Blog Posts tagged as: POTW

Rectangular metal tag that reads "Zimets Bed Spring Corp." in red, dark blue and cream.

POTW: Spring Time

Michelle

[Sign for Zimets Bed Spring Corp.] 1934-1936, metal and paint. Artifact collection, M1990.42.1. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
While searching for a seasonal image to share for our Photo of the Week, I came up with a different kind of “spring” entirely. This 6-inch metal sign from Zimets Bed Spring Corp. was likely originally attached to a bedspring made by this Brooklyn manufacturer.  Though the Center for Brooklyn History doesn’t hold any records from the business itself, we can learn more about Zimets…

Printed and stylized image of a steamship in sepia ink with caption Ex-Libris and signature Cassel

POTW: Design Talent Born in Brooklyn

Dee

Dabiel Cassel, Ex-Libris, color print; inside cover, Lincoln Landmark yearbook, Abraham Lincoln High School, 1938; Brooklyn yearbook collection, BCMS.0031, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Dedicated readers of this blog will know that I have a soft spot for our school history holdings. Recently, while searching our yearbooks from Abraham Lincoln High School (located on the border of Coney Island and Gravesend), I came across several charming ex libris illustrations inside their front covers. One…

Row of fire escapes on warehouse wall with complex shadows, and group of children playing on rooftop nearby.

POTW: Angular Beauty in Brooklyn Heights

Deborah

[National Cold Storage Co.], 1955,   WORK_0151, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
I was drawn to today’s photo of the week for purely aesthetic reasons. The composition, with its strong angles and dynamic perspective, seems inspired by a Constructivist aesthetic. There is also some human interest in the details as we discover a group of children playing on a rooftop playground - a reminder that this quiet scene happens in a dense urban setting. …

Black and white photograph of a woman attaching a gauze face masks onto two young boys sitting on a counter while a man ties a similar mask on a woman standing next to them.

POTW: Smog Safety

Michelle

Brooklyn Eagle, Boro bazar battles smog, 1953, gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, NEIG_2080. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
From November 18th to the 23rd, 1953, a stagnant air mass trapped high levels of air pollution over New York City. The city’s Department of Air Pollution Control (which had opened earlier that year) was flooded with calls from residents reporting coughing and eye irritation. A 1962 analysis of mortality data found excess deaths between 18-26 persons a day during…

POTW: Viele's Original Prospect Park

Liza

Plan for the improvement of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 1861, cartographic print, B PP-1861.Fl c.2; Map Collections, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
 In 1859 the legislation was passed to establish a sprawling public park in Brooklyn. In 1861, Egbert Viele published the first accepted plans for the park, which are captured in this Photo of the Week. The plans resemble the Prospect Park we know today, but with some very noticeable differences.  Today’s park is encompassed by Grand Army Plaza in…

black and white photo of a young woman standing in front of a chain link fence. A grassy area, trees and some cars are in the background. The young woman is smiling, striking a pose with one hand on her hip and the other behind her head.

POTW: The talkative Annie Brown

Alice

The talkative Annie Brown., 1942, FITZ_0137; Laura Fitzpatrick photograph collection; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's Photo of the Week is a photograph taken by Laura Fitzpatrick of "the talkative Annie Brown" in 1942. Fitzpatrick took photographs of friends and family in Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant with her Agfa Billy camera in the late 1930s and 1940s, and these images make up the Laura Fitzpatrick photograph collection. The askew angle of the shot and Annie's jaunty pose show a playful…

Black and white photograph of woman at desk with papers and ink wells in front of her and gaze direct to camera

POTW: A Steady Gaze

Dee

[Prospect Branch librarian], black and white photographic print, circa 1910s, BPL_1134; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week is an arresting portrait of a librarian at BPL's Prospect branch, now known as the Park Slope Library. According to the branch page on our website, "Park Slope Library began life as a small collection of books on natural history in Prospect Park's Litchfield Mansion. A storefront library soon opened on Ninth Street until the beautiful Andrew Carnegie-…

POTW: Street Scenes with John D. Morrell

Sarah

[South side of Kings Highway between E. 16th Street & E. 17th Street. Levine's Clothing, 1612 Kings Highway Adler's Ladies Specialty Shop -1610 Kings Highway], 1961, V1974.9.353, John D. Morrell photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
The John D. Morrell photographs collection includes over 2,000 black and white and color negatives and prints, donated by Long Island Historical Society (now CBH) assistant librarian John D. Morrell. Images include street scenes from almost…

Black and white photograph of five children in winter clothes playing and sliding in slushy snow in a park pavilion.

POTW: Sliding in Fort Greene

Michelle

George Bradford Brainerd, [Five children playing under the roof of a pavilion in the winter], [187?], gelatin silver print. George Bradford Brainerd photograph collection, BRAI_0406. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
No skates? No problem! Taken by amateur photographer George Bradford Brainerd (1845–1887) in the 1870s, this photograph shows several children sliding around on the slushy snow beneath a pavilion in what is today called Fort Greene Park. The park would have been known as Washington Park at the time…

Family around a dinner table raising a glass for a toast.

POTW: New Beginnings

Deborah

New Year's Day dinner toast, 6th Avenue. RCPO_0005. 1977. Larry Racioppo photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Bidding a firm farewell to 2024, we offer this Photo of the Week featuring the Racioppo family gathered for a celebratory meal, as they raise a glass to that coming year, 1977. May this New Year be a happy one for you and yours.More of Racioppo's photographs of his native Brooklyn - its people, streets and celebrations - are hosted on our digital collections page, and a…

Front cover, spine, and back cover of an arsenic green book cover

POTW: Poison Books

Liza

Front cover, spine, back cover of First Impressions of the New World of Two Travelers from the Old, in the Autumn of 1858.
Many of the endsheets and title pages of the Center for Brooklyn History’s books are inscribed with holiday greetings, indicating that they were once given as gifts during the winter season. No harm ever came from gifting a book, right? Well, that depends on whether or not the book is bound in highly poisonous arsenical green pigment. In this Photo of the Week, we take a look at one such poisonous book in the…

POTW: A sidewalk in Bensonhurst

Alice

A Syrian Jewish family. Two girls playing in the streets of Bensonhurst., 1951, BJHP_0027; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's Photo of the Week takes us to a sidewalk in Bensonhurst where Sally and her friend play in front of a laundromat in 1951. From the Biographical Note in the catalog record: The family of Isaac and his younger sister Sally is from Aleppo, Syria. Their father, Jacob, arrived in the United States in 1914, and first lived in the Bronx. He…

Color postcard image of a castle-like tower with ivy growing on it

POTW: A Castle in Brooklyn

Dee

Bliss Castle, color postcard, circa 1910s, POST_0180; Brooklyn postcards collection, BCMS.0060, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Did you know there was once a "castle" in Bay Ridge? Today's Photo of the Week is a color postcard depicting the observatory and tower at the Eliphalet Williams Bliss estate, which eventually became Owl's Head Park. Bliss had purchased the estate from famed NY state senator Henry Cruse Murphy, under whose ownership the property "was the Mecca of prominent politicians, men…

Antique door plate with doorknob with LIHS monogram. Doorplate has details of swirls, flowers, and oil lamp, and an owl

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Who Goes There?

Katherine

[Antique LIHS doorplate and knob], 2000. Renovation photographs, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC. 288. Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
There are so many details in the décor and architecture throughout 128 Pierrepont Street. Some of the more noticeable ones immediately pop out to visitors, like the stained glass laylight and windows or the busts on the façade. But some of the intricate details are so small that you would easily miss them if you didn’t know where to look. A Center for…

Black and white photograph of buildings on St. John's Place, one with a campaign sign for Kings County District Attorney William O'Dwyer in the 1945 mayoral race.

POTW: O'Dwyer for Mayor

Sarah

[1831 St. John's Place], 1945, PORT_0680; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week looks at 1831 St. John's Place, where the owners were supporting Kings County District Attorney William O'Dwyer in the 1945 mayoral race. O'Dwyer was elected the 100th mayor of New York City later that year, and after two terms was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico by President Truman. Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Into the Othmer

Katherine

[Othmer Library, Long Island Historical Society], circa 1938. Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031.65. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Welcome to the Othmer Library!  The room you see pictured here is today known as the Othmer Library. It is original to the building when it was constructed for the Long Island Historical Society from 1878-81. The library was only open to members, where they could casually read and browse the stacks. Once the lecture hall was converted into a…

Black and white photograph of a movie theater marquee over a sidewalk with three people walking further down the block.

POTW: Coal on the Marquee

Michelle

[Albemarle Theatre], [1940?], gelatin silver print, THEA_0003; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Opening to the public in 1921, the Albemarle Theatre at 973 Flatbush Avenue was designed to feature both "photo-plays" and vaudeville acts. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle predicted the theater's nearly 3,000-person capacity and reasonable ticket prices would "...prove magnets for the lovers of nitra attractions", referring to nitrate film base.The Eagle would be proved correct: the…

POTW: Weird Scenes along the Beach

Liza

Storm of October 11, 1896, 1896, scrapbook, V1974.022.4.164; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
In this Photo of the Week, we remember the storm that hit the south Brooklyn coast on October 11, 1896. To quote the Brooklyn Eagle, it was “a Remarkable Atmospheric Disturbance” that buried the old Brighton Beach Race Course under tons of sand, cut new channels to Sheepshead Bay, and left “Wierd [sic] Scenes Along the Beach.”One of the remarkable scenes along…

Bluescale portrait photo of Shirley Chisholm at 39 with caption Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Key Woman of the Year

POTW: Early Shirley

Dee

Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Key Woman of the Year. Detail from Key Women, Inc. Brooklyn Branch Annual Reception program, September 15, 1963. Irwin Lutzky collection, 1987.006, Box 1, Folder 4; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
In exactly two months, on November 30th, it will be the 100th birthday of Brooklyn's own Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant. Chisholm was also the first Black candidate for a major-party…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors – Welcome to the Brooklyn Historical Society!

