{"id":1283,"date":"2011-11-07T13:24:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T13:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=1283"},"modified":"2014-08-22T17:59:54","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T17:59:54","slug":"lapskaus-boulevard-a-tale-about-norwegians-in-brooklyn-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/lapskaus-boulevard-a-tale-about-norwegians-in-brooklyn-ny\/","title":{"rendered":"Lapskaus Boulevard, a tale about Norwegians in Brooklyn, NY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lapskaus Boulevard used to be the nickname for 8th Ave. in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY. \u00a0What does Lapskaus mean and why was 8th Ave. referred to as this?<\/p>\n

Lapskaus is a northern European stew and the Norwegian version is usually made with beef and gravy. \u00a0The name became associated with 8th Ave. because many Norwegians (and Danes) settled in the working class neighborhood of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. \u00a0Although there was a significant Norwegian presence in the New York metropolitan area for several hundred years, it wasn’t until the 1920s that this area of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn became seriously inhabited by Norwegians.<\/p>\n

On street corners one could hear many different Norwegian dialects spoken as emigrants from all over Norway left their homeland. \u00a0The majority of the Norwegian residents, however, were from southern Norwegian coastal communities. \u00a0It should be no surprise then that these Norwegians who settled in New York were to a great degree involved in maritime activities.<\/p>\n

In this neighborhood, there were Norwegian restaurants that served fiskekaker<\/strong> (fish cakes) and lefse<\/strong>, grocery stores that sold brunost<\/strong> (brown cheese) and lingonberry syltet\u00f8y<\/strong> (jam). \u00a0There were Norwegian Lutheran kirker<\/strong> (churches) scattered around the neighborhood, and an annual Syttende Mai (17th of May) parade was established and continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Gradually the neighborhood became more and more populated by Chinese and Arab immigrants and is now called “Little Hong Kong.” \u00a0There are still indications that this used to be a neighborhood of Norwegian immigrants. \u00a0Siv Ringdal, a woman from a small town in southern Norway called Lista, has written several books about Norwegian emigration to the United States and how this move affected the Norwegian emigrants’ hometowns back in Norway and how their Norwegian roots affected life in the U.S.<\/p>\n

I actually met Siv Ringdal (b. 1973) back in 2006 when I lived in Oslo for a semester during my junior year of college. \u00a0I had heard about her book, \u00a8The American Lista…\u00a8and was very interested in her cultural historian work. \u00a0I emailed her and we set up a time to meet for coffee at a quaint little caf\u00e9 north of central Oslo. \u00a0She gave me a copy of the book and told me all about how she got into this project. \u00a0She mentioned Lapskaus Boulevard and it is not until this weekend that I thought about it and saw that she indeed completed it and it was published. \u00a0Now I need to buy it and read it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Det Amerikanske Lista<\/p><\/div>\n

I have a step-brother and step-sister who live in Brooklyn, New York, so for sure next time I visit, I will take a stroll down 8th Ave. and experience the remnants of Norwegian immigration to the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Lapskaus Boulevard used to be the nickname for 8th Ave. in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY. \u00a0What does Lapskaus mean and why was 8th Ave. referred to as this? Lapskaus is a northern European stew and the Norwegian version is usually made with beef and gravy. \u00a0The name became associated with 8th Ave. because many Norwegians…<\/p>\n

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