FInal Project

The Brooklyn Navy Yard and Polytechnic During WWII and Beyond

Introduction

This exhibit explores the histories of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Polytechnic Institute (now NYU Tandon) during World War II and how they continue to shape Brooklyn today. From the surge in industrial labor to the rise of technical education, both institutions uniquely contributed to the national war effort. They trained a new generation of engineers, scientists, and laborers. Although no direct partnership between the institutions was documented during the war, their parallel efforts reveal a shared commitment to supporting the country’s industrial and military needs. The Navy Yard, now a hub for advanced technology and design, and NYU Tandon, a center for cutting-edge research and engineering, remain key anchors in Brooklyn’s transformation from a wartime powerhouse to a technological center.

Inception

The creation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard was authorized by President John Adams in 1801, with the land purchase being approved by Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert in 1800. That year, the federal government acquired 41.93 acres of waterfront land in Wallabout Bay to establish the first of six navy yards under Stoddert's leadership (Berner, 1999). In its early years, the shipyard outfitted vessels for missions against Caribbean and Barbary pirates and, during the War of 1812, prepared over 100 ships for raids on British merchant vessels. The Civil War led to an expansion of the yard, as more than 6,000 workers built 16 vessels, converted over 400 ships to naval use, and created the famous USS Monitor. Between 1906 and 1926, the Yard constructed major battleships like the USS Arizona. At its World War I peak in 1918, employment soared to 18,000 (Jackson, 2010, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025).

Image 1: Map of Navy Yard from 1929 (Desk Atlas Borough of Brooklyn, 1929, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025)

Meanwhile, the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn was founded in 1854 to meet the demands of a rapidly industrializing city. Inspired by the European polytechnic model, its founders hoped to provide practical, applied technical education for working and middle-class youth. Located in a hub of commerce and manufacturing, the school was built on Brooklyn's industrial economy. Its curriculum focuses on high-demand, practical skills that can be applied directly in the industry (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

Image 2: Buildings and Campus Views of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn 1900 (Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1900–1953)

Though created for different purposes, both the Yard and Poly were born of national need. Located just 1.5 miles apart, their paths during World War II ran alongside one another, with each institution supporting the broader war effort. While not explicitly stated, there were instances of indirect collaboration.

Image 3: Screenshot of a map showing the distance between Brooklyn Navy Yard and Polytechnic Institute (Google Maps, 2025)

World War II

World War II Overview

The United States’ involvement in World War II became inevitable on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Until September 11, 2001, this was the deadliest attack on American soil. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, Hitler declared war on the United States. As Jeffrey L. Rodengen proclaimed in his book, Changing the World: Polytechnic University—the First 150 Years, “The magnitude of this conflict would test the minds, souls, and hearts of all Americans and its allies around the world” (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

At the time the United States entered the war, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was the largest naval construction facility in the United States. Among the vessels completed were the USS Missouri (45,000 tons), a ship that officially ended the war on 2 September 19545, and the USS Brooklyn (CNN, 2015). More than 71,000 men and women worked in shifts around the clock by 1944. In addition to battleships, they built aircraft carriers, repaired more than 5000 ships, and converted another 250. It was the largest industrial center in the Navy, as well as the largest employer in New York State (Jackson, 2010, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025).

Image 4: USS Brooklyn Under Construction in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1936 (CNN, 2015)

Training Workers and Students for War Production

As the war progressed, the number of individuals who sought employment at the yard only increased. The Yard possessed many apprenticeship programs that were central to its function. These programs allowed workers to acquire technical expertise while contributing to production. The Navy Yard thus became both a workplace and a training ground, especially important for those without access to higher education. “I don't think my dad went to college. I think he went to a trade school… some tailoring school,” recalled Leonard Beck, whose father worked at The Yard as a designer and cutter. The interview demonstrates that during the wartime labor shortage, while formal education was certainly valuable, practical skills were what the Navy Yard and other military facilities were looking for in potential employees at the time of war. The Yard looked to hire those with practical skills and hands-on experience, hoping they could quickly learn and apply technical tasks on the job (Beck, 2008).

As with many colleges and universities, the Polytechnic Institute played a vital role in supporting the war effort. In addition to students and faculty serving in the armed forces, the Institute adapted its curriculum to align with the technical needs of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. During the 1943 academic year, Polytechnic introduced new technical electives for seniors designed to provide hands-on experience in high-demand areas. While not explicitly stated, these courses were likely developed to prepare students for immediate contributions to wartime industry. For instance, the “Physical Metallurgy” track included coursework in machine design, metalworking laboratories, combustion, and hydraulic engines—all directly relevant to shipbuilding and engineering tasks at the Navy Yard (The Polytechnic Institute, 1943). These options only appeared briefly in the catalogs that overlapped with World War II.