Katherine

[Denise Joseph (left) and Robert Kolinski (right) at the welcome desk], 1990, arc.202_box16_065. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC 202. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
This week’s photo of the week shows Denise Joseph and Robert Kolinski greeting visitors to the Brooklyn Historical Society. I recently came across an interview, which features this photo, in the January-March 1990 issue of the Brooklyn Historical Society’s newsletter. In the interview, Kolinski, the first Visitor Services…

Black and white photo showing bright overhead sun on border of the Flatbush Library garden against backdrop of adjacent buildings, the central one with an ivy-covered, sloping roof.

POTW: A Garden Grows Again in Flatbush

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

[Garden at Flatbush Branch Library], Summer 1932, BPL_0721; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 Today's photo of the week shows the garden of Brooklyn Public Library's Flatbush branch in the summer of 1932. You can see other views of the garden from the same day here.Maura Johnson, a librarian at the Flatbush branch, revived this garden in recent years in collaboration with colleagues and the New York Restoration Project. The library holds regular Accessible Gardening Hours and Open Garden Hours, which you…

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…

white man leaning over a table where two white women are sitting; they are all reading a piece of paper

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: To the Library!

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The academic year is approaching (or, for some of you, has already begun). Which means it’s time to hit the books and start researching! This picture shows staff members of the Brooklyn Historical Society doing some research, although on what we cannot say. It could range from putting together a program to creating a new exhibit to writing an article. Our staff members at…

POTW: Fort Hamilton Cannon

Sarah

[Boys at Fort Hamilton cannon], circa 1910, V1981.284.55; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Today’s Photo of the Week shows a group of youngsters posing on the Fort Hamilton cannon, a 116,000-pound Rodman gun at John Paul Jones Park. The cannon was made during the Civil War, but after several failed tests at Fort Hamilton it was deemed unsuitable for combat. After a brief stay in Pennsylvania, it was returned to Brooklyn in 1900 and installed in the park…

Multiple exposure color photograph of neon and electric signs at night

POTW: Seeing Double

Michelle

Otto Dreschmeyer, [Night, Coney Island], August 10, 1965, color slide, V1988.12.117. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Have you visited Coney Island this summer? This Photo of the Week is a multiple exposure—created when several exposures are overlaid to create a single image—of amusements along Surf Avenue. Despite the layering of the photograph, many of the brightly lit signs are still legible including Faber's Fascination, the Cavalcade Skooter ride, the Tornado, Nathan's Hot Dogs, and a theater marquee for…

POTW: National Oyster Day

Liza

[Collection of oysters attached to a pipe, false teeth, golf ball, and rubber ferrule, belonging to Frank Seerveld of Great South Bay, Long Island], 1938, Brooklyn Daily Eagle collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This Photo of the Week honors National Oyster Day, August 5, with a slew of images, advertisements, a recipe, and a dispute that document bits of the Brooklyn oyster's story. Many of us have heard the legends of oysters the size of dinner plates (how does one actually go about eating that?), but…

black and white photo of a boardwalk. A man leans against a wall in the foreground with his bike in front of him. A wooden roller coaster if in the background with the curve closest to the camera. A closed food shop is also in the foreground.

POTW: The Thunderbolt

Alice

[Bike on Coney Island boardwalk], 1984, V1992.48.21; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 This week's Photo of the Week features an Anders Goldfarb photograph of the Coney Island boardwalk in 1984. A man with his bike rests in the sun against a wall in the foreground. In the background is not the Cyclone, but the original Thunderbolt, a wooden roller coaster that operated from 1925 to 1982. The Thunderbolt soon became a ruin and the structure was demolished in 2000…

Black and white photographic print of an elaborate church building on a street corner

POTW: Turrets Long Gone

Dee

Sand Street Memorial Church, Henry and Clark Sts. Cradle of Brooklyn Methodism, circa 1900; black and white photographic print, CHUR_507; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, BCMS.0002, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  Today's Photo of the Week spotlights a long-gone church building that once stood at Clark and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights. Despite having grown up in this neighborhood and walked by this corner countless times, I had no idea that what is currently a boxy apartment building with the…

POTW: Moonlight

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

Moonlight, Nelson, Walter H., circa 1887, V1972.1.1218. Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Tonight's Photo of the Week is a cool evening on the water in 1887 by Walter H. Nelson from our Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection. In this scan the silvery photographic substrate slightly obscures the image. In person, the photograph seems touched with moonlight. Nelson was an amateur photographer about whom little has been written. Aside from…

woman sitting at computer has her hands up on her head

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Everybody Has Those Days

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.Have you ever felt like this at work? The real question is, what exactly is the person in the photograph feeling and expressing? Why was this photograph taken? To me, this photograph evokes extreme frustration, possibly having to do with their work or with their computer. But to different people, the picture could evoke different emotions, such as exhaustion or perhaps even pain from a headache. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more…

Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn waterfront facing the East River with dozens of train cars and empty rail tracks

POTW: New York's Floating Cars

Michelle

[Freight Trains at the New York Dock Company Docks, Red Hook, Brooklyn], circa 1920, V1973.5.878. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Before trucks became common, trains carried most American freight over land. In the same era, New York Harbor became the busiest port in the United States — if not one of the busiest in the world. Brooklyn’s (and all of Long Island’s) factories, refineries, and warehouses were only connected via freight rail to…

POTW: A Mournful Ouroboros

Liza

Bracelet, [1875-1900], M1990.53.6. Fred Hoyt family research collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 This black beaded bracelet is shaped like a coiled snake swallowing its own tail, which is an image known as an ouroboros. The ouroboros symbol can have many meanings, but this one, created during the late 19th century, represents the eternal cycle of life and death. The bracelet’s color, materials, and symbolism identify it as an article of mourning jewelry. Victorian mourning culture was…

Black and white photograph of a cat sitting on a wooden fence

POTW from the Vault: Cat named “Lazybones”

Alice

This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on January 9, 2019 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.

Cat named “Lazybones,” circa 1910, V1981.15.182; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The photo of the week depicts a cat named “Lazybones,”…

Child wearing headphones while holding a green teddy bear.

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Here’s to Baseball!

Nicole

[Child wearing headphones], October 1995. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers' victory over the Yankees in the 1955 World Series, the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) curated PLAY BALL! – an exhibit that told the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. Today’s Photo of the Week captures a moment from the exhibition's opening day festivities, where attendees were invited to participate…

Black and white photographic postcard depicting a large house on a hill in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

POTW: The House on the Hill

Dee

The Albertype Co., Northwest Corner Ridge Boulevard and 85th Street, circa 1940; black and white photographic postcard, V1973.4.547; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week showcases a beautiful home in Bay Ridge at 8311 Ridge Boulevard. This stunning mansion at the top of a hill is still standing today, though it is located at the corner of 84th Street and Ridge Boulevard, not 85th Street as this postcard states. The house…

Black and white photograph of a metal cylinder covered in floral patterns being worked by a pair of hands with a small hammer

POTW: Hello, Doily!

Michelle

Jules Geller, Royal Lace Paper Works, 1954, gelatin silver print, WORK_0299. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Mass-produced items can still require the human touch. This Photo of the Week depicts an employee of the Royal Lace Paper Works at 846 Lorimer Street hand-engraving a metal die with intricate floral patterns. Though the dies themselves were manufacturing tools, the skill needed to create them was similar to that needed to engrave fine silver. Each die would…

woman with short hair and a plaid shirt opening drawer of a card catalog

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Enthusiastic Catalogers Department

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1994. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.Did your favorite singer release an album recently and use an image of a card catalog to promote said album? Are you not entirely sure what a card catalog actually is? Not to worry, we are here to explain!  Let’s first look at the word catalog: for the purpose of libraries at its most basic level, it is an organized list of books held by a specific library. Prior to cards, library catalogs were recorded in books. But as…

POTW: A Tree Grows on Garfield Place

Sarah

[Garfield Place trees], circa 1916; Raymond V. Ingersoll collection (BCMS.0061), Box 13. Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
Walking around Park Slope is especially lovely in the Spring as the trees bloom to create a canopy over the sidewalks. One of the neighborhood's most beautiful streets, Garfield Place, has Raymond V. Ingersoll to thank. Ingersoll served as Brooklyn Parks Commissioner from 1914 to 1917, making tree planting around the borough a top priority for his administration. Garfield Place…

POTW: A Peek Inside Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital

Liza

Bklyn Eye & Ear Hospital, [189-?], photographic print, V1972.1.804; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
Beware letting a photographer document your medical procedures lest it end up in a future form of communication we have yet to imagine. This Photo of the Week, taken around 1890, is one of five scenes captured inside the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital around 1890, possibly for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Here a doctor administers anesthesia to a…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Voices of Brooklyn

Nicole

[Voices of Brooklyn performance], 1998. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 On January 1, 1898, the city of Brooklyn officially became a borough and joined Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx to form New York City. To mark the centennial of this event, the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) created an original theatrical production titled Voices of Brooklyn. Voices of Brooklyn is a 40-minute dramatic performance that tells the…

