Blog posts by Deborah

Small boy standing on sidewalk, blowing a horn.

POTW: Jewels in the Sidewalk

Deborah

 

Patric Piccione playing with a noise maker. OSOS_0194. [1923?] Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Today’s photo of the week features little Pat Piccione blowing a noisemaker on a Brooklyn street. His clothing is quaintly old-fashioned to our eyes: a blousy tunic and shorts, complete with gaiters - twice as much clothing as one would expect to see on a modern child. Adding a note of mystery is the shadow silhouette of a woman photographer in dress…

Group of schoolchildren gathered in front of libary under a banner reading: Make it a library summer.

POTW: Is Your Summer Booked?

Deborah

Library festival, BPL_0440. 1968. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs
Summer is here, bringing long lazy days with time for relaxed reading at the beach and parks. This photo shows a group of youngsters attending a library festival at the Bushwick Branch of Brooklyn Public Library in 1968. Every year the library hosts free programs and resources to enrich your summer with reading and cultural activities. See what we have on offer this year on our Summer at the Library page.Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s…

Small observatory building with dome in residential neighborhood.

Seeing Stars: Astronomical Observatories in Brooklyn

Deborah

Astronomical observatory/laboratory, Flatbush. [191-?] NEIG_0750. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs.
Close on the heels of the recent excitement around the 2024 solar eclipse, we received an email from one of our readers who was able to expand on what we know about one of our photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle: an astronomical observatory in the back yard of a Flatbush home. (I emphasize astronomical because I found in my research in our Brooklyn Newsstand that the word observatory was often used for observation points on high…

The Rocks Cry Out

Deborah

One among a row of boulders in Prospect Park with protest posters showing the faces of Oluwatoyin Salau, Rem'mie Fells, Dominique Jonathan Ferrell and Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. in Prospect Park; BRCP_0039. 2020. Brooklyn Resists community photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
On June 8, 2020, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in Brooklyn, I took a walk in Prospect Park on a shady path across the East Drive from the Vale of Cashmere, notable for a line of large rocks…

Railfan Sandwich Man's Loco-Motive to Increase Business

Deborah

Sodas delivered by train. WORK_0842. 1951. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs 
Local businesses are acts of faith - an individual dream of creating a place that people will want to patronize, enriching the owners and community alike. This Photo of the Week shows one inventive owner’s novel idea to boost his business. In early 1951, Ben Lewanda took over the Parkway Sandwich Shop, 4223 Fort Hamilton Parkway. Finding his custom lacked pep, he got the idea of installing a model train to travel around the periphery…

Man and woman breaking out of closet with baseball bats.

Honor Among Thieves?

Deborah

How they got out. CRIM_0143. 1952. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs
Today’s dramatic Photo of the Week documents a slick Flatbush burglary with an unusual conclusion. A tenacious robber, who tried several times to gain entry claiming to be a repairman, finally hoodwinked the wary housekeeper by waiting until she brought out the garbage. He brandished a gun and then, joined by a partner lurking nearby, they gained access. Once in, they stole furs, jewels and cash and locked Mrs. Arline Tompkins and the other person on the…

Black Masons in Brooklyn: an Indomitable Brotherhood

Deborah

New temple dedicated--Past Deputy Grand Master Jacob Lawrence, Grand Master Daniel Mason, and Deputy Grand Master Charles L. Weaver, left to right [all African Americans,] share the gavel at dedication of Universal Grand Lodge's new temple at 442 Willoughby Ave. A cornerstone-laying ceremony has been planned for later in the year. 1954. CLUB_0110. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs
I became interested in the subject of Freemasonry after happening upon several pictures of African American Masons in our Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs.   I have…

These Homes are for the Birds

Deborah

Ten boys pose with birdhouses of their own construction, 1916. EAGL_0237. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
In spring of 1916 the Brooklyn Daily Eagle posted a challenge to the children of Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties: make a birdhouse for the birds of Long Island.
Consuelo Gestal sends first entry blank, Junior Eagle-Daily Edition banner. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 6, 1916, p. 5.
The invite appeared in the Junior Eagle - in a section dedicated to…

Brooklyn Goes Daffy - It's Spring!

