Brooklyn, since 1898 a borough in the enlarged New York City, and capital of King's county, New York, is on the west end of Long Island, opposite (old) New York, from which it is separated by a strait called East River, nearly a mile wide, running from Long Island Sound to New York Bay, and with which it is connected by steam-ferries, and a magnificent suspension bridge (finished 1883), 5989 feet in length by 85 in breadth, and with a river span of 1595 1/2 feet, intended for foot-passage, carriages, and railways. Two lines of elevated railways and numerous lines of horse-cars traverse the streets of Brooklyn, making easy communication between the suburban sections and the ferries. Though it is not a port of entry, the amount of foreign and domestic freight that comes to its warehouses is enormous. Some of these docks are among the most extensive in the United States, covering from 40 to 60 acres each, and are lined with immense storehouses for grain and other freight. At the southeast extremity of the city, upon a high ridge overlooking New York Bay and its environs, is the beautiful Greenwood Cemetery, covering 400 acres; and near at hand are the Ridgewood reservoir and Prospect Park, a public pleasure-ground of 540 acres, which has cost, including two noble boulevards connected with it, extending respectively 3 and 2 1/2 miles to Coney Island and East New York, nearly $12,000,000. The borough possesses a water front of 10 miles, and within its area of 25 sq. m. are carried on the refining of sugar and petroleum, the manufacture of glass, chandlery, clothing, carpets, chemicals, paints, oilcloth, metallic wares, tobacco, steam-boilers, lace, hats, buttons, paper, felt goods, etc, and shipbuilding. The public buildings include the court-house, erected at a cost of $543,000; the hall of records, costing $328,000; the municipal building, costing $200,000; an academy of music, seated for 2400 persons, etc. There is a fine government post-office, and a U. S. navy yard, which occupies 40 acres, with extensive ship-houses, workshops, and military stores, and a dry-dock which cost about $1,000,000. First settled in 1636, the town was organised by the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam in 1646, and named Breukelen from a place of the same name in the Netherlands, 8 miles NW. of Utrecht. It was incorporated as a city in 1834, to which Williamsburg and Bushwick were added in 1855, and in 1880 the town of New Lots (East New York). In 1898 it became part of the larger New York. Pop. (1810) 4402; (1850) 96,838; (1880) 566,603; (1890) 806,343; (1900) 1,166,582.