SUNSET Park and its neighbor to the south, Bay Ridge, once boasted a considerable Scandinavian population, primarily Norwegian (Nordisk Tidende was to be found on most newsstands, and a number of Danish bakeries lined Fifth Avenue). The Scandinavian legacy is being preserved by the annual Norwegian Independence Day Parade in May, Lutheran Medical Center on 2nd Avenue and 54th Street (founded in 1883 by a Norwegian Lutheran nurse, Sister Elizabeth Fedde, which is improbably noted in the signage at the 53rd Street BMT subway station), and a few other locations we’ll discuss here. The Danish Athletic Club on 65th Street and Gjøa Sporting Club around the block on 64th are also survivors.
The blocks between 40th and 44th Streets were home to a substantial Finnish population. Finland is in Scandinavia (with Norway, Sweden and Denmark), but its language is from a different root and is unlike Danish, Swedish or Norwegian. In Finland, the country is called Suomi; the word doesn’t resemble other Scandinavian country names’ English counterparts such as Sverige, Norge and Danmark.
FNY correspondent Patrick O’Connor recently spotted a Scandinavian remnant on the ground floor of the apartment building at 7th Avenue and 41st Street, opposite the park…
Where, on the 41st Street side, under the plastic awning, this painted sign for the delicatessen’s previous incarnation selling Scandinavian goods can be found. I’m likely dooming it by including it here, though. The sign in English simply means “Scandinavian goods.”
Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
9/18/26