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Berley Firmin reported [990611 MMDigest] that he saw an article in
his local paper about a terrible fire in Coney Island 100 years ago
in which (among other things) several hundred pianos were destroyed.
He noted that the article referred to "The Bowery" and said he thought
that thoroughfare was in Manhattan, not in Coney Island (which is at
the southern end of Brooklyn).

Having grown up in Brooklyn just a few miles from Coney Island, and
being interested in local history, I am happy to be able to respond
to this (as I am seldom able to make a contribution with regard to the
more technical restoration questions that frequently come up in MMD).

There was a "Bowery" in Manhattan and also one in Coney Island.  I
recall reading that the word is derived from a Dutch word ("bouwerie",
I believe) that means something like "cow path".  Both Manhattan and
Coney Island were settled by the Dutch and each had its "Bowery".  In
each case, also, when the area became more citified, the old name was
retained.  In the carnival-like atmosphere of Coney Island, the Bowery
was a sort of midway.

The popular song of the 1890's, "The Bowery" (#1004 on the 20-note
roller organ, for example), refers, I'm sure, to the Bowery in
Manhattan, which was much better known (and remains known, today,
although now primarily as a skid-row district).

Richard Dutton