POTW: Cutting up carpenters

Alice

Carpenters, 1952, Gelatin silver print, SWEL_0721; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Who knew shopwork classes could be so fun! This week's Photo of the Week depicts (from left to right) 6-year-olds Richard Steiner, Augustus Jackson, and Nicholas Parese working on some carpentry projects in May 1952. This class was hosted by Willoughby House, a settlement house founded in 1901, which provided art, drama, and athletic workshops for Brooklyn kids and young people in…

POTW: Rain, rain, go away

Dee

Ralph Irving Lloyd, A Rainy Day, circa 1910; black and white photograph, V1981.15.176; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.015, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
I don't know about you but I'm pretty sick of rain - and we haven't even reached the storied April showers yet. Regardless, I take solace in the fact that rain-flooded streets are nothing new in Brooklyn, as this circa 1910 lantern slide by Ralph Irving Lloyd proves. Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd (1875-1969) was a Brooklyn…

POTW: Ramadan

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

Young girl at evening prayers with her father during Ramadan, 2010, GERH_0001; Robert E. Gerhardt, Jr. photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.This Sunday, March 10 marks the new moon and the start of Ramadan. In this photo from the Robert E. Gerhardt, Jr. photograph collection, a young girl stares intently into the camera. She and her father are praying at the Muslim American Society in Bath Beach, 1933 Bath Avenue, in 2010. Robert Gerhardt Began photographing Muslims in Brooklyn in 2010 during Ramadan, leading him to photograph mosques and Muslims all…

Sepia toned photograph of two men on a tandem bicycle

POTW: Biking with a Friend

Sarah

 [Tandem bicycle on the beach at Coney Island], 1889, V1972.1.808; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
What's better than riding a bike on the beach? Riding a bike on the beach with a friend. Today's Photo of the Week looks at the tandem bicycle, an intimate vehicle that requires teamwork. Operating a tandem bike might be easy, but finding a tandem partner is tricky. You need someone sporty, unafraid of leg cramps, with the…

Black and white photograph of a Black man with a Black child on his shoulders during a protest

POTW: Happy Black History Month

Allyson

Anthony Geathers, Man carrying small boy on his shoulders at demonstration at Borough Hall, 2020, GEAT_0017; Anthony Geathers photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Happy Black History Month! Today's Photo of the Week is from the Anthony Geathers photograph collection, which consists of about 66 images taken in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout Brooklyn. This image depicts a young boy on a man's shoulder as they listen to people speaking at a…

Black and white photograph of Fort Greene Park in the snow

POTW: Midwinter Remembrance

Liza

[Fort Greene Park], 1926, gelatin silver print, PARK_0111; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
As we enter midwinter, take in this snowy Photo of the Week of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park from 1926. This monument was created by Stanford White and Adolph Alexander Weinman in 1908. It memorializes the roughly 11,500 captives who died aboard British prison ships in Brooklyn’s Wallabout Bay during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The…

POTW: Great big beautiful dolls

Alice

Great big beautiful dolls, 1951, Gelatin silver print, SCHL_1325; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In August of 1951, Park Slope kids competed in P.S. 77's "beautiful doll" contest. This week's Photo of the Week shows the winners standing proudly with their entries in the schoolyard (from left to right): Judith Flynn (third place), Barbara Joyce Wendel, Roberta Hope Wendel (the Wendel's got the grand prize), and Camille Stafanello (first place). Second place winner Arlene Kennedy did not…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Adopt-A-Block

Nicole

[Daphney Desir (left) and Uchenna Agbim (right) rehousing land conveyances], ca. 1989. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the 1990s, the librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) dedicated significant efforts to implementing measures aimed at preserving and enhancing access to the Society’s collections. Several of these initiatives took the form of cataloging projects, many of which spanned multiple years and were funded by state and government agencies. By the…

Color photograph of Fulton Street showing the Majestic Theater and other businesses under blue skies

POTW: From the Vault: Majestic Theater

Dee Bowers

This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on January 27, 2016 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.

[View of Fulton Street.], 1959, V1974.9.13; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The photo of the week depicts a view of Fulton Street, including…

POTW: Love of Line, of Light and Shadow: The Brooklyn Bridge

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

Love of Line, of Light and Shadow: The Brooklyn Bridge, October 24, 1982, V1973.4.86; Postcard Collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Clarinetist F. Gerard Errante commissioned a clarinet score and video from Reynold Weidenaar as a "centennial tribute to the Brooklyn Bridge" in 1982. Musical America described Love of Line, of Light and Shadow: The Brooklyn Bridge as "a strangely moving, evocative work ... visually spectacular ... with an equally fascinating soundtrack of traffic resonances and…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Say Cheese!

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff Party, circa 1990. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Is it even a holiday if you didn't all get together for a big, awkward group photo? While we don’t have all the details behind this particular group photo of a staff party for the Brooklyn Historical Society, we know that director, David Kahn, is pictured on the far right with fellow staff members around 1990. And we can definitely relate to everyone being told to “squeeze together!” or the classic, “say…

POTW: From the Vault: Real Brooklyn, a day in our lives photographs now available at BHS

Sarah

This From the Vault post was originally written by John Zarrillo and published on March 10, 2016 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.

Chosen for Mom, by Doris Adler, 2003; Real Brooklyn, a day in our lives photographs, 2007.041, Box 1; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This post was authored by BHS Library and Archives processing intern…

POTW: World Wildlife Day & the Pigeon

Liza

Man with pigeons, 1990, gelatin silver print, COHEN_0166; George Cohen photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
December 4th marks World Wildlife Day, which the United Nations describes as “an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people.” When thinking of Brooklyn wildlife, the first that comes to mind might be the pigeon. This bird certainly does not require conservation efforts today, and…

POTW: All this for the Dodgers!

Alice

Take me in to the ball game, 1952, Gelatin silver print, DODG_0184; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Anyone else missing baseball season? This week's Photo of the Week takes us to Ebbets Field where we see a crowd of fans who were unable to get into the final game of the Yankees-Dodgers 1952 World Series. Over 33,000 people attended the game, so many people were turned away at the gates. The boy in the middle appears to be pleading with the photographer to let him in, others look like they would squeeze…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: What Could Have Been

Katherine

Plan of Elevation on Clinton St for Long Island Historical Society Building competition, circa 1878. 128 Pierrepont Street building architectural drawings, M1980.8.7. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Looking up at the looming and detailed façade of 128 Pierrepont, it’s difficult to imagine anything else in its place. The classic Queen Anne style seems to fit right in with the surrounding brownstones, completing the historic feel of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. But in 1868, when the former Long Island Historical Society (LIHS)…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Stained Glass Mystery

Nicole

[Stained glass lunette in the Othmer Library], circa 1990s. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
If you've visited the Othmer Library, you might have noticed the large stained glass lunettes (arched windows) on the gallery level. These are original to the space, but did you know there used to be more stained glass features throughout the building? Similar lunettes, faintly visible in the photo below, once adorned the Great Hall. More obscure is the stained glass screen at the rear…

POTW: May the Library Be With You

Dee Bowers

[Child in Luke Skywalker Halloween costume], 1977; Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031, V1974.31.127; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The year is 1977. You're obsessed with the best movie you've ever seen in your life, Star Wars. Of course you want to dress as the movie's hero, Luke Skywalker, for Halloween. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of Star Wars costumes everywhere, as retailers scrambled to catch up with the movie's unforeseen popularity. So you pull out your galoshes and utility belt to get that perfect…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Room of (Our) Own

Katherine

Long Island Historical Society, the Directors' Room, 1938. Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  If you were to go up to the third floor of 128 Pierrepont and walk to the doors that read “Gina Ingoglia Weiner Gallery” and peer through the windows, you would see a room that currently holds a portion of the Center for Brooklyn History’s collections in neat rows of archival boxes. But this room was not always utilized for storage; prior to a storage room, it was used as an exhibit…

POTW: The Blessing of Brooke the Office Cat

Alice

[Photograph of Joseph R. Lentol at St. Cecilia Catholic Church], circa 2010, Joseph R. Lentol papers, CBHM.0004, Box 4, Folder 19; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's Photo of the Week takes us to St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church in Greenpoint where Brooke the cat is being blessed by a priest during a Blessing of the Animals event circa 2010. The Blessing of the Animals is observed in the Catholic Church in conjunction with the annual Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th. The man holding Brooke, Joseph R. Lentol…

POTW: From the Vault: Transformation and Discovery

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

Cortelyou Road and Flatbush Avenue, 1916, v1973.2.106; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection ARC.201; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  This From the Vault post was originally written by Julie May (who loves the fall) and published on October 1, 2014 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. As we should expect of our…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Get Out Your Camera!

Nicole

Ruth Johnson, [Long Island Roadside Eating Stand], 1938. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Clams, anyone? In celebration of the 75th anniversary of its founding, the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) sponsored a photo contest geared toward Long Island’s students. Dozens of private and public high schools from all four counties in Long Island (Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk) were invited to participate. LIHS specifically requested student involvement because the board…

POTW: Park Slope's Colorful Past

Dee Bowers

Carl Steinbuch, [119-125 Park Place], circa April 1973, color slide, V1982.7.11. Carl Steinbuch slide collection, V1982.007; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week shows one block of Park Place looking noticeably different than it does today. Several of the classic nineteenth century brownstone rowhouses on this block are painted not-so-classic colors, with blue, yellow, and mint green all lining up next to the traditional reddish brown of the leftmost house. A bright red convertible in the foregorund brings another…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Save the Clock Tower!

