Group of Brooklyn industrial and neighborhood photographs. 1916-1966 and undated. 169 photographs, all approximately 20x25 cm, 8x10 inches; almost all mounted on linen with looseleaf binder stubs, with caption and photographer name in negative, generally minimal wear with three having more wear.
Most of these photographs relate to construction projects in Brooklyn, and break down into several main categories. Most of the photos are credited to E.E. Rutter, Commercial Photographer; or simply "Rutter."
The earliest are 16 photos dated from 1916 to 1919, all on slightly different stock than the later photos and without binding holes. Some of these are street views of a stretch of Ralph Avenue just north of Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy. These were possibly taken for a sidewalk project, but many show storefronts, private residences, horse-drawn carriages, and pedestrians. While the later photos are all by the Rutter agency, these are uncredited or from Russell & Co. of Brooklyn.
43 photos are from a Coney Island boardwalk project in 1922, with heavy industrial shots interspersed with picturesque beach views.
61 photos are from Brooklyn sewer projects dated 1922 to 1925. This includes 23 shots of the Flatbush Relief Sewer, 27 of the 26th Ward Disposal Plant, 7 from a Wythe Avenue project, and two each from projects on Patchen and Maspeth Avenues. Many of these are "before" streetscapes showing storefronts and pedestrians, although with the sewer grates featured front and center. The 26th Ward Disposal Plant was at the foot of Hendrix Street on the border with Queens; these are all gritty construction photos, including one unfortunate man wading through a sludge pit with a gas lamp.
26 shots show a major road construction on Meeker Street in the Greenpoint neighborhood, 1938-1939. Storefronts, demolished buildings, and vacant lots abound--possibly in preparation for the construction of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway?
Among the remaining miscellaneous photos are of the cornerstone ceremonies at the Snyder Avenue courthouse and the Williamsburg Baths, 1922; the laboratory of the Highway Engineering Laboratory, 1936; an extremely muddy unpaved road near Sheepshead Bay in 1922; and 20 later photos from circa 1949-1966 including street views of Lafayette Avenue and Flatbush Avenue.
