Per-Olof Ödman Swedish community photographs
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Abstract
Black and white photographs by Per-Olof Ödman of Swedish Americans in Brooklyn, many retired and living in Bay Ridge or Boerum Hill. Subjects include neighborhood street views, portraits in people's homes and workplaces, family dinners, folk festivals, fraternal gatherings, and church services.
Historical note
Starting around 1890, many Swedish immigrants chose industrial work, particularly in Chicago and New York. Around 1900 there was a concentration of Swedes along Atlantic Avenue (at that time Brooklyn's main thoroughfare and often called Swedish Broadway), as well as in the adjacent urban and industrial waterfront which made up a significant part of New York's harbor. In the early 1900s, Bay Ridge, a large rural area, gradually became industrialized as well as urbanized. From around 1910 to the beginning of the Second World War almost all Swedish immigrants who decided to work in New York settled in Bay Ridge. In 1930, when 2.5 million people lived in Brooklyn, close to 50,000 Swedes worked and lived in the borough.
Arrangement
The prints are arranged in call number order and the book is foldered separately.
Scope and Contents
164 images, some with duplicates, by Per-Olof Ödman of the mostly Swedish-born, working class, and generally retired Swedish Americans who lived and worked in Boerum Hill along Atlantic Avenue and Bay Ridge in the 1970s, as well as one book of the photographer's work titled De sista svenskarna. Subjects include neighborhood street views, portraits in people's homes and workplaces, family dinners, folk festivals, fraternal gatherings, and church services.
Subjects
Organizations
People
Topics
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Photographer retains copyright. While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Per-Olof Ödman Swedish community photographs, CBHM.0042, Box and Folder number, Call number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Per-Olof Ödman, 2026.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The collection's digital surrogates should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection is fully digitized and available on our digital collections under the call number prefix ODMAN.