Katherine

Systems Upgrade and History Discovery Center, Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street. Jan Hird Pokorny, Architects and Planners, circa 1996. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
What time is it? Unfortunately, if you were to take a look at the clock tower at the top of 128 Pierrepont, you would not get a reliable answer. Part of the original design by George B. Post, the clock tower has been a part of the building since its construction between the years of 1878 and 1881.…

POTW: Telephone Booth: From the Vaults

Allyson

 

[Yard worker in a telephone booth], circa 1965, v1988.37.36, Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard Collection, v1988.37; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on October 4, 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 not-so-distant past, telephone booths could be seen on…

POTW: Cumberland Street Hospital's magnet

Alice

Magnet, 1924, Gelatin silver print, HOSP_0206; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, HOSP_0206, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Is this modern art or Cumberland Street Hopital's 500-pound, $280 electric magnet? This Photo of the Week, originally published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in April 1924, shows a demonstration of the magnet's considerable power: "when plugged into an ordinary electric socket it can lift a steel door key from a hand 12 inches below." While this is an impressive display, the magnet was actually meant…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Peek Inside the Vault

Nicole

[Vault Door Closed, Historic Structure Report], 1993. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week’s photo of the week takes us on a journey into the depths of the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) building. In the cellar, nestled opposite the crawl space and underneath the stairs, is where one would find the LIHS vault. The safe door, pictured here, was installed after the introduction of the elevator in 1937. The room was lit by a single lighting fixture in the center of…

POTW: Remembering Summer 2020

Dee Bowers

Ron Foster, [Group of people holding their fists up at a demonstration.], July 4 2020, color digital photograph, BRCP_0009. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Three years ago this summer, the streets of Brooklyn, like the streets of cities all across the country, erupted in Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murder of George Floyd along with so many others at the hands of the police. As in years past, the area around Brooklyn's Central library became a gathering point for protesters. Then newly part of the…

POTW: Brooklyn Fire Headquarters

Alice

Jay St., Brooklyn, N. of Willoughby St., circa 1950; Stereograph, v1974.2.16; Alfred C. Loonam stereoscopic views, v1974.002, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This From the Vault post was originally written by Dan Brenner and published on June 5, 2019 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 1892, the Brooklyn Fire Department opened its headquarters at 365…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Humble Beginnings at the Hamilton

Katherine

[Interior of Hamilton Building, Long Island Historial Society, Court and Joralemon Streets], circa 1872, V1974.031.70. Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
When the Long Island Historical Society was founded in 1863, its founding members had grand ideas to house a library and host lectures but did not yet have their own building. The society’s permanent residence did not begin construction until 1878, eventually being completed in 1881.   So where was the Long…

POTW: Brooklyn Army Terminal

Sarah

[Brooklyn Army Terminal], 1945, NEIG_2376; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today’s Photo of the Week shows the interior of the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), a sprawling complex spanning 95 acres on the Sunset Park waterfront. Designed by Cass Gilbert and completed in 1919, it was the largest military supply base in the United States. In this photo, we can see supply trains and balconies, which allowed cranes to access cargo from any floor. BAT also served as headquarters for the New York Port…

POTW: When Disco Was King

Allyson

Patrick D. Pagnano photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
For this week's Photo of the Week we are rolling back the clock to 1980 and we're strapping on our skates for a cruise around the dance floor of the Empire Roller Disco on Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights. The indoor rink could accommodate 2,500 skaters and was reportedly so crowded that "if you fell, you didn't fall."  In February of 1980 Patrick D. Pagnano, the street photographer, was hired by Forbes Magazine to capture that moment.  “It…

POTW: A Horse-Drawn Toilet

Liza

[Six horses pulling a Ronalds & Johnson Co. bathroom display], circa 1905, photographic print, ARC_202_Box_20_Folder_3_001_r. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  This Photo of the Week* highlights what at first seems to be a perfectly ordinary horse-drawn carriage. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the team of six is not drawing a carriage, but rather a toilet.
Contrasted detail of ARC_202_Box_20_Folder_3_001_r.
Ronalds…

POTW: Penny-farthing

Alice

[Boy with bicycle], 1886, V1974.7.49; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on June 14, 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. The photo of the week depicts Eddie Tepper posing with a penny-farthing bicycle in 1886. This is…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Trails and Trials of Miss Edna Huntington

Nicole

[Edna Huntington in a canoe], 1935. Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I recently finished processing the library correspondence sub-series of the Brooklyn Historical Society’s (BHS) Institutional archive, which contains almost all the mail library staff received from 1863 to the mid-1990s. There are reference questions, membership acceptances and resignations, correspondence to and from other institutions, RSVPs, and much more. Looking at these records provides insight into the activities…

POTW: Olives on the Avenue

Dee Bowers

Jim Kalett, [Interior of Sahadi Importing Company, Brooklyn, N.Y], c. 1983, black and white photograph, V1992.35.5. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week takes us to a Brooklyn institution, Sahadi's on Atlantic Avenue. This photograph of bins of olives and grains inside the store taken by Jim Kalett circa 1983 is similar to one published in Brooklyn...and How It Got That Way by David McCullough, for which Kalett was the photographer. The book notes that the western end of Atlantic Avenue became "…

POTW: Happy May Day from this Brighton Beach Fishmonger

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

Worker cutting fish, 1987, COHEN_0092; George Cohen photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  George Cohen, a Bronx-born photographer, donated a selection of his photographs of 1980s Brighton Beach to the Brooklyn Public Library in 2013. On this May Day qua International Workers' Day, I found a worker cutting a fish for sale in Brighton Beach in 1987. This fishmonger reminded me of my father, who worked as a fish cutter in Ohio in the 1980s. He made frequent trips to New York where he…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Underneath the Floorboards

Katherine

[Basement View from the Great Hall during Renovation], circa 2000. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
It’s not every day you get the chance to see what lies underneath the floors of an old building. And while we don’t have any beating hearts underneath our floorboards, this photograph offers us a rare glimpse of the foundation of 128 Pierrepont Street.   As was mentioned in our first Opening the Pocket Doors post written by my colleague, Nicole Font, our building at 128…

POTW: The Shot Heard Round the World

Allyson

 

Ralph Branca, 1952, DODG_0006; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To celebrate the return of baseball season, today's Photo of the Week is of Ralph Branca, the man who became famous for what would be called The Shot Heard Round the World. Ralph Branca pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1944-1953 and then again in 1956. He also pitched for the Tigers (1953-1954) and the Yankees (1954). A three-time All-Star, he won 80 games for the Dodgers with a career high of 21 wins in 1947. In 1948 he…

POTW: Four Horses of Fort Greene

Liza

[Three horses drinking out of a fountain], ca. 1898, photographic print, V1972.2.23; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
In this Photo of the Week, Brooklynites of two and four legs are lured to what appears to be a refreshing fountain on a warm day. The women wear light, summery patterns, and the workmen have bared their shirtsleeves and even forearms. Yet neither heat nor work could disrupt hat fashions. The women display their ornamented millinery while the men sport a variety…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Women’s Committee of the Long Island Historical Society

Nicole

[Women’s Committee Fashion Show], 1968. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To celebrate Women's History Month, this week's photo takes us back to 1968 for a fashion show presented by the Women's Committee of the Long Island History Society (LIHS). The Women’s Committee formed in 1959 to further the objectives of LIHS through fundraising and planning social events. Its creation was spearheaded by Maud E. Dillard, who served as its president from 1959 to 1964. Following her term,…

POTW: One Pub's Layered History

Dee Bowers

Ballybunion Irish bar, 2012, color photograph, OSOS_0280. Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This Friday is Saint Patrick's Day, so I searched our Digital Collections portal for something Irish to share for Photo of the Week. I was pleasantly surprised to find an image from my own neighborhood, Bay Ridge, which is home to many Irish-American families. This color photograph of the Ballybunion Irish bar at 9510 3rd Avenue was taken in 2012 and donated to the Our Streets, Our Stories…

POTW: Happy Women's History Month from three Queen Esthers

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

  

 Girls as Queen Esther, 1965, HERZ_0424; Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's photo of the week comes from the Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection. Five Hasidic children stand on the front step of a Williamsburg building on Purim in 1965. Three are dressed as Queen Esther, hero of the Book of Esther, who saved the Jewish people of ancient Persia from King Haman. To read more about the Herzberg collection, see this 2014 blog post. Although some of…

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…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Celebrating Presidents' Day with President Susan Mullin

Katherine

Susan Mullin, undated, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Happy Presidents’ Day! This week, we are sharing an image of former Brooklyn Historical Society President, Susan Mullin, who both enacted and embodied change within the Historical Society.   Susan Mullin, originally from Virginia, moved to Brooklyn Heights with her husband soon after marrying. She immediately took to Brooklyn’s charm and diversity. While Mullin initially ran an antique shop on Pineapple Street, she…

POTW: Celebrating Don Newcombe

Sarah

[Don Newcombe], circa 1951, DODG_0749; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Happy Black History Month! Today we’re celebrating Dodgers pitcher Don “Big Newk” Newcombe. Born in New Jersey in 1926, he played for the Newark Eagles, Nashua Dodgers, and the Montreal Royals before pitching his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 20, 1949. Later that year he became the first Black pitcher to start a World Series game and was named Rookie of the Year. After completing two years of…

POTW: Soup Season: The Syrian-Jewish Edition

Allyson

The Hidary and Abadi families. Older woman sipping soup at a soup pot in her kitchen. 1999. BJHP_0283z. Brooklyn Jewish History Project, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
It's Soup Season! Today's Photo of the Week comes from our Brooklyn Jewish History Project. This is Fritzie Abadi (Hidary) on a Syrian cooking day, testing her recipe. Fritzi (Frieda) was chef Jennifer Abadi's grandmother. Her cookbook-memoir, “A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes from Grandma Fritzie’s Kitchen” (now in its new and revised…

