Getting out onto the the water is a summertime ritual, as these vintage snaps of Brooklynites enjoying time out on the Lake in Prospect Park show. Whether paddling about in swan boats (pictured above) or letting electric boats do the work for them, Prospect Park goers have long taken advantage of the sailing opportunities provided in the midst of Brooklyn’s historic park.

prospect park history swan boat lake
Photo via Prospect Park Archives/Bob Levine Collection

An early 20th century view of the Boathouse with rowboats and an electric boat, also known as an electric launch.

brooklyn history prospect park swan boats lake
Photo via Prospect Park Archives/Bob Levine Collection

Rowboats head toward the Lullwater Bridge and the Boathouse, circa 1910.

brooklyn history prospect park swan boats lake electric
Photo via Prospect Park Archives/Bob Levine Collection

An electric boat approaches the boathouse dock in July 1919.

brooklyn history prospect park swan boats
Photo via NYC Parks Photo Archive

The Ped-L-Craft boats were originally constructed for the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and made their way to Prospect Park the same year. Here some boaters take to the water of Swan Boat Lake (aka the Upper Pool) in June 1959.

brooklyn history prospect park swan boats
Photo via Prospect Park Archives

A group of model boat racers get ready to set sail in 1964.

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