Just When You Thought Everything was Destroyed: Street Art and Brooklyn’s Waterfront
A Few of my Favorite Maps
This past year I’ve had my hands on many different maps. As one of the map catalogers for our CLIR Hidden Collections grant I’ve gone through and closely examined much of our collection. Every map is interesting and historically valuable, but some have stuck in my mind more than others. Yes, I have favorites. These are not necessarily the rarest or most valuable pieces in our collection – they’re just maps I’ve had fun poring over. I hope you enjoy them too.…
The Battle of Long Island in Maps
I was in Greenwood Cemetery a couple months ago and spent some time lounging in my favorite spot: Battle Hill. Doesn’t it have the greatest view? I could sit there for hours. The history of Battle Hill is just as interesting as the view. It was here that Maryland troops kept the British forces distracted while Washington evacuated the rest of his army to Manhattan. We have a few maps in our collection that cover this battle, and I thought I’d take the opportunity to post a couple now.…
Pictorial Maps
I love a good pictorial map. When maps use pictures, rather than symbols or text, to show points of interest, it always adds a little something for me. Sometimes the "something" is humor, sometimes it's a better sense of the map's time and place. Below, a few examples from our collection.
Delicious: The Event
Last night BHS' trivia event whipped more than 120 trivia buffs into a frenzy. We covered the gamut from Biggie Smalls to shuttle stops and team "Culver Express" proved unstoppable. Congrats to our winners and thanks to everyone who came. Perhaps you'll all want to swing by BPL tonight for an encore? From trivia to delectable local food, BHS isn't stopping anytime soon. If you are a fan of the borough's amazing fare, you'll want to join us this coming Thursday, October 7 for Brooklyn Bounty, our fall fundraiser that celebrates local food makers. Red Hook Winery, Brooklyn Brewery, Madiba…
Early Views of Prospect Park
Tupper Thomas announced her retirement as administrator of Prospect Park just as we were beginning a project to catalog our 19th Century map collection. The collection includes a number of maps covering the progress of Prospect Park from early proposals to today. In honor of both Ms Thomas and the beautiful park she has worked to preserve, here are a few interesting pieces: An early plan by Egbert Viele. Note Flatbush Avenue cutting directly through the middle of the park. Land was purchased based on Viele's plan, but plans changed as time passed and the park ended up looking very different…
In Line with Jive Turkey
Bountiful Borough
A few weeks ago I went to Frankie's Spuntino on Court St. in Carroll Gardens for the first time. My entire experience at Frankie's was amazing from the warm service staff to the delicious Soppressata, which even broke the will of my mostly vegetarian boyfriend.
Breukelen State of Mind
The Brooklyn Paper's going Dutch this week? The newspaper's title banner has been changed to the Dutch spelling of the word (or at least a version of the Dutch spelling) and is replete with an animated windmill. Jasper Danckaerts would be thrilled - though perhaps not as much with reporter Shannon Gies' "good riddance" send off of Danckaerts and the Labadists. As for the Breukelen/Breuckelen spelling of the Dutch-settled land - this is something that BHS debated about during the preparation of the Pages of the Past exhibit. After all, BHS has a t-shirt that uses the spelling with the 'c', and…
Now You've Got Plans for Friday
If you've been clicking around the BHS website recently, you've probably seen the mentions of this new exhibit, Pages of the Past: The Breukelen Adventures of Jasper Danckaerts. Or if you've come into our building lately then you might have noticed that exhibit in the midst of installation. Days ago I was stunned to see the high school student-curators who've created this exhibit, painting images of whales and birds onto the walls. The images were straight out of Jasper Danckaerts' diary, perfectly resembling the sepia drawings throughout his journals. I wonder if in 1679, Danckaerts had any…
iDream of BHS
As someone charged with marketing BHS and our many awesome projects, programs and collections I often find myself weighing the most innovative and cost-effective options to spread the word about our work. Last night it came to me in a dream, (perhaps because of Julie's obsession with them) that creating a BHS iPhone app would certainly be the best way to introduce people to the Brooklyn Historical Society. But then again, what would a BHS app do? Would people be able to look up their family genealogy with the touch of a screen? Or trace their house history by simply typing in the address?…
National Poetry Month Ends Today
On this, the last day of National Poetry Month, I am thinking of Walt Whitman's volume of 12 poems "Leaves of Grass." A perfect celebration of spring and the senses can be found in this collection in poems like "I Sing the Body Electric." First published at a printing shop (not too far from BHS) on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, "Leaves of Grass" lives on in Brooklyn.
Annette Gordon-Reed Wins 2009 Pulitzer for History
Congratulations are in order for author and historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family" has won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for History. Ms. Gordon-Reed, who also wrote "Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy," was the Speaker at BHS' Annual Library Dinner in March. She delivered an amazing speech on the lives of the Hemings family, including much about Sally Hemings, who bore seven children by Thomas Jefferson. Again, congratulations from BHS and we hope that Ms. Gordon-Reed will return to the BHS Library when she begins to…
Support Your Local Storefront Photographers
An Unusual Suspect Visits BHS Library
When an American Airlines commercial shot at BHS a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kevin Spacey walk into the library for the shoot, and I was floored when I saw Michel Gondry directing. I just found the final version online, a commercial for the airline that won't air in the U.S. Enjoy the finished product, apparently Mr. Spacey's first commericial. BHS makes its debut in the library scene around the :23 mark and the Tile Lobby is used in the shoe shine shot (don't blink!). And here's a precious Gondry-gem, completely unrelated to BHS:
Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales visits BHS
Jimmy Wales, founder of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, filmed a promo in BHS' Library for USA network's "Character of the Year Award". Click here to see the longer version of the commercial with Mr. Wales discussing censorship, the future of the internet and other fascinating ideas with the stunning Othmer Library as backdrop.
Fiesta Time!
I don’t know about you all, but it’s been a crazy couple of weeks (election antics, economic meltdowns…). I’m looking forward to great music by OP! and all the other fun to be had this Thursday night at BHS’ Fall Fiesta. This year ticket proceeds will go to support Education programs at BHS. Rumor has it that the guests to the Fiesta will get spaldeens in their gift bags (spaldeens are those red bouncy balls that you use to play handball or streetball with), which I'm thinking can also double as a fantastic stress-reliever when the fiesta-ing is over.
90 Years of the Brooklyn Chamber
Congratulations to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce for 90 years of supporting Brooklyn businesses and local economic development! BHS currently has an installation of images and archives in our Tile Lobby commemorating the Chamber's years of service to the Borough.