POTW: Kane Street Synagogue

Alice

Kane Street Synagogue interior, 1934, BJHP_0034; Brooklyn Jewish History Project, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This photo of the week shows the sanctuary interior of Kane Street Synagogue in Cobble Hill in 1934. The building was constructed in 1855 as a Middle Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the Norman style of Romanesque architecture and was subsequently owned by the Trinity German Lutheran Church. Congregation Baith Israel purchased the building in 1905 when they moved from their Boerum Hill Synagogue (Congregations…

POTW: Odessa in Brooklyn

Dee Bowers

Marcia Bricker, "Odessa Restaurant," circa 1980, color slide, V1992.43.40. Marcia Bricker photographs collection, V1992.043; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This image of a restaurant in Brighton Beach is from our small collection of photographs by Marcia Bricker. Bricker, a documentary photographer, had worked for the federal jobs program CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) documenting the Soviet refugees that began settling in the Brighton Beach area in the 1970s when the Soviet Union relaxed immigration policies. In…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Ba Da Dao/Sunset Park Chinatown History Project

Nicole

[New Neighbors Exhibit Opening], June 1996. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Today’s photo of the week shows a moment from the opening of New Neighbors: Sunset Park's Chinese Community in June 1996. The event featured lion dancers, shadow puppets, food, games, and calligraphy workshops. In this photo, taken in the Othmer library, lions stand beside a shadow puppet theater as an excited audience (not pictured) waits for the play to begin. In 1992, The Brooklyn Historical…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Look at Executive Director, David Kahn

Katherine

[Former Brooklyn Historical Society Executive Director, David Kahn]. undated, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Welcome to our second installment of Opening the Pocket Doors, our ongoing series looking into the processing of the Institutional Records of the Brooklyn Historical Society.   In our previous post in this series, we delved into a brief history of our institution, formerly known as both the Long Island Historical Society and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Today, we…

POTW: Dining Under the Dome

Gina Murrell

[Diners at Dome Motor Inn restaurant], circa 1978, HERZ_0004_044, color slide.  Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, BCMS.0056. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The Dome Motor Inn was THE place to stay when traveling to Kamloops in mid-20th century Canada. A couple hundred miles northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, Kamloops was home to the popular inn, which boasted a dome-covered restaurant that itself became a tourist destination. Red and lime-green vinyl seats surrounded wood tables that were arranged beneath an…

POTW: Brooklyn Theater Fire: The Musical!

Allyson

[Mid Flame and Smoke, undated]. THEA_0011. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
On this day, December 5th, 1876, the Brooklyn Theater, on the corner of Washington and Johnson Streets caught fire. This was a terrible tragedy, and close to 300 people lost their lives. You can read more about that tragedy on our The Brooklyn Theater Fire of December 1876: a community's response post. Instead, today's post is inspired by J.W. Turner, singer/songwriter, who took that tragedy and turned it…

POTW: The Smallest Horse in the World

Liza

[Miniature Abraham & Straus delivery van], 1908. DEPT_0008. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  Before Cyber Monday became a multi day event, before stampedes of parents besieged displays of Elmo and Cabbage Patch kids with greater gusto than I will ever understand, there was the neighborhood department store. While Manhattan had Macy’s, Brooklyn had Abraham & Straus.  On Valentine's Day, 1865, Abraham & Straus opened its doors at 285 Fulton Street as Wechsler & Abraham, a “…

POTW: Bundling Up

Alice

Toddler on the sidewalk in a winter suit., [1950?], Gelatin silver print, OSOS_0182; Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
It finally feels like fall in New York and Brooklynites are starting to bundle up. This photo of the week takes us to the sidewalks of 1950s New York where little Cataldo Piccione poses for the camera in his one-piece winter suit. While the exact location of this scene is unknown, we can see the familiar sight of buildings rising in the background and a not quite legible…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Processing Brooklyn Historical Society’s Institutional Records

Nicole

[Man outside of the Long Island Historical Society], undated. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
The week’s photo of the week shows an unidentified man standing in front of our landmark building located at 128 Pierrepont Street. Designed by architect George B. Post and built in 1878-81, the four-story Queen Anne-style building features ornamentation made from locally produced terra cotta. For over 150 years, staff in this building have worked to preserve, provide access to, and…

POTW: Hurricane Sandy

Dee Bowers

Shore Hotel sign damaged from the Hurricane Sandy], 2012, 2014.010.7, MIchael Claro Hurricane Sandy Photographs, 2010.010; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on November 7, 2018 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. It’s been ten years since Hurricane Sandy, but it’s not soon…

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: Five Children and a Puppy

Gina Murrell

[Five African-American children with puppy], circa 1968, HERZ_0667, black and white silver gelatin print.  Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, BCMS.0056. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the bright sun, five Black children squat down on the ground, forming a semicircle. Four have their hair carefully sectioned off in plaits, the fifth has natural hair closely shaven, as if fresh from the barber. All five look on with affection, their arms outstretched. What is the object of their focus? A fluffy puppy on a…

POTW: The Elephantine Colossus

Allyson

Elephantine Colossus], circa 1893, Illustration, V1972.1.1090; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This From the Vault post was originally written by Dan Brenner and published on November 6, 2019 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.   The Elephantine Colossus was an elephant-shaped hotel attraction located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island from 1885 through…

POTW: Risky Business: October 1878

Liza

Brooklyn Anchorage, 1878, gelatin silver print, BRID_0040; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.   
  So begins another October, arguably Brooklyn’s best month (feel free to debate me in the comments). Let’s take a moment to travel back to another Brooklyn October, back to this photographed moment in October 1878. Brooklyn was independent from New York City, no Statue of Liberty was yet visible from Brooklyn’s shores, and the only way to reach Manhattan was by boat. But this last detail was…

Black-and-white photograph of two men standing in the center of an unfinished basement with columns along each side

POTW: Wasted Space, But Not for Long

Alice

Wasted space, but not for long, 1952, Gelatin silver print, CBPL_0111; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Can you guess where this week's Photo of the Week was taken? "Referred to as 'the hole' by library personnel," this cavernous space was the sub-basement of our very own Central Library. In this photo we see a miniature Chief Librarian, Francis R. S. John, speaking with a Brooklyn Eagle reporter about plans for the space to be converted into stacks for 500,000 more books. This sub-basement was…

POTW: A Child's Bedroom in 1880

Dee Bowers

[John T. Martin house], c. 1880, v1972.1.1312, Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I recently updated the finding aid for our Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection (ARC.201) and came across this haunting image of a child's bedroom in a home at 28 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. Taken around 1880, the image shows a number of dolls standing and sitting in the room, looking disturbingly as if they had just been caught mid-action. Sunlight streams…

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…

POTW: Shirley Chisholm Visits Fulton Street Festival

Gina Murrell

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm visits the Fulton St. festival, 1972 ca. 2020.002.018. Khalil Abdulkhabir photographs of the Dar-ul-Islam movement, 2020.002. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In 1972, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm strolled the tables lining Fulton Street, stopping to chat with vendors at the bustling outdoor festival in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. Just four years earlier, in 1968, Chisholm (November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) became the first Black woman elected to the US Congress,…

POTW: Jacob Mann Photographs

Allyson

 

Sunrise on Brighton Beach, 2009, 2010.008.2; Jacob Mann photographs, 2010.008; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on February 28, 2018 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog, or subscribe to the Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. Brooklyn Historical Society is fortunate to have several fine art photographers represented in the photography…

A coat of arms depicting a royal figure knighting a kneeling hot dog with dachshunds on the sides, a pot of mustard at the top, and the words "calidus canis" at the bottom in a ribbon

POTW: Hot Dog Days

Alice

[Hot dog coat of arms], 1939, Gelatin silver print, CONE_0198; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
It's the dog days of summer here in Brooklyn, a perfect time to head down to Coney Island and enjoy a hot dog on the boardwalk. This coat of arms honoring the 50th anniversary of the hot dog in 1939 shows a royal figure knighting a kneeling hot dog in the center. On the sides are two dachshunds (wiener dogs, of course) standing on their hind legs with faces turned up towards a radiant pot of "sinapi" ("…

POTW: Summer Vibes

Dee Bowers

HERZ_0080, Bathing beauties, 1959, black and white silver gelatin print. Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, BCMS.0056. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Welcome to August! To bring us into the final weeks of summer vacation, this Photo of the Week is all about those summer vibes. A bevy of the titular "bathing beauties" is seen frolicking in the surf at Coney Island, each with a different stylish swimsuit and creative coif. The palpable joy on their faces is what drew me to this image. Of course during these…

POTW: Mourning the Victorian Way

Sarah

[Hair Link], circa 1875, M1986.72.7; Artifact collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This simple, braided bracelet holds a special meaning. If you look closely, you’ll see that the braid is actually made of human hair. Although not widely practiced today, collecting a lock of hair from a deceased loved one to incorporate into a piece of jewelry was quite common in the Victorian era. According to author Allison Meier “There was also a hair jewelry industry that emerged with workshops and retailers to support this fashion…

POTW: Extortionists Targeting Abortion Doctors Arrested

Gina Murrell

Accused shakedown artists face law, Sep 28, 1954. Gelatin silver print, CRIM_0066; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In 1954, sixteen years before abortion was decriminalized in New York, four extortionists made it their business to blackmail doctors believed to be performing the then illegal procedure. Two of them posed as cops. They were Bruno Makan, 35, of 185 Marine Avenue in Brooklyn; Robert Murphy, 30, of 61 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn; Doris Aviron, 24, of 311 W. 178th Street in Manhattan;…