Image 5: The Polytechnic Institute course catalog for the 1943 school year (The Polytechnic Institute, 1943)

Around the same time, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article from 1942 highlighted other initiatives Polytechnic and other universities enacted. Over 2,300 students enrolled in tuition-free defense courses offered at engineering schools across New York, including Brooklyn Polytechnic. The article notes that Poly’s labs and shops were being used to teach the chemistry of explosives, tool design, and punch-and-die design (used for creating holes and shaping materials, particularly in metalworking), among other specialties. Dr. Harry S. Rogers, president of Polytechnic, was treasurer of the joint Defense Training Institute, which directed the effort. Students trained under these programs were in high demand for wartime production jobs, particularly in the aircraft and munitions industries. According to the article, many students who completed the elementary training went directly into defense positions at many different military and naval facilities (including the Brooklyn Navy Yard), while others pursued further specialization for even more critical roles (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1942).

Image 6: Brooklyn Daily Eagle article “2,300 Enrolled in Tuition-Free Defense Classes” 1942 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1942)

Even earlier, in April 1940, Polytechnic launched a new defense course as part of a nationwide plan to train 1,500 men to become inspectors of powder and explosives under the Engineering Defense Training Program. The course, offered in both day and evening sessions, was taught by Professor Vincent F. Eckstein of the Chemistry Department. He was designated as one of 20 experts to direct such courses at technical schools nationwide. Due to the United States’ rapid military expansion for the war effort, engineering and aviation specialists were in high demand. That same year, the Institute was designated as a college whose graduates and students were eligible for commissions if they enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve. This demonstrates the valued skills that were being fostered at Polytechnic.

These early initiatives show that Polytechnic's core technical education was already highly valued by the military. However, as the war progressed, it became clear that additional changes were needed to the curriculum and schedules to meet the urgent and specific demands of the military.

As documented in the annual departmental report submitted on November 17, 1941, Polytechnic felt a strong call to revise its programs in alignment with national needs. While the school resisted major disruptions to its core engineering and chemistry programs, it acknowledged growing pressure to adapt to wartime demands. This included consideration of shortening the curriculum, offering intensive summer courses, and developing new tracks where students could gain hands-on practical skills needed to meet immediate defense needs (Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1941). Polytechnic recognized that many students would be called into service before completing a full degree. By offering alternative pathways, the Institute hoped to equip students with practical technical training that could be applied quickly in wartime industries while still keeping them in an academic environment that may encourage continued education after the war.

The same report also notes that as the federal government expanded the Selective Service Act and introduced defense-focused education funding, Polytechnic’s role grew even more critical. The University was invited to participate in the plan to encourage seniors and juniors to apply for appointments in the United States Naval Reserve. “Admiral Yarnell with a staff of officers representing the arms of service available, ordnance, aviation, and engineering, addressed the college and presented the plan of application and induction” (Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1941)​​. Reports indicate that many of the students who enlisted in the military received supplementary specialized training in aviation, engineering, radio, ordnance, diesel engines, and naval architecture at many military centers, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The changes outlined in the report were not forced by military authorities but reflected Polytechnic’s commitment to serving the nation, its students, and the war effort.

Image 7: Annual Departmental Reports for 1940-1941 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1941)

For those with limited technical experience, the Navy Yard provided manuals to enable employees to learn on the job. The handwritten manual provides documents, images, and checklists of materials and equipment needed for specific job capacities. There were even exams given to unskilled laborers to ensure that they possessed the skills needed to successfully work at the Navy Yard (Yeene, 1943). The figures below show examples of the training materials and skill assessments used to prepare workers for wartime production roles. One example even includes a hand-drawn sketch of a ship, highlighting critical components used for teaching. Alternatively, it stands to reason that Polytechnic, as a hub of higher education and advanced research, relied on textbooks, typed documents, and formal academic materials rather than the handwritten manuals used at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Poly’s academic resources offered a modern and broader engineering foundation, which equipped students with deeper engineering knowledge.

