Atlantic Avenue as we know it today began in the 1700s. First, it was a private road terminating at Ralph Patchen’s farm on the East River. This country lane was swallowed up by District Street, which became the southernmost boundary of The Village of Brooklyn, incorporated in 1816. In 1855, District was renamed Atlantic Street and, by the 1870s, designated an Avenue.
Video about urban renewal along and around Atlantic Avenue produced by Bob Bailey Studio Productions in 1981for Brooklyn Union Gas. In 2010, the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association created a detailed walking guide to document the rich history of the Avenue.