Black and white image depicting a nurse in the foreground with a stethoscope on the arm of a man. In the background, two men stand with FDNY seals on their hats. On the righthand side, a standing doctor holds a stethoscope to the heart of a man

POTW: To Save Three Lives

Alice

To save three lives, 1948, Gelatin silver print, HOSP_0432; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Tuesday, June 14th is World Blood Donor Day, so this Photo of the Week takes us to a scene at Kings County Hospital on October 22, 1948. According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle caption, eight firefighters donated four quarts of blood "To Save Three Lives." The firefighters knew the three girls for whom they were donating blood: "Dolores Johnson, 4, and her sister, Eleanor, 2, in the institution with critical…

POTW: Kindergarten Class at Fort Greene Park

Allyson

[Kindergarten class at Fort Greene Park], circa 1910, V1981.284.32, Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on September 20, 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. No matter the decade or time period, it sure is challenging to keep kindergarteners…

POTW: From Factory to Community Hub

Dee Bowers

V1990.7.1, [South Side of Fulton Street between Brooklyn and New York Avenues], circa 1972. Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation publication and photograph collection, ARC.124. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I recently reprocessed our small Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation publication and photograph collection (ARC.124), which includes this photograph. At first I was thrown off by a notation on the back reading "Sheffield," and thought this must show Sheffield Avenue in New Lots. But I quickly realized…

POTW: Miss Chien at the Book Chute

Gina Murrell

Miss Chien at bottom of book chute, 1962. BPL_0298; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
On Monday, June 18, 1962, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle announced the opening of a "New Borough Library": the Brooklyn Heights Branch and Business Library. The newspaper sent photographer Ben Schiff to take photos of the new library and its staff, including Janet Chien, seen in the above Photo of the Week. In the photos that Schiff took for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Chien can be seen seated with library coworkers…

POTW: Jamel Shabazz's Portrait of Louis Reyes Rivera

Allyson

Louis Reyes Rivera. SHBZ_0092. Jamel Shabazz photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
For this Photo of the Week, we are highlighting the work of Jamel Shabazz, a Brooklyn photographer who picked up his first camera at the age of fifteen. Shabazz says his goal is to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture. While having incredible range, Shabazz is often most known for documenting the people of Red Hook, Brownsville, Flatbush, Fort Green, Harlem, the Lower East Side and Bronx's Grand Concourse.…

POTW: April Showers Bring May Flowers and Floods

Aimee Lusty

Flooding at the end of 1st Street and Gowanus Canal, April 15, 2007. Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus records. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This week’s Photo of the Week looks back just 15 years to April 2007. A person in jeans and a raincoat rides their bicycle through at least eight inches of water with their kid in tow. The caption on the back of the photograph reads “4.15.07 - Flooding. End of 1st street and Canal.”  In April 2007, a devastating Nor'easter barreled up the East Coast of the United States,…

POTW: Bringing Swagger to the Court Since 1910

Dee Bowers

Senior Basket Ball Team, Adelphi College yearbook, 1910. Brooklyn Yearbook collection, BCMS.0031. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
For this Photo of the Week we have a captivating portrait of the Adelphi College senior basketball team from their 1910 yearbook. These six women, with their puffy, ruffled dresses, elaborate updos, and, in one case, an enormous hair bow, hardly fit our modern conception of athletic. Nonetheless, they project a confidence, even a ruthlessness, that makes it clear they were formidable on the court. Look…

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…

POTW: Sun and Sea Therapy for Children

Anna Schwartz

 

Group at Coney Island seaside home, 1892, gelatin silver print. Julius Wilcox photograph collection, WILC_0022. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.  
The Seaside Home for Children, run by the Brooklyn Children's Aid Society, was a seasonal charitable facility for sick and lower-income children and their mothers. Located in Coney Island amongst the luxury shoreline resorts, the Home offered families a few days by the sea at no cost. On-site medical care from a dedicated team of doctors and nurses was also available.…

POTW: Early Years of the Pratt Institute

Sarah

[Pratt Institute blacksmith students], circa 1905, SCHL_1603; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Today’s Photo of the Week looks at a classroom in the early years of the Pratt Institute. The school was founded by businessman and philanthropist Charles Pratt, who envisioned a school for working-class people to get hands-on experience in industrial trades, arts, and engineering. The school opened in 1887, just a few blocks from Pratt’s home at 232 Clinton Avenue. Starting with only twelve…

POTW: The Cube as an Alternate Plan to Urban Renewal

Gina Murrell

"The Cube Building, a future cooperative for homeless families," The Cooper Square Plan: Report for Discussion, October 15, 1986,  Ronald Shiffman Collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the mid-1980s, there was a rejuvenated plan to redevelop several blocks in Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan. Called the New Cooper Square Plan, it was a continuation of an earlier plan, called the Cooper Square Alternate Plan, that was formulated in reaction to a Robert Moses/New York City urban renewal plan that had threatened to…

POTW: The Evolution of Thought: Work by Lucille Fornasieri Gold

Allyson

Boys with butterfly, 1975, Photographic print, V2008.013.1; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's Photo of the Week highlights the work of Lucille Fornasieri Gold, a Brooklyn photographer. She started photographing with a Leica camera in 1968, while her children were in school. She would develop and print in the kitchen darkroom of her home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. When she moved, she lost her darkroom and while her negatives were processed, they remained unprinted for…

POTW: On a Boat Built for One

Alice

Boys boating along Canarsie Creek, 1924, Photographic print, OSOS_0248; Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's Photo of the Week takes us to a scene on the Canarsie Creek in 1924 where 1-year-old, William Johnson, floats in a little toy boat next to a skiff holding an unidentified man and boy. It's possible this creek is a section of the Fresh Creek Nature Preserve, a body of water between Canarsie and Starrett City in the Jamaica Bay Watershed. In October 2021, the Governor's Office of…

POTW: Windows of Rare Beauty

Dee Bowers

CHUR_1206, Spring Window, 1915, black and white silver gelatin print. Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, BCMS.0002. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
We've lately had some surprisingly warm days in Brooklyn, and though they've been mixed with days appropriately cold for February, I nonetheless found my thoughts turning toward Spring. So for today's Photo of the Week, we have this Brooklyn Eagle photograph of a spring-themed stained glass window. The window was commissioned by Howard E. Raymond in memory of his…

POTW: An Unsightly Approach

Anna Schwartz

Miklos Suba, Untitled (Brooklyn Bridge), circa 1926, crayon on paper. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The Brooklyn Bridge is arguably one of the most--if not the most--iconic symbols of Brooklyn. It has been depicted in art, like Hungarian-born American artist Miklos Suba’s version above, and replicated the world over. So, it's hard to imagine a time when the bridge was ever considered ugly. In fact, in the early 1900s, the approach to the bridge from the Brooklyn side was referred to by some as "the ugliest spot in the…

POTW: Shark attacks in Brooklyn? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Sarah

[8-foot shark caught on Sheepshead Bay fishing trip], 1950, NEIG_1852; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
They probably won’t need a bigger boat to haul in this little shark, caught off the coast of Sheepshead Bay. Although sharks can be found in Brooklyn’s waterways, attacks are extremely uncommon. In fact, the last shark attack in Sheepshead Bay was in 1916, when swimmers Gertrude Hoffman and Thomas Richards escaped with non-fatal injuries. Brooklynites have little to fear from these finned…

POTW: Civic Center Book Shop: "For Lovers of Old Books"

Gina Murrell

[Civic Center Book Shop, Pierrepont Street near Fulton Street], December 15, 1958, gelatin silver print,  V1974.4.886; John D. Morrell photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
"He’s sort of a crazy guy," said Walter Goldwater about Irving Binkin, the proprietor of Civic Center Book Shop, in New York City Bookshops in the 1930s and 1940s: The Recollections of Walter Goldwater. "And has a great big bookshop with a lot of stuff in it." The "great big bookshop with a lot of stuff in it," Civic Center Book Shop was…

POTW: Atoms for Peace and Goodbye, Central Library

Michelle Montalbano

[Atoms for Peace], CBPL_0313, 1950s, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library
Today, former Brooklyn Collection materials, staff, and all the rest officially moved to our new home at the Brooklyn Historical Society building on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. As our own exhibits at Central Library also become a thing of the past, let's appreciate this view of the Flatbush Avenue side of Central Library, where the Atoms for Peace exhibit trailer was parked in the 1950s. While we may not know exactly what was on…

POTW: Hell's Gate Explosion

Allyson

Explosion at Hell Gate, [1880], Lantern Slide, V1974.7.121. Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
On October 10, 1885 the ground in Princeton, New Jersey shook. There was no great earthquake. It was, instead, the largest planned detonation prior to the atomic bomb. In order to clear obstacles from Hell Gate - a narrow tidal strait in the East River -- and free up ship traffic the US Army Corp of Engineers started blowing up several obstructions in the waters. This…

POTW: Macaroni-Making Machine

Alice

Automatic short paste drying unit, [1932?], Photographic print, OSOS_0016. Our Streets, Our Stories collection. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Ever wonder how the pasta gets made? This photograph from circa 1932 shows an "Automatic Short Paste Drying Unit," which promised pasta-making "From Press to Package without Handling." The machine itself was manufactured by the Consolidated Macaroni Machine Corporation at 156-166 Sixth Street in Gowanus. Ignazio De Francisci, an engineer from Sicily, founded Consolidated Macaroni…

