Ruby’s Bar
Who’s your Valentine?
Self Portrait
Where is our snow?
Volunteerism
Skiing in Prospect Park
Fulton Ferry Landing
Happy Chanukkah Hanukkah Channuka?
Repeal Day Celebrations
A Sandy Plumb
Though I have lived in New York City for 12 years, it took me a while to realize that this city is not exclusively a dominant fortress of pavement and hi-rise buildings. I knew as most others do about Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Staten Island – the biggies – and rightfully so. But there are little swathes of land that a lot of people speed by on the way to JFK that have a long and often lovely history that get lost. Plumb Island, now known as Plumb Beach, is one such place.This past summer, I took a staycation in Brooklyn that included a bike ride to the beaches of Fort Tilden every other…
Sunset Park Pays it Forward
While Hurricane Sandy’s gale forces downed trees and wreaked havoc on power and internet lines, the neighborhood did not see the extensive water damage that Red Hook, DUMBO, and the Rockaways did.
Red Hook beating Sandy back
Well, Red Hook was slammed by Hurricane Sandy. There are several photographs on our Storify page documenting the high water line that submerged many businesses and homes along the waterfront.
Carroll Park after Hurricane Sandy
Our public historian, Julie Golia, tweeted a downed tree just outside of Carroll Park caused by Hurricane Sandy.
It’s the Great Pumpkin!
One of the many photography studios in Brooklyn
Furman Street
Bicycling in Brooklyn
As you may know, it's bike month in the U.S. and Brooklyn cyclists and our streets tend to be big participants. Once again, I'd like to highlight more of the photographs from our historic collection that depict the bikes of our past. As you'll see, not much has changed. People still take their bikes to picnic in Prospect Park, lounge by the beach, and trek over our many bridges. Happy Bike Month everyone -- be sure to check out the many activities going on: http://bikemonthnyc.org/events
The Reverend Obadiah Holmes Clock at the Brooklyn Historical Society
I received an email some three years ago about a clock that was rumored to be standing in the main floor of the library at the Brooklyn Historical Society. The person asking happened to be a descendent of the original owner of this clock (which was given to the Long Island Historical Society (now known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) in May of 1869. I looked downstairs and saw no clock and could not recall ever having seen a clock (except for the plastic one on the ref desk) in my tenure at BHS. After a bit more head scratching, card catalog searching, and widespread questioning I located…
The Blizzard of 1888
Interested in seeing more photos from BHS' collection? Visit our online image gallery. Use this database to search for individual photographs. Currently a small number of our images are available online, but we regularly add new photographs. You can also visit BHS' Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1-5pm to search through our entire collection of images.
Repeal Day is this Sunday!
For those of you who are unaware, let me tell you that Sunday is an important date in United States history. Sunday is Repeal Day. 77 years ago on December 7, 1933 the 21st Amendment reversed the 18th Amendment enforced by the Volstead Act and referred to as the Noble Experiment, the Great Illusion, and possibly some other names I should not list here. The 21st Amendment ended 13 years of illegal activity related to the sale, distribution, and public consumption of alcohol. If the culture of New York City was anything like it is today, how could our pickled residents of yore have…