Red Hook Library

Brooklyn Public Library, Red Hook Branch, Richards Street and Visitation Place; circa 1915, v1973.6.210; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection; Brooklyn Historical Society.

The Red Hook branch of the Brooklyn Public Library was built in 1915 and designed in the “Mediterranean Revival Style,” which in the early 20^th century commonly characterized architecture in the sun-bathed cities of Miami and Los Angeles.  In 1915, the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook was home to numerous immigrant communities, including first and second generation Norwegians sustained by the ongoing job opportunities at the bulk cargo ports.  Until 1946, when the Red Hook Library branch was demolished after a fire, library users in Red Hook entered a civic structure that may have been more congruent to Southern California than the inland streets off the bustling docks of South Brooklyn.

The architect was Richard A. Walker, a member of the firm Warren & Wetmore, whom designed Grand Central Terminal, the mammoth transit venue in midtown Manhattan commemorated last year for turning 100 years old.

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