More Brooklyn Navy Yard!
Courtesy of John Cloud and NOAA Central Library, below is an image of the Navy Yard and Wallabout Bay in 1845. According to Cloud, "The gap between 1827 and 1900 was a time when the U.S. Coast Survey was most active in mapping New York Bay and Harbor and the Environs, as they put it." Below "is a crop from the Survey's first published charts of New York, Sheets 1 through 4 in 1844, and Sheets 5 and 6 in 1845. We particularly like how the Survey was attempting to differentiate agriculture in Brooklyn down to symbolizing different crops and farming row techniques in different ways."…
Wallabout Bay and the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Earlier this week, BHS staff toured BLDG 92, the newly opened history center and museum at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. BLDG 92 explores the fascinating and changing history of the Yard, from the Revolutionary War to the present day. In honor of BLDG 92, this post will showcase maps from the BHS collection that feature Wallabout Bay and the Yard. The first map is a reproduction of a portion of Bernard Ratzer's "Plan of the city of New York..." (the Ratzer Map), which was surveyed in 1766 and 1767. This 20th century reproduction was created as an advertisement for the East Brooklyn Savings Bank,…
Map of the Month - November 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1946 and shows Native American communities in Kings County. It was created by James A. Kelly, who served as the Borough of Brooklyn Historian from 1944 to 1971. If you are interested in learning more about Kelly, his papers are available in the BHS Archives. Enjoy! (View this map as a PDF file to show more detail) Interested in seeing more maps? You can view the BHS map collection anytime during the library's open hours, Wed.-Fri., from 1-5 p.m. No appointment is necessary to view most maps. Our cataloged maps can be searched through BobCat and our map…
A response to the Goos Map ...
Map of the Month - October 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1666 and covers New Netherland and the English Virginias from Cape Cod to Cape Canrick [i.e. Hatteras]. Attributed to Pieter Goos, this beautiful nautical chart is an excellent example of early cartography and map printing. Enjoy!
Farm maps
On Wednesday, Sept. 21st, BHS held its annual fundraiser Brooklyn Bounty, which is a wonderful event celebrating the borough's food culture and sustainability movements. This year we also displayed historic maps illustrating Brooklyn's farming history and pre-industrial landscape. In this post, I will be highlighting one my favorite maps showcased at Brooklyn Bounty. Titled "Plan of large & small gardens at the Pierrepont Homestead, Brooklyn," this manuscript map was created by William C. Pierrepont in 1821. First, an image of the map in its entirety. Although it may be underwhelming at…
Map of the Month - September 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1933 and shows the Brooklyn Heights area. Published by the Garden Place Association, this charming map is indexed to show places of interest. Enjoy!
Brooklyn's Imagined Communities
I have always been interested in America's 19th century social reform movements. Maybe it's my Quaker heritage, but I find the history of Utopian communities fascinating and moving. In a century of great change and upheaval, many 19th century Americans sought comfort and stability through community. Whether these groups expressed their identities through conservative or radical ideas, they shared similar desires to live humanely, raise families, and care for each other. To my great surprise, I have found reform groups represented in the BHS map collection. From temperance groups to housing…
Map of the Month - August 2011
This month's featured map shows the village of Williamsburg as it was laid out in 1827, though the map itself was published in 1833. Surveyed by D. Ewen, this map shows names of property owners. Please note that the map is oriented with north to the lower left. Enjoy!
Road maps
As a little girl, I went on many summer road trips with my family. I distinctly remember my dad plotting our courses with the help of a battered old atlas and a collection of road maps, all of which he kept in the glove compartment of our car. I loved looking at these maps with my dad, who would patiently explain to me the basics of reading a map, from what the legend was to how you could tell where the Appalachian Mountains were by looking at relief. This type of map is one of my favorites, not only for nostalgic reasons, but because it can provide a surprising wealth of information. In this…
Map of the Month - July 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1889 and shows Long Island, including political divisions and railroads. It was published by the prolific firm of G.W. & C.B. Colton, who were located at 172 William Street in Manhattan. Enjoy!
