,000 dollars. It is often called the "city of churches," having close on 300 churches of different denominations, and is well provided with educational and charitable institutions. The first settlement of Brooklyn, or Brenkelen, as it was called originally by its Dutch founders, took place in 1636, and in 1834 it was incorporated as a city. Its site is associated with notable events of the revolution.