Made on Staten Island

Made on Staten Island Synopsis

The whole island is like a garden, and affords very fine scenery. Henry David Thoreau. So wrote the famous philosopher in 1843 of Staten Island, which has changed tremendously since then. The change is not so much scenic as economic. Made on Staten Island tells the story of how commerce and industry were conceived on the island and chronicles the successive industries that found a home there. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the island had been predominantly rural. In the 19th century it increasingly became an industrial center, the home of oystermen and maritime traders, shipbuilders, cabinetmakers, brewers, textile manufacturers, toolmakers, and carriage manufacturers. Later, Staten Island became an important manufacturing center for soap (Procter & Gamble), linoleum, and Atlantic Terra Cotta, to name a few of the products produced there. From the artisans of the 19th century to the manufacturers of the 20th, Made on Staten Island conveys in words and photographs the story of the economic opportunities provided to successive generations of Staten Islanders.