POTW: A Million Possibilities

Dee Bowers

Randy Duchaine, Fireworks over the Central Library, April 14, 1997, color print. Media Relations photographs, Brooklyn Public Library institutional archives. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Brooklyn Public Library kicked off celebrations of its 125th anniversary on November 30th and will continue them into the new year. In honor of that, and in the spirit of celebration and possibility brought by the New Year this week, today's Photo of the Week is of fireworks at the Central Library for BPL's centennial in 1997. On November 30, 1896…

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: Gil Hodges Gets His Due

Sarah

[Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges, with six baseball bats and duffel bag over shoulder], 1952, gelatin silver print, DODG_0498; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
We’re thrilled that Gil Hodges has finally been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Hodges was one of the famed “Boys of Summer,” but he started life as a son of the Midwest. Born in Princeton, Indiana in 1924 he excelled at high school baseball, basketball, track, and football. After attending…

POTW: One Photographer's Reflections on Protests and the Pandemic

Francesca Magnani

Protestors kneel down on Flatbush Avenue. Photo by Francesca Magnani, 2020.
As part of Brooklyn Resists, we have invited local photographers, both amateur and professional, to contribute their work to the community-driven digital archive hosted by Urban Archive. Interested in submitting your own photographs, ephemera, audio recordings, or artwork? Click here to find out more about our community collecting project. At the end of May 2020, the case of George Floyd unleashed an unprecedented series of protests all over the United States and beyond…

POTW: Brooklyn's Dog and Horse Parade

Cecily Dyer

 

The winner of the "smallest dog" title meets an Irish Wolfhound—the winner of the "largest dog" title.  Brooklyn Dog and Horse Parade, 1935, gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photograph collection, NEIG_1738. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
  The Thanksgiving holiday often revolves around food, family, and friends, but awaiting those holiday mainstays brings its own traditions. For some, one of these might be tuning into the National Dog Show. With a nod to that event, this week’s Photo of the Week…

POTW: Happy Birthday Marianne Moore

Dee Bowers

PORT_0606, Marianne Moore, 1949, black and white silver gelatin print. Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, BCMS.0002. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Brooklyn poet Marianne Moore was born on this day in 1887. For a birthday tribute, today's Photo of the Week is this striking portrait of her from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle photo morgue. This image appeared in the Eagle on June 3, 1951 alongside an announcement of Moore winning an honorary degree at the University of Rochester. That same year, Moore's Collected Poems…

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…

POTW: Trommer's Near-Beer

Sarah

Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, 194-?, WORK_0054, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week takes us to Trommer’s Brewery at Bushwick Avenue and Conway Street. Brewery President George Trommer (right) is smashing a beer bottle to celebrate a new fleet of delivery trucks. George was the son of founder John F. Trommer, a German immigrant who worked as Brewmaster at Ulmer’s until 1897 when he purchased an existing brewery and changed the name to Trommer’s Evergreen Brewery. George took over the business…

POTW: A Tough Rowhouse to Hoe: On Agriculture and Urban Development

Michelle Montalbano

RUTT_0085, Flatbush Ave. Extension, 1924, Edgar E. Rutter Photograph Collection, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library
It's difficult to picture from where we're standing, but until the 1920s, significant portions of southern Brooklyn were still farmland. This week's Photo of the Week comes from Edgar E. Rutter (1883-1956), a commercial photographer who was employed by the New York State Public Service Commission and various other state and city agencies to photograph the sites of proposed construction projects in Brooklyn and…

POTW: A (Maybe) Brooklyn Haunting for Spooky Season

Allyson

 

Litchfield Villa, HERZ_0213. Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  Each day on my walk to work I pass the Litchfield Villa, admire it for its Italianate style architecture, glance at the dance class that is usually taking place on the front lawn and continue on my way.  It was designed and built in 1854 by Alexander Jackson Davis, a prominent architect for Edwin Clark Litchfield, a railroad and real estate developer. He's the one who turned a small creek into Gowanus…

POTW: Dressing for Tradition

Dee Bowers

Kimberly McEwen, 1971, color photograph. Brooklyn Heights Garden Club collection, BCMS.0082. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
I recently finished processing the Brooklyn Heights Garden Club collection, which chronicles the club's history through documents, ephemera, clippings, and scrapbooks. The club was founded in 1940 by Mrs. Thomas Sturgis to "bring added beauty to Brooklyn Heights by the creation and cultivation of gardens, plantings and window boxes." In 1949, the club started organizing an annual…

POTW: April 1, 1949: A Day in Brooklyn Labor History

Michelle Montalbano

F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company, June 21, 1949, Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photos, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library
On April 1, 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle was full of news of workers on strike. The headline for the day announced that a taxi strike was on and "90% tied up," meaning that all but 701 of the city's 11,510 taxicabs had refused to start their engines. Meanwhile, CIO radio operators at Pan-American Airways had launched a strike over deadlocked contract negotiations, and in a slim article further down the page, readers…

POTW: Inman's Vaudeville

Allyson

[Inman's Casino], 1946, CONE_0451. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.ption
This week's photo is of Inman's Casino, which was located on the Bowery of Coney Island. The Bowery was south of Surf Avenue and ran from Jones Walk to West 16th Street on the east side of Steeplechase Park. Its main drag, known as Ocean Avenue until around 1905 and as Bowery Lane thereafter, ran parallel to Surf Ocean. The Vaudeville opened prior to 1900, and claimed to cater to women and children. But if this…

POTW: An Unusual Ride to School

Dee Bowers

[Children riding to school in pony cart], circa 1947. Kasper Family Collection, BCMS.0080. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's photo of the week comes from the recently processed Kasper Family Collection. The Kasper family lived at the Manhattan Beach Veterans Housing Project in South Brooklyn in the late 1940s. The Manhattan Beach project was one of many veterans housing projects that the city created in the late 1940s to respond to a surge in demand as soldiers returned from overseas. As this 2011 Brooklynology blog…

POTW: Housing Starts: The Riverside Buildings and the Push for Affordable Housing in Brooklyn

Deborah

Solution of the tenement problem: Riverside Building, the Quadrangle, 1892. WILC_0320, Julius Wilcox photograph collection, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the late 19th century housing conditions for the poor in Brooklyn were crowded, unsafe, poorly ventilated, and lacked amenities. Today's Photo of the Week shows one of the first efforts in our borough to create affordable and pleasant housing for those who struggled to pay the rent.   The cyanotype above…

POTW: Hat Works of Knox the Hatter

Sarah

Brooklyn Eagle postcard collection, [Knox Hat factory, St. Marks and Grand Avenues], circa 1905, POST_0558, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today we're looking at the imposing apartment building at 369-413 St. Marks Avenue that began life as the world’s largest hat factory. Founded by Irish immigrant Charles Knox, the Knox Hat Company began operations in lower Manhattan, selling beaver hats in a small store he opened in 1838. Through promotion and word of mouth, the business built an impressive clientele, including Abraham…

POTW: Steve Brodie Jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and Lived (Maybe?)

Allyson

[Rendering of Steve Brodie (1863-1901) who jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge, and survived, on July 23, 1886. Image includes a portion of the East River and four small boats.] 1886. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This is a rendering of Steve Brodie a resident of Manhattan and former newsboy who claimed to have jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge and lived. The bridge, then called the East River Bridge had just recently been completed in 1883 and on July 23, 1886, Brodie took the plunge. Or did he? The…

POTW: Bulger's Hotel: Subway Construction Photographs Shed Light on a Lost Brooklyn Business

Cecily Dyer

[Sidewalk conditions on southeast corner of Pearl and Willoughby Streets looking south from roadway of Willoughby St], 1915. Subway Construction Photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
One of the most frequent challenges for staff and researchers in CBH's Othmer Library is finding photographs that provide evidence of Brooklyn's past built environment. The city's 1940 tax photos are our go-to resource, but these can miss houses, businesses, and community landmarks that were razed in earlier years. For some…

POTW: Brooklyn's Lost Saltwater Oasis

Dee Bowers

[Hotel St. George pool], 1930. Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NEIG_1455.  Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
As a summer heat wave kicks off the last few days of Pride Month, our Photo of the Week takes us to an elegant indoor pool at the Hotel St. George in Brooklyn Heights. The Hotel St. George was once the city's largest hotel and a glamorous spot to see and be seen. It was also a known cruising and gathering space for gay men, some of whom resided at the hotel. As such, it has been featured in two of…

POTW: Process of EL-imination: the last days of the Fulton Street elevated

Deborah

Requiescat in pace--No tears were shed for the passing of the Fulton St. L today, but Masur, the florist on lower Fulton St., rushed out with a wreath to hang on the elevated pillar in front of his shop [with sign, "Funeral services May 31, 1940 of the dirty elevated, undertaker, Mr. Storekeeper of Fulton St."] as a final touching tribute. TRAN_0262, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Center for Brooklyn History
In search of something wholly unrelated, I fell upon the mischievous photograph above from the Eagle commemorating the final run of the…

POTW: Lionel the Lion-Faced Man

Sarah

Marie Roberts Dreamland Circus side show photographs, CONE_0590, c1924, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library. 
Stephan Bibrowski (1890–1932), also known as "Lionel the Lion-Faced Man," was born outside Warsaw, Poland with a rare condition called hypertrichosis. Often called “werewolf syndrome” hypertrichosis causes excessive hair growth on the body and is now thought to be hereditary. While Stephan’s mother was pregnant with him she watched as his father was attacked by a lion, an event she believed caused Stephen’s condition. At four…

POTW: Wheeling in the Years: A Slice of Brooklyn Bicycle History

Michelle Montalbano

To close out National Bicycle Month, here's a little a celebration of bicycling in Brooklyn, from 1897 to the present. 

