dawn of consciousness

[Couch Tomato]

I headed down Philadelphia Avenue on the odd-numbered side. The dusk had deepened, the humidity thickened into a palpable, prickly dizzle that lent my walk a heightened feeling of sheletered stealth. I knew this side of the street from the dawn of consciousness; our neighbours the Matzes and the Pritchards, and Han Kieffer's grocery store, and the Krings' and the Pottses' houses where my first playmates, all girls, lived.
(Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English 1 - Student's Book with Answers)

Does the author by "dawn of consciousness" mean that he knew these things from the moment he gained awareness of the things around him/her? In other words, he learnt about these things at a very early age?

Thank you in advance.

 

[ewie]

Yes, I suppose so: from the dawn of consciousness = 'from the moment I first became conscious of the world', or 'ever since I can remember', to put it a bit less fancily

 

[Couch Tomato]

Thank you, ewie.

 

[Beryl from Northallerton]

Yes. I think it's slightly more hyperbolic than you indicate though, as he may be suggesting that he'd known that side from the dawn of Man's conciousness rather than his own - as if he were saying I'd known it forever. Suffice to say that he knew it well.

ADDED: I withdraw my remarks in the light of recent developments (post #7) - though some hyperbole remains

 

[Couch Tomato]

Thank you, Beryl. I see where you're coming from and I agree with you about the hyperbolic nature of his remark.

 

[Parla]

I think it's simply a reference to his early childhood, recalling families that lived on that block.

 

[Cagey]

The Cambridge Student Book took this from Self-Consciousness: Memoirs by John Updike, which has "I knew this side of the street from the dawn of my consciousness."

The Student Book dropped 'my' -- by accident, I suppose.

 

[Couch Tomato]

Thank you, Parla and Cagey.

With "my" it makes absolute sense.