Image 8: United States Maritime Service Training Manual from the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1943 (Yenne, 1943)

Just as the Navy Yard adapted to the expansion of the workforce, Polytechnic also saw a growing role in preparing students for service in the war effort. One direct connection between Polytechnic and the war was made when 500 U.S. Army Specialized Training Program students moved into barracks at the Fort Greene housing project, which was located a few blocks from the university. The majority of the group were enrolled as freshmen, while the others were upperclassmen (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

As the war progressed, Poly’s President, Harry S. Rogers, emphasized the nation's urgent need for engineers:

"Engineers are needed to plan, design, and produce the innumerable items by which we will be enabled to defend ourselves against a brutal, ruthless, and arrogant totalitarianism, to support democracies, and to preserve the freedoms in which these democracies believe" (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

This underscores the value of engineers during the time of war and could have been used to advocate for prospective students to pivot to an engineering track.

Women and Changing Demographics

The wartime boom at the Brooklyn Navy Yard coincided with major diversifications in the city’s labor demographics. As Nancy Foner notes in New York and Immigration: A City of Nations, “Brooklyn’s industrial surge during the 1940s created mass employment opportunities for immigrant and first-generation American workers, many of whom had limited formal education” (Foner, 2013). These individuals often brought valuable trade skills or learned quickly on the job. The Navy Yard, in particular, mainly attracted first and second generation immigrants – Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Eastern European Americans – who were already part of the industrial workforce or seeking immediate employment (Foner, 2013). Polytechnic, by contrast, drew younger students from Brooklyn’s working and middle class neighborhoods, sons and daughters of immigrants pursuing formal technical education as a path to long-term careers in engineering (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

Image 9: Employees working to mold metal for ship (Turnstile Tours, 2019)

This does not mean that the Yard did not need employees with professional or academic experience. While many positions were filled by “unskilled laborers, semi-skilled workers, or men only partially trained in some skilled trade” (The New York Times, 1940, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025), there remained a clear shortage of workers with formal technical education and specialized expertise. Specifically, the yard was looking for individuals who had experience in welding, tool making, and machinist skills that either experienced professionals have or students acquire in coursework.

Image 10: New York Times Article “6,600 more seek jobs at Navy Yard” from May 24, 1940 (The New York Times, 1940, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025)

Before the war, the Brooklyn Navy Yard had long been seen as a "stronghold of masculinity," as Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly described in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1944. However, by 1944, over 4,000 women had become an integral part of its 65,000-person workforce, marking a striking shift in its labor dynamics (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1944, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025). Many of these women were hired for jobs once solely held by men, including welding, electrical work, crane operation, and machine operation. A Brooklyn Daily Eagle article noted, “A tradition of 143 years standing has come to an end at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Women are now working alongside men at construction work aboard Navy fighting ships” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1944, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025).

Image 11: Brooklyn Daily Eagle article “Women Help Build Carrier for Navy” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1944, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025)

The article (image 11) emphasized the unprecedented contributions women were making, particularly in the construction of Essex-class aircraft carriers. As the manpower shortage deepened, Navy officials increasingly turned to women to meet the demands of critical wartime projects. To maintain safety and professionalism, women were subject to clothing regulations: “Rules for clothing call for coveralls or slacks with flat hip pockets and no cuffs, low-heeled shoes, and caps or hats with hair tucked in. Such fripperies as pendant earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, shoes with high heels and open toes, skirts, loose sleeves, and frills are taboo” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1944, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025).

Many of these women had high school diplomas, husbands or brothers serving overseas, and children at home. At the time, the minimum wage was $18 a week, with most women earning about $40 weekly. This shift, driven by the war effort, not only transformed the workforce at the Brooklyn Navy Yard but also reshaped societal norms of women’s roles in the workforce.

Photographs from the period, such as image 12 of two women welding on the flight deck of an Essex-class carrier, show women fully engaged in the hard physical labor of shipbuilding. They were no longer restricted and relegated to menial desk jobs. They became hands-on contributors to the Navy’s wartime production. Although women were often paid less than men and faced pressure to leave the industry, their wartime service helped solidify their place in the workforce.

Image 12: Women working on the flight deck of the new Essex Class aircraft Carrier at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1944, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025)

Simultaneously, the Polytechnic Institute started to allow women to enroll. As the university was typically an all-male school, this represented a major shift in tradition. In 1942, Marjorie Wilson became one of the first full-time female engineering students at Polytechnic (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005). Her immersion represented shifting times and showed a clear benefit of having more technically trained workers, regardless of gender, to replace those who had gone to war. Although the underlying reasons for her application and the school's acceptance of her remain largely unknown, they speak to labor shortages during wartime.

By 1952, six women had graduated with engineering degrees from Polytechnic. Sylvia Lenore Lepow, Edythe Crescenzo De Gaeta, and Ann Elizabeth Gunsolus were among the first female engineers to earn full degrees at Poly. These women noted that, although skepticism from male colleagues existed, they had mostly been accepted and found jobs at companies such as American Machine and Foundry and Sperry Gyroscope Company (Poly Men, 1942).

