Brooklyn
           

 
A mini-Norway along streets and avenues
For many southern Norwegians, America was located between Sunset Park and 90th Street in Brooklyn, New York. This quarter had the largest settlement of Norwegians along the east coast of America. In Bay Ridge between 5th Avenue and Fort Hamilton, Norwegians lived together with Italians, Jews, Finns and Swedes. Most of them frequented the side streets off 5th and 8th Avenue that were the two meeting places for the Norwegian
community, 8^th Avenue being particularly important. They were called Lapskaus Avenue (Norwegian Stew Avenue), Sagflis Avenue (Sawdust Avenue) and Lista Boulevard. This was their Karl Johan, the street where they could buy Norwegian goods, eat potato dumplings and Norwegian stew and go dancing. Norwegian dialects – most of them from southern Norway – buzzed outside of Olsen’s baker’s shop, Sons of Norway and the Sørlandet Restaurant.

The Norwegian colony in Brooklyn came into being because of the shipping trade. New York was the biggest port along the east coast of America and the best place for seamen to look for chances to sign on. The first settlement was therefore located in Red Hook near the port areas, but as more Norwegians arrived who took other types of work, the colony moved to Bay Ridge where it was to remain for its longest period.



Young women from Lista pictured in Kristiansand before
leaving with the America boat.

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