Boerum Hill, Residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, US
Boerum Hill is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, where low brick houses and sandstone fronts line tree-filled streets between Schermerhorn Street, Fourth Avenue, Smith Street, and Warren Street. Most buildings date from the late 1800s and feature narrow entrances, tall windows, and small front gardens.
The area carries the name of the Dutch settler family Boerum, who farmed a large plot here in the late 1700s. Over the following decades, housing for the growing city population who commuted to Manhattan for work appeared on this land.
Smith Street runs through the area and holds small cafés, family-owned shops, and restaurants serving food from around the world. Many of the old storefronts have kept their original fronts, giving the streetscape a lived-in character.
Subway lines stop at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Bergen Street stations, from which you can reach the main streets of the neighborhood on foot in a few minutes. Walking the streets, you will find benches and small parks where locals walk dogs or take a break.
In the first half of the 20th century, Mohawk workers from Canada settled here while working on skyscrapers across New York City. The community named their settlement Little Caughnawaga and kept close family and work ties for decades.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
