The Atlas Obscura Guide To

Brooklyn

175 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Brooklyn, New York

Unusual
Attractions
in Brooklyn

The outside of The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company.

Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store

The one-stop shop for all of your superhero (or evil arch-nemesis) needs.

40.6714, -73.9846

Added by Oliver Hong

1920s Subway Car complete with ceiling fansPhoto by Curious Expeditions

Brooklyn, New York

New York Transit Museum

Ride the subways of yesteryear.

40.6890, -73.9861

Added by M Rebekah Otto

Brooklyn, New York

Dead Horse Bay

First a horse rendering plant, then a 19th century landfill, this beach is full of glass from thousands upon thousands of broken bottles.

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Added by michelle

Brooklyn, New York

Gowanus Batcave

Abandoned power station once home to a squatter community, now being developed into an arts center.

40.6767, -73.9894

Added by Hannah Frishberg

City Reliquary Museum

Brooklyn, New York

City Reliquary

Brooklyn has some great collections and some weird collections. This is both.

40.7140, -73.9558

Added by Oliver Hong

A wall of sketchbooks at the Brooklyn Art Library.

Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn Art Library

Leaf through over 30,000 artists' sketchbooks in what may be the world's largest collection of doodles

40.7173, -73.9510

Added by Facebook_109773

Chime Body, Rope Climber, String Body

Brooklyn, New York

Robotic Church

This former Norwegian sailor's church is slowly being taken over by ramshackle robot musicians.

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Added by EricGrundhauser

This laundromat is more than it seems.

Brooklyn, New York

Sunshine Laundromat

One of New York's best collections of pinball is hidden in a secret bar in the back of this laundromat.

40.7293, -73.9536

See All 175 Things to Do in Brooklyn See All 175 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

Gastro Obscura

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

A cake as dark as a city hiding from enemy bombers.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Chopped Cheese

Gastro Obscura

Chopped Cheese

This staple sandwich of Brooklyn delis has become a symbol of gentrification.

Gastro Obscura

Added by Ike Allen

Espresso Coffee Soda

Gastro Obscura

Espresso Coffee Soda

A dark soda with a dark history.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Pickleback

Gastro Obscura

Pickleback

A bar sharing a basement with a pickle place led to an unusual drink.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Explore Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn Leaderboard

Places Added

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Recent Brooklyn Activity

tonisnow38 wants to go to Coney Island Museum

tonisnow38 wants to go to Most Holy Trinity Cemetery

tonisnow38 wants to go to Coney Island Creek

tonisnow38 wants to go to The Lehigh Barge and the Waterfront Museum Showboat Barge

tonisnow38 wants to go to Sunset Park's 68th Precinct

Stories
About Brooklyn

Tree-shaped tombstones in Miami City Cemetery.

Why Some Gravestones Are Shaped Like Tree Stumps

When nature and secret societies get together.

by Sarah Laskow

Assembling the gigantic bagel and lox.

What It's Like to Make the World's Largest Bagel and Lox

The 213-pounder will be evaluated for a Guinness World Record.

February 09, 2018

At CB I Hate Perfume, food scents abound.

Why Smell Like Flowers When You Could Smell Like Roast Beef?

The rebel of the perfume world can make you smell like dinner or dessert.

November 30, 2017

Joy Doumis picks apples at Green-Wood Cemetery.

The Life-Enhancing Qualities of Cemetery Cider

The couple behind the beverage say they're making cider the traditional (and more delicious) way.

November 17, 2017

Into the Veil 2017.

Revisit the Enchantment of 'Into the Veil'

A short film for those who missed this year's big event in New York—or want to relive it.

by Natasha Frost

October 30, 2017

The Wurlitzer 4/26, named for its four keyboards and 26 sets of different sounding pipes.

In Brooklyn, a Rare Concert Organ Takes a (Hopefully Temporary) Bow

Long Island University's 1928 Wurlitzer will go quiet for at least the next two years.

by Ashawnta Jackson

October 24, 2017

Living candelabras sat or stood unflinching as hot wax dripped onto their bodies, forming incredible sculptures and shapes.

A Dispatch From the Other Side of the Veil

In Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, Atlas Obscura's "Into the Veil 2017" was a night of sublime contradictions.

by Natasha Frost

October 16, 2017

Sparring at the Underground Boxing Gym.

Inside Brooklyn's 'Soviet Style' Underground Boxing Gym

It's a bit off the beaten path.

January 12, 2017

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