One of these graduates stated: “If I had my choice to make again, I would most emphatically choose engineering” (Poly Men, 1952). Despite conceptions about women leaving the industry abruptly to marry, the early graduates experienced great success attributed to their own merits.

Image 13: Poly Men article “We Would Do It Again” (Poly Men, 1952)

Student Life and Patriotism at Polytechnic

Even the notion of the war morphed student life and priorities at the Polytechnic Institute, both in academics and campus life. This was clearly expressed in the 1943 Polywog, the school’s yearbook, which opened with a bold message: “Before the fateful December 7, 1941, Polytechnic’s facilities, both experimental and pedagogical, have been directed toward the swift execution of the task at hand – the destruction of the Axis and all it stands for” (Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1943, as cited in Rodengen & Murphy, 2005). The quote shows how committed both the school and its students were to support the war effort long before the United States entered.

End of World War 2

Polytechnic Contributions Beyond the Navy Yard

As the war continued into 1944, America and its Allies steadily gained ground and edged closer to victory. However, casualty rates were increasing at alarming rates. While all materials were at a premium, medical supplies, specifically penicillin, were in steep demand. The lack of such medical supplies, unfortunately, resulted in the deaths of many soldiers suffering from wounds that could have been treated with the proper medicine.

The groundbreaking work in this area, conducted by Jasper H. Kane, class of 1928, would ultimately save thousands of soldiers’ lives, and later millions of other lives around the world. Alexander Fleming developed penicillin, the first true antibiotic, in 1928. However, it was difficult to produce. Before and during the first years of the war, penicillin had to be made flask by flask, a process resulting in a limited supply. Kane, along with John L. Smith at Pfizer, pioneered the deep-tank fermentation method. This allowed penicillin to be grown in large industrial vats rather than in small flasks. (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

Despite Kane’s best efforts, however, the war would take the lives of 36 alumni. In the end, 2,088 Poly men served their country during World War II. In 1945, a World War II memorial plaque was presented to the school (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005). It says:

In honor of the 2,088 Polytechnic men who have studied the arts of peace in this institution, went forth at the call of their country to fight for the establishment of a world in which they might be freely practiced, and in memory of those who gave their lives as the price of victory (Rodengen & Murphy, 2005).

The Fate and Legacy of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The Navy Yard succeeded in meeting and exceeding wartime production demands, contributing to the rapid construction, repair, and deployment of vital naval vessels. Many of the subtle yet impactful connections between the Yard and the university pinpointed earlier may have played a crucial role in the Yard's efficiency and output during World War II. The Yard was eventually awarded the prestigious “E” award, symbolizing continued excellence in wartime production (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1945, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025).

Image 14: Brooklyn Daily Eagle article “Brooklyn Navy Yard” from 1945 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1945, as cited in Brooklyn Connections, 2025)

As military demands declined, the Yard’s role in national defense diminished. What had once been one of the busiest industrial hubs in America would soon face a new chapter in its history.

By 1965, fewer than 7000 men and women worked at the shipyard. In 1966, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara closed the facility as part of a nationwide base closing initiative. In the following year, New York City purchased 260 acres at the site, which was reopened as an industrial park in 1971 (Mawdsley, 2019).

Since then, the Brooklyn Navy Yard has reemerged as a powerful space of economic development. Managed by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), the site has laid the foundation for more than 500 businesses and 11,000 jobs across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, green technology, design, and film production. With a mission of creating sustainable middle-class employment, BNYDC continues to reuse historic structures and facilities to serve modern needs. The Corporation aims to expand the area's job capacity to over 20,000 in the coming years (Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, 2019).

Collaboration Today

Building on Brooklyn’s industrial history, NYU Tandon School of Engineering has established NYU Tandon @ The Yard, a cutting-edge research and production facility located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This 14,000-square-foot space serves as a hub for innovation in emerging media, offering advanced resources in motion capture, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and virtual production. With one of the largest motion capture stages in New York City and a 30-foot LED wall used for immersive virtual environments (NYU Tandon School of Engineering, 2025), the facility bridges academic research with real-world applications in film, gaming, engineering, and design.

