Atlantic Avenue begins at the foot of the East River. In 1836, the Brooklyn Ferry docked here, carrying farmers to Manhattan. The ferry connected to the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad when it opened, which was just a month old. It later linked to Atlantic Avenue's streetcar line.

The residential and commercial portion of Atlantic Avenue was cobblestoned until the construction of the BQE in the 1950s. This portion of the street changed drastically with the addition of the 3-tiered cantilevered highway and promenade.

Abrahim Sahadi originally opened A. Sahadi & Co. on Washington Street in Lower Manhattan in 1890, which catered to a sizeable Syrian and Lebanese population that lived in the area. Construction of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel) pushed the thriving business out of that neighborhood and into this storefront on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn (along with the rest of that population.) The small storefront seen here in 1958 at 187 Atlantic Avenue Sahadi Importing Co. has grown to include the two adjacent storefronts at nos. 189 and 191.

Atlantic Avenue was New York’s mecca for Arab residents and consumers by the 1950s. Over the next several decades, gentrification and the arrival of other immigrant communities spurred the movement of many Arab residents to neighborhoods like Park Slope and Bay Ridge. A handful of shops, restaurants, and bakeries specializing in Middle Eastern fare still exist between Clinton and Court Street.

At the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street was the South Brooklyn Savings Bank. This building now houses a Trader Joe's, though it at one time housed the oldest savings bank on the entirety of Long Island. Their building at 130 Court Street was opened in 1924, they stated that the bank "has grown in size and importance with the growth and development of South Brooklyn as a residential and commercial center."

Further down the road, a group of churches occupies the north side of the street. One such example is the Second United Presbyterian Church.

Neighboring the churches is the Ex-Lax factory. Though 423-443 Atlantic Avenue seems quietly residential, the "Ex-Lax" written above its entrance reveals its original purpose. In 1906, Max Kiss invented and started producing a chocolate laxative so palatable that he named it Ex-Lax. (Excellent Laxative) By 1925, the product was selling so well that he built a new factory and headquarters on Atlantic Avenue between Bond and Nevins. This proved a good investment, the following year, Ex-Lax became America's favorite over-the-counter laxative. Though Ex-Lax still serves those in need to this very day, the factory does not; it was converted to loft co-ops in 1983.

The Times Plaza Hotel was named for the city's newspaper, the Brooklyn Times-Union. Upon its construction in 1931, the building was a marker of Brooklyn’s ability to overcome the Great Depression, and offered low-rate rooms for men only, much like the nearby YMCA. It boasted a circulating library and elaborate dining room, and in the 1940s and 50s, the press reported it to be a prospering home for single men, both retired and working. For the decades following, the hotel rapidly deteriorated. In 1995, the building was acquired by the Lutheran Social Services who updated the facilities and still operate the Muhlenberg residence in the building, a home for the formerly homeless, the disabled, and the elderly.

By no means is this stop the "end" of Atlantic Avenue (the road stretches on for approximately ten miles), but this is one terminus of sorts. Atlantic Terminal was opened as "Brooklyn," a station for the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad in 1852. Since then, this intersection remained a major hub for multiple modes of transit, including steam trains, horsecars, and trolleys. In 1904, the station was totally reconstructed, and starting in 1925 it served as a Post Office. The station was even outfitted with meat houses for freight trains to unload their cargo. After years of use, the station was refurbished and sandblasted in the 1940s. Atlantic Terminal presently serves ten MTA subway lines, and seven LIRR lines.