Old New Utrecht, Brooklyn Walking Tour

While Bensonhurst is a neighborhood that has seen continuous changing and evolving in almost every aspect, there are many relics of time long gone that still remain, especially in what was originally the town center of New Utrecht, one of Brooklyn’s original six villages. continually, 

From an almost forgotten mile marker, to church land that dates back to the 1600s, to one of the more locally famous vaudeville and movie theaters, to remnants of railways that once took wealthy New Yorkers to the beach, it’s time to hit the streets and explore old New Utrecht’s rich history with sights, sounds, and storytelling.

Led by James Scully — NYC historian, tour guide, podcaster, and director / co-creator of the award-winning historical audio fiction soap opera, — our unique experience will focus on 18th, 19th, and 20th century old New Utrecht and include:

• An overview of notable early New Utrecht history, from the Dutch days to the days of the early United States, we’ll talk about how and by whom this area was settled and why, while we tell stories about the many different cultures and people who have called old New Utrecht their home.

• Trips to, and the history of notable places of religion, worship, and mourning like New Utrecht Reformed Church, St. John’s German Lutheran Church, and the Shrine of St. Bernadette, while we talk about the different cultures that rooted themselves here throughout the centuries and why

• Cemeteries, Liberty Poles, and Mile Markets — Stories and trips to important historical landmarks and why they were and still are important to the people of New Utrecht

• Railroads, grid plans, and rights of way — how and why New Utrecht grew throughout the 19th century as urbanization slowly took hold

• Stories of how the rise of Coney Island as a resort area tied into the rapid development of New Utrecht amidst 19th Century Manhattan’s explosive growth.

• Bensons, Stillwells, Van Brunts, Van Pelts, Cropseys and stories from prominent families whose names still reverberate today

• Vaudeville, Film, and Fuggetaboutit — How a Loew’s chain movie theater and vaudeville house shaped the entertainment taste of an several generations in the 20th century

• Rebellion, Fire, and Education — How old Brooklynites fought and organized through the centuries

See you there!

* Please bring water and comfortable shoes as we’ll be doing a lot of walking. This tour will happen rain or shine, unless there is torrential rain or a blizzard, which then a makeup date will be announced.

** Runtime for this tour is roughly 90-120 minutes.

*** This tour begins in front of Milestone Park on 18th Avenue between 81st and 82nd street and concludes in front of The Shrine Church of St. Bernadette on 82nd street and 13th avenue

About James

James Scully is an outgoing native New Yorker who grew up in a home with four generations of family. He had close relationships with both his grandparents and great-grandparents. This exposed him to an invaluable amount of local history and culture, helping him to become a passionate historian, writer, and director.

He’s a graduate of Xavier High School in Manhattan, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and spent over a decade working as an art director and copywriter for media companies such as Condé Nast and Hearst before becoming a writer, director, and historian. His history focus is both New York City history and US radio history. 

James produces and hosts Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of US network radio broadcasting ( https://www.thewallbreakers.com/breaking-walls). He has developed historical audio fiction productions, like the 2022 official Tribeca audio selection Burning Gotham, set in 1835 New York City ( http://burninggotham.com), the Frank Sinatra biopic musical And Then I Sing ( https://www.andthenising.com), and the western adventure series Frontier Gentleman ( https://www.frontiergentleman.com/). 

James is a member of the Salmagundi Club, has given numerous talks and webinars on various history subjects, and is a New York City sightseeing/tour guide.

Testimonials

"Learning of incredible stories I'd never heard before." -Mary

"Guide was engaging, info was interesting" -Christine

"I liked all the historic information on or near the sites where events occurred and/ the people sited lived." -James

"The content was amazing, but even more amazing than the Content was our guide Mr. Scully. Thank you" -Debbie

"I liked James. He is friendly, extremely knowledgeable, speaks well and at the correct volume. He cares about getting the facts right." -Lawrence

"James Scully is the best guide we've ever had. Very informative, entertaining and passionate." -Carol

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