Deborah

View of many flowering daffodil plants in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1935. GRDN_0093.  Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History​ 
Spring has officially sprung, on March 20th to be exact, and with it come the bright faces of flowers. I am always on the lookout for blooms in the late days of winter, but for me the daffodils mark the true turn of the season. This photo of the week, taken in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1935, makes the flowers look like they are glowing. If you think the flowers are…

POTW: A Decade in the Life of a Brooklyn Photographer: the Laura Fitzpatrick Collection

Deborah

Elizabeth and Laura Fitzpatrick, 1943. FITZ_0186, Laura Fitzpatrick photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today’s Photo of the Week comes from the collection of Laura Fitzpatrick, who began taking pictures at age 11 of her friends, family and neighbors in Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, during the years 1938-1948. Our photo depicts Laura and her mother Elizabeth standing on a Brooklyn street, elegantly dressed and coiffed. Behind them we see a line of storefronts and a man breezing by in a wide cap. In…

Sliding into the New Year

Deborah

[Families sledding on a snowy hill in Prospect Park]  1978, V1990.2.183, Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, 1990.2, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on February 18, 2015 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to our Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. This POTW was originally posted late in a snowy winter. We have yet to see…

Cutting a Rug: Evidence(s) of Social Dance in Brooklyn

Deborah

Juke box jive--Happy-faced teenagers at Colony House [located at 297 Dean Street] applaud two slick-footed regulars [dancing], 1944. SWEL_0695. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History   
Roll up the rug – what you do at the start of a house party  Cut a rug – what happens when you neglected to roll it up first  I’ve been a social dancer most of my life, and the form closest to my heart is Lindy hop. I was interested to see what I could find in the archive that documented…

POTW: No Bones About It – They Are Getting the Skinny on This Exam Subject

Deborah

Young students, oldest school--[eight] prospective R.N.'s are receiving instructions from Anna Dennis, R.N., director of nursing at the Prospect Heights Hospital … 1946. HOSP_0566. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
In honor of the scary season, today's photo of the week features our popular Halloween friend. Here in Brooklyn Heights within the last few weeks we’ve seen skeletons clambering up or down the sides of buildings, leaning chattily over a table in quiet conversation, or…

POTW: Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, 1900-1939

Deborah

[Portrait of man posing on a boardwalk in Coney Island], 1898, v1974.022.4.068, Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.199; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on September 13, 2017 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to our Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. In the dog days of summer, it seems fitting to call out a collection…

One-Woman Coney Express

Deborah

Ponyback protest--Post office economy moves notwithstanding. The Oceantide Civic Association of Coney Island undertook to show that the mails must go through, 1950. WORK_0770. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Today’s Photo of the Week features a photogenic protest against the curtailment of postal service. The previous year the Post Office ran a deficit of $550, 000. On April 18, 1950 the Postmaster General, Jesse M. Donaldson, acting on advice of the House Appropriations Committee, cut…

Fighting Metal: Keys to Victory

Deborah

Librarian Charlotte Villanyi wearing jewelry made from castoff keys collected by the Brooklyn Public Library in nationwide campaign sponsored by the Paper and Twine Club. CBPL_0722, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
When I first saw today’s POTW, I thought - Best jewelry ever, but what is the story here?  The photo’s caption covers the bare essentials, but left me opportunities to dig for more.  Miss Charlotte Villanyi [standing in front of several book shelves] tries out…

POTW: What’s Better Than a Bake Sale?

Deborah

St. Thomas Aquinas : moving pictures. [Projection booth for outdoor movies] 1913. CHUR_1201, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This gangly construction was the brainchild of Rev. Dr. James Donohoe of St. Thomas Aquinas Church at 9th Street and 4th Avenue who, desiring to fund the construction of a new school to serve his parish, struck on the idea of offering outdoor picture shows on the planned school site. The setup was carefully considered, with a solid projection building, metal screen, electric…

Built for Brooklyn History: A Place With Many Names

Deborah

[Long Island Historical Society, Pierrepont Street and Clinton Street], 1961, by Ellis Herwig, V1974.031.30; Long Island Historical Society photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on July 26, 2017 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to the Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. Visitors to the Center for Brooklyn History on Pierrepont Street sometimes…

POTW: Encounter with Kismet on a Ride Through Bed-Stuy

Deborah,

Architectural rendering of Kismet [Shriners] Temple located at 62 Herkimer Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1909. Caption on front: R. Thomas Short, Architect, lower right. CLUB_0509. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
Cycling recently through Bed-Stuy I was startled to see two huge onion domes, one with a sag to its finial, rising above neighboring rooflines and I stopped to take some pictures of a remarkable building. A banner on the front indicated it is the Friendship…

POTW: Bring Your Photo ID: Filling Gaps in the Archive

Deborah

Flatbush Avenue with a view of Erasmus Hall High School and Astor Theater. 1972-1977. NEIG_0858. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
Everyone loves a mystery, and we have no lack of them here in the archive. Some are in the form of unidentified photographs waiting for eagle-eyed staff or other longtime Brooklynites to recognize their true identities and bring them out of the darkness. Today’s Photo of the Week flashed into view as I was browsing our collection, a picture identified only as…