Spring Training

Boys Club, ca. 1910, V1981.284.51; Emmanuel House lantern slides, V1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Here are a group of young boys from the Emmanuel House, circa 1910.  This image titled “Boys Club” comes from the Emmanuel House lantern slides collection. The Emmanuel House was located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. As a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men's League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Emmanuel House offered Sunday school, Kindergarten, and recreational classes to children of the church and neighborhood. Emmanuel House was demolished in the mid-20th century during an expansion of the neighboring Pratt Institute, at which time outreach and recreational activities were resumed at the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The recreational activities varied from sewing classes for girls and camping trips for boys to  Avon, New Jersey.  There was also a gymnasium at the Emmanuel House and sometimes they would host gymnasium exhibitions.

Some of the boys here look like they are getting ready to go out on the baseball field, with baseball equipment, gloves and gear in tow. Appropriate for the spring training that is currently under way, getting ready for the 2013 Major League Baseball season to begin on March 31!

Interested in seeing more photographs from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery which includes a selection of our images.  To search our entire collection of images, visit BHS Othmer Library Wed-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m.