Mapping the Heights
For the last two weeks, I've been cataloging 19th century manuscript maps of Brooklyn Heights. These maps represent our collection's earliest detailed views of the area; they show property ownership, street and waterfront development, businesses and more. I am very excited to be sharing one of these beautiful maps. The following map was hand-drawn by William C. Pierrepont in 1825. It covers the area north from Joralemon St. to Waring St. and east from the East River to Fulton St. Although the map mainly shows Hezekiah B. Pierrepont's property, it also shows sold lots, S. Jackson's Wharf,…
Map of the Month - June 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1892 and shows a design for Bushwick Park, now called Maria Hernandez Park. The BHS collection has similar maps of Carroll Park, City Park (now Commodore Barry Park), Winthrop Park (now Msgr. Mcgolrick Park), and Tompkins Park (now Herbert Von King Park). Enjoy!
Brooklyn by any other name ...
Recently, I was speaking with Julie Golia, our public historian, who wanted to know if we had early maps that showed different spellings of the name Brooklyn. As I was looking through the collection to identify the most interesting spellings, I was surprised by the variations in nomenclature for our area. But I think I speak for most Brooklynites when I say that whether it's the Dutch "Breuckelen" or the anglicized "Brookland," we just call it home.…
Map of the Month - May 2011
This month's featured map dates from 1896 and shows the Bay Ridge Channel, Red Hook Channel, Buttermilk Channel, Gowanus Canal, and Gowanus Creek Channel. Created to accompany the annual report of H.M. Adams of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the map documents the Corps' planned improvements to the area. Enjoy!
House Hunting, 1800s Style
When I first moved to NYC, I was fascinated by the real estate ads posted in shop windows. Whenever I passed by one, I was compelled to stop and gawk at where I could be living. Of course, I knew I couldn't afford a $2 million townhouse in Park Slope, but it was nice to dream of having 3 bedrooms and room for a dog! As I've discovered from working with the map collection at BHS, posting real estate advertisements around the city is not a new phenomenon. Our collection has a substantial amount of 19th century auction maps that show property for sale throughout Brooklyn. These maps demonstrate…
Map of the Month - April 2011
This month marks the Civil War Sesquicentennial. In honor of this event, I would like to showcase one of our Civil War maps. Published in 1961 for the Centennial Celebrations, it shows major troop movements, battle sites, and portraits of important figures. It also features historical commentary and illustrations of flags, artillery, and uniforms. If you’d like to view more Civil War-related items, you can search the BHS collections or preview the National Archives’ upcoming exhibit Discovering the Civil War.…
Map of the Month - March 2011
I'm very excited to introduce "Map of the Month," a new feature on the BHS Blog. Every month, we will showcase a different map from our collection, from subway maps of the 1940s to property maps of the 1820s. Look for our featured maps on the 1st Monday of every month. For March, I'm starting with a personal favorite. This map dates from approximately 1684 and shows New Netherland and New England. It is attributed to Nicholas Visscher and is lavishly illustrated, containing drawings of wildlife and Native American villages, as well as a view of New Amsterdam. Enjoy!…
More than just a pretty map
Recently, I was speaking to a woman about what I do. After I told her that I work with maps, she responded, I love maps! They're so beautiful. I'd love to get a framed one for my living room. To me, this comment highlights a shift in the way that we view maps. Now that we live in the era of GPS and Google Maps, the printed map has become more valued for its aesthetics than its functional capabilities. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it made me want to highlight some of the maps in our collection that I think are interesting because of the data that they impart, as opposed to the way…
Tourist maps
First off, let me admit that I am new to New York. I've been in the city for almost a year, and while I've learned to navigate the streets pretty well, sometimes I still turn a corner and find myself hopelessly lost. So I am very sympathetic to all the tourists wandering around BHS and Brooklyn Heights, struggling to find their way. Unfortunately for tourists, Brooklyn Heights does not have a great deal of signage to help them find the neighborhood's landmarks, or even the way to the Promenade or the Brooklyn Bridge. In response to this, a professor from Parsons the New School of Design gave…