Repeal Day is Here!

[Inebriate’s Home, Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn], May 24, 1894, v1973.5.2440; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.

If you are wondering what to do this evening, you should plan to celebrate Repeal Day!  On December 5, 1933 Prohibition ended and the nation was given permission to legally distill, distribute, and consume alcohol. For a more detailed history, see the Photo of the Week blog posts from December 2010 and December 2012.

The stately building pictured in May of 1894 is the Inebriate’s Home for Kings County – a center for the treatment and study of the symptoms of alcohol abuse. It was established in 1866 in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Hamilton, and was heavily subsidized by the City of Brooklyn.  Increasing awareness of social issues relating to public health in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries led to an explosion of programs and institutions designed to help and guide people in various ways. The Temperance Movement was one of many social movements that gained momentum during this Progressive Era, and the Inebriate’s Home for Kings County was one of the physical manifestations of this movement.

Upon the 80^th anniversary of Repeal Day, attitudes towards drinking in Brooklyn have changed considerably from what they were in the heyday of the Inebriate’s Home. It will be perfectly (and legally) acceptable to sip and enjoy a drink today in honor of Repeal Day. I, personally, have a Brooklyn-made, small batch, cocoa-infused bourbon in mind for my celebration.  There are also events happening across the city. For a couple of suggestions, see Zagat’s list and the Village Voice’s  tasting event.

Finally, Brooklyn Historical Society has multiple collections relating to the treatment of alcoholism, the Temperance Movement, and Prohibition in Brooklyn. If interested in learning more, please see our Health Services Organization of Brooklyn collection (1985.103), and our Brooklyn Prohibition collection (1977.127).

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our new website here.  To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1:00-5:00 p.m.