Image 15: 30' tall Motion capture stage equipped with a 24-camera motion capture system and facial and hand tracking equipment located at NYU Tandon @ The Yard (NYU Tandon School of Engineering, 2025)

In addition to the lab, the site hosts graduate courses in the Integrated Design & Media (IDM) program and offers professional education in virtual production, with support from industry leaders like Epic Games. Open workshops, public meetups, and networking events cement the Navy Yard space as a community-leading tech incubator. While Tandon’s activities at the Yard today reflect innovation, they, like those during World War two, seem to grow more from proximity and parallel goals than from direct collaboration. What was once a hub of development and manufacturing is now, seventy years later, a hub of creative technology and research.

Conclusion

An investigation into the intertwined histories of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Polytechnic Institute, and their respective roles during World War II, shows a compelling story of parallel contributions and shared patriotism. Both institutions responded rapidly and creatively, in their distinctive ways, to the pressures of war, realigning their priorities for the nation.

Given their mere 1.5-mile distance and shared emphasis on technical training and defense production, it is tempting to envision and assume Polytechnic served as a direct pipeline of skilled workers for the Yard. Yet there is no evidence to suggest that such a direct relationship existed. Instead, it seems that the two institutions were shaped by similar wartime demands but developed independently of one another.

Citations

Primary Sources

Beck, L. (2008, June 11). Interview by S. Sullivan [Audio recording]. Brooklyn Navy Yard Oral History Project, Brooklyn Historical Society Archives, Brooklyn, NY, United States.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1942, August 5). 2,300 enrolled in tuition-free defense classes. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 5. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52812544/?terms=At%20Brooklyn&match=1

Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1944, August 9). Women help build carrier for Navy. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 11. As cited in Brooklyn Connections. (2025). The Brooklyn Navy Yard and WWII Primary Source Packet. Brooklyn Public Library. https://bklynlibrary.org/cbh/connections/resources

Brooklyn Daily Eagle. (1945). Brooklyn Navy Yard. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 1. As cited in Brooklyn Connections. (2025). The Brooklyn Navy Yard and WWII Primary Source Packet. Brooklyn Public Library. https://bklynlibrary.org/cbh/connections/resources

CNN. (2015, March 11). The history of Brooklyn Navy Yard: From WWII warships to Hollywood on the East River. https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/11/business/gallery/brooklyn-navy-yard/index.html

Desk Atlas Borough of Brooklyn. (1929). Vol. 1 (p. 147). E. Belcher Hyde Map. As cited in Brooklyn Connections. (2025). The Brooklyn Navy Yard and WWII Primary Source Packet. Brooklyn Public Library. https://bklynlibrary.org/cbh/connections/resources

Google Maps. (2025). [Screenshot of map showing distance between Brooklyn Navy Yard and Polytechnic Institute]. Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps

NYU Tandon School of Engineering. (2025). NYU Tandon @ The Yard. https://engineering.nyu.edu/research-innovation/nyu-tandon-yard

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. (1941). Annual departmental reports for 1940–1941. Unprocessed Collection, Poly Archives, Bern Dibner Library, NYU Libraries, Brooklyn, NY.

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. (1900–1953). Buildings and campus views: 85 Livingston Street & 99 Livingston Street[Photographs]. Bern Dibner Library Archives, NYU Tandon School of Engineering. https://hdl.handle.net/2333.1/wh70s5qq

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. (1952). We would do it again: Polywomen engineers agree. Poly Men, 1(3), 5–6.

The New York Times. (1940, May 24). 6,600 more seek jobs at Navy Yard. The New York Times. As cited in Brooklyn Connections. (2025). The Brooklyn Navy Yard and WWII Primary Source Packet. Brooklyn Public Library. https://bklynlibrary.org/cbh/connections/resources

The Polytechnic Institute. (1943). Course catalog: Day sessions. The Polytechnic Institute Archives, Brooklyn, NY, United States.

Turnstile Tours. (2019, November 10). Voices from the Brooklyn Navy Yard | Episode 159. https://turnstiletours.com/listening-to-wwii/

Yenne, R. (1943). United States Maritime Service training manual: Engineering branch training. The Raymond Yenne Collection 2011, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Secondary Sources

Berner, T. F. (1999). The Brooklyn Navy Yard. Arcadia Publishing.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. (2019). Master plan: Building the Navy Yard of tomorrow. https://brooklynnavyyard.org/developments-master-plan/

Foner, N. (Ed.). (2013). One out of three: Immigrant New York in the twenty-first century. Columbia University Press.

Mawdsley, E. (2019). The war for the seas: A maritime history of World War II. Yale University Press.

Rodengen, J. L., & Murphy, M. (2005). Changing the world: Polytechnic University—the first 150 years. Write Stuff Enterprises, Inc. https://engineering.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/2018-09/Polytechnic_eBook-150-years.pdf