6. Many buildings are decorated with literal red hooks
Throughout the neighborhood, local businesses and residents display red hooks on their doors, which make for an unofficial scavenger hunt. The Dutch settlers who arrived in 1636 called the area Roode Hoek, which means “red point” due to the red clay soil. These red hooks can be found on the neighborhood’s historic structures, including warehouse-style buildings, row houses that were the homes of longshoremen and shipyard workers, and federal-style buildings.
One spot in Red Hook to see more than just red hooks is 26 Reed Street, whose black and red exterior displays life preservers, buoys, ships’ wheels, an anchor, a spray-painted fiberglass swordfish, and a handmade replica of the World Trade Center Towers.