A world away from the bustle of Manhattan, College Point, Queens, boasts one of the most interesting histories of any New York City neighborhood. College Point began as a sleepy rural hamlet, but by the mid-nineteenth century, immigration and the industrial revolution had transformed it into a booming suburb. By 1900, the community had a distinct identity as home to several thousand residents and host to hordes of weekend visitors drawn by its spectacular East River setting and beer garden resorts. College Point recounts this neighborhood's colorful story through photographs and other...

There is no New York neighborhood that boasts a richer history or more exciting present than Williamsburg. At first a quiet waterside community, Williamsburg briefly became a wealthy suburb of Manhattan in the middle of the nineteenth century. Heavy industrialization and a tidal wave of immigrants later turned Williamsburg into New Yorks poorest, most crowded quarter. With images drawn chiefly from the rich photographic collection of the Brooklyn Historical Society, Williamsburg illustrates the neighborhoods transformation from one of New Yorks most impoverished and least fashionable...