Street-Cleaning Map, Brooklyn, New York, 1905

The U.S. Navy Yard is convenient to three bridges that span the East River (in chronological order): the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909.

People who worked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (also referred to as the New York Navy Yard and the U.S. Navy Yard) lived in the surrounding neighborhoods. They worshipped near their homes, educated their children in local schools, and supported neighborhood shops and businesses.

The 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map was used by the City of New York, Department of Street Cleaning to show the location of public buildings. The Borough Hall, Municipal Building, County Courthouse and Hall of Records [image 4 of 68] were clustered near the Navy Yard.  Almost every page includes at least one school, police station, and fire station [image 11 of 68] .