POST_0143, Music Island, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y., summer circa 1897, Brooklyn Postcard Collection, Center for Brooklyn History
Even now, in the 21st century, I feel a powerful sense of freedom, exhilaration, and agency whenever I'm riding my bicycle around Brooklyn. It must have been truly extraordinary for women in the 19th century, who were newly admitted to the ranks of "wheel riders" in the 1890s. At the time, Brooklyn…

POTW: A Look Back at Brooklyn's Central Library

Allyson

[Brooklyn Central Library, Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway; Alfted Morton Githens, Francis Keally, Associated Architects], CBPL_0004, 1938; Roy Pinney photographs; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  Recently the Central Library of the Brooklyn Public Library had a ribbon cutting ceremony for the completion of Phase One of a multi-phase renovation project. This phase returns space formerly used for administrative needs back to the public and creates five grand spaces: the Major Owens Welcome Center, New and…

POTW: A Mother's Immigration Story

Dee Bowers

The Gottlieb family. Mother holding baby girl in an urban park on the Lower East Side. BJHP_0173, 1947; Brooklyn Jewish History Project, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This is a photo of Regina (Rivka, nee Kanner) Gottlieb and her daughter Madeline in a park on the Lower East Side in 1947. The joy on both of their faces is palpable, despite the difficult years that preceded this photo. Regina and her husband Alexander were both from Poland, Alexander from Borislaw and Regina from Lodz Ghetto. They had both survived …

POTW: Spring, Is That You?

Anna Schwartz

[Four people and a field of sheep], circa 1890, arc.202_box17_112; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
Spring in Brooklyn is often fleeting, lasting a month or two at most. With it brings relief from winter’s harsh weather, blooming flowers, and tepid evening breezes. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, spring also marked the return of sheep to Prospect Park. Every April, a large flock of Southdown, a breed known for its adaptability and good lambing…

POTW: Mesopotamia in Brownsville

Deborah

Loew's Pitkin Theater, 1958. NEIG_0227, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Center for Brooklyn History
Today’s Photo of the Week features a busy corner in Brownsville, 1501 Pitkin Avenue, where the stately Loew’s Pitkin Theater took up the entirety of the block between Legion Street and Saratoga Avenue. I was drawn to the building by this snapshot showing the random composition and distinctive pinked edges of mid-century candid photography, with the huge structure looming over a…

POTW: Park Slope's Old Tower House

Cecily Dyer

 

Old Tower House, NEIG_1696, 1910; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  Today’s photo of the week takes us to Park Slope, where a residence locally known as "the old tower house” once stood on the south side of 8th street between 5th and 6th avenues. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published the above photograph of the old tower house in 1910, two years after the death of the building’s longtime owner, Asa B. Richardson. The Eagle claimed at the time that the…

POTW: Brooklyn in Blue

Sarah

WILC_0085, 1892, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library
Today's Photo of the Week is a cyanotype created by New York City photographer Julius Wilcox. Wilcox was born in Vermont in 1837, moving to New York at the age of 29 and settling in Brooklyn. He made his living as a writer for the New York Evening Gazette and as part owner of a bicycle business. He seems to have taken up photography as a hobby, photographing mostly in Manhattan, favoring architecture and the city’s working-class and poor. His album of original cyanotypes with…

POTW: National Library Outreach Day: On Bookmobiles and Fugitive Libraries

Michelle Montalbano

BPL_0002, 1951, Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photograph Collection, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library
This week is American Library Association's National Library Week, a time to celebrate library workers and outreach efforts, and promote library use and support. Wednesday, April 7th is National Library Outreach Day or the Day Formerly Known as Bookmobile Day.  The bookmobile pictured above dates back to BPL's outreach efforts in the 1950s, a beauty known as the "Library on Wheels." The borough's first, its maiden voyage was in October 1951…

POTW: When the Dodgers went to the Bronx: Game 1 of the 1947 World Series

Allyson

[Opening game of the World Series], DODG_0002, 1947; Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  It's been a strange long year and something like the start of baseball seems even stranger in our current climate. Fields and stadiums are opening slowly with limited entry and required vaccination cards. But back in 1947 all you needed to see a game was a ticket and some excitement. This is a shot of fans from Game 1 of the World Series pitting the New York Yankees against Brooklyn's own beloved Dodgers. 73,365…

POTW: The Opening of a Vaudeville Theater in Williamsburg

Amy Lau

[The Folly], THEA_0027, 1906; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To celebrate the announcement in the beginning of March that theaters will reopen in April, our photo of the week takes us to the corner of Graham Avenue and Debevoise Street in Williamsburg.   This corner was the location of the Folly Theater which opened on the afternoon of October 14, 1901. The Folly was owned by Richard Hyde who -- according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle --…

POTW: One Bedford-Stuyvesant Block's Industrial Past

Cecily Dyer

[Former Joseph Wild & Co factory, 218 Kosciusko Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant], circa 1935; Bommer family collection, 1992.033, Box A0142; Center for Brooklyn History.
This week’s Photo of the Week takes us to Kosciusko Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the block that forms the northern boundary of Herbert Von King Park (known in the 19th century as Tompkins Park).
[Former Joseph Wild & Co building, 196 Kosciusko Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant], circa 1935; Bommer family collection, 1992.033, Box A0142; Center for…

POTW: Cleaning Up the Waterfront with N.A.G.

Dee Bowers

Photo of Neighbors Against Garbage (N.A.G.) litter cleanup, GEHP_0193, c. 1990s; Greenpoint Environmental History Project; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the early 1990s, residents of Greenpoint and Williamsburg were fed up with the city neglecting their neighborhoods. A number of grassroots community organizations sprang up in response to various issues, including development, community board planning processes, and excessive litter. One such organization was Neighbors Against Garbage (N.A.G.), founded in 1994 in a local…

POTW: The Brief Life of a Fanciful Building

Deborah

Fulton Ferry House, [190-?] TRAN_0364, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Center for Brooklyn History
Our photo of the week features the Fulton Ferry House that once stood where Old Fulton Street met the water’s edge in Brooklyn Heights, one in a series of ferry buildings on that site. One of the handsomest depictions of this building is paired in the Eagle photographs with an earlier Brooklyn ferry house, built sometime before 1746. The early view is adapted from an engraving in Stiles’ … history … of Brooklyn, N. Y. from 1683 to 1884. Stiles is…

POTW: Bedford-Stuyvesant's Dar-ul-Islam Movement

Maggie Schreiner

Khalil Abdulkhabir, Young Girls and Teachers at the Yasin Mosque, circa 1975, 2020.002.005; Khalil Abdulkhabir photographs of the Dar-ul-Islam movement, 2020.002, Center for Brooklyn History.
The Dar-ul-Islam, known as "the Dar," was one of the most significant grassroots movements established by African-American Sunni Muslims in the United States. The founding members of the Dar-ul-Islam came from the Islamic Mission of America, founded in 1939 by Daoud Ahmed Faisal and Sayedah Khadijah Faisal, at 143 State Street (the “State Street Mosque”). In 1962-1963…

POTW: Brooklyn's First Black Elected Official: Bertram L. Baker

Michelle Montalbano

Before Shirley Chisholm or David Dinkins made history, Bertram L. Baker paved the way. If you've found yourself on Jefferson Avenue between Tompkins and Throop Avenues, you may have noticed street signs announcing his name. The first Black elected official from Brooklyn, Bertram L. Baker made his debut in the New York State Assembly in November 1948, where he would serve for the next twenty-two years. It was a milestone in Brooklyn history, but do you know his story, or what politics in the borough looked like when he was elected?  

PORT_0043,…

POTW: The Life Saving Station of Manhattan Beach

Cecily Dyer

J. S. Johnston, Life Saving Station, Manhattan Beach, Coney Island, N.Y., c. 1894, v1972.1.557; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week's photo takes us to the lost eastern end of Manhattan Beach.Manhattan Beach, on the eastern end of Coney Island, was the brainchild of robber baron Austin Corbin. In the 1870s, he bought 500 acres here and erected two luxury resort hotels for vacationing New Yorkers (not all New Yorkers, however, as Corbin was a notorious anti-semite who barred Jews from the resort). He also built the New York and Manhattan Beach…

POTW: Generations of New Years

Diana Bowers-Smith

Larry Racioppo, New Year's Day dinner toast, 6th Avenue, 1977, RCPO_0005; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Family history, memory, and tradition abound in the work of Larry Racioppo, including this evocative and joyful image of a family New Year's Day toast.
Photographer Larry Racioppo grew up in a large Italian-American family in Brooklyn, and his family has always been well-represented in his work. We hold a collection documenting his work and career, and many of the photographs from the…

POTW: When Coal Was King

Anna Schwartz

Office of Z. O. Nelson & SonA corner of our office, Walter H. Nelson, circa 1887, v1972.1.1222; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
In 1917, the best Christmas gift one could receive was a lump of coal. A coal shortage was sweeping the borough and coal reserves were dangerously low. Massive barges, laden with coal mined in the Northeast, idled in waterways along the Brooklyn shoreline. An impenetrable mile-wide ice field prevented their delivery. During the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century…

POTW: A Few of Our Favorite Things: Holiday Photos from the Collections

Natiba

This year has proven to be a year like no other, full of ups and downs, and a longing from most for better and brighter days. Despite the challenges, we at the Center for Brooklyn History are grateful for what we've been able to achieve this year. A historic partnership between two long standing, and significant institutions, and with it, the opportunity to serve our community and our borough, by expanding access to a singular collection in a single space, free and open to all. For this edition of Photo of the Week, we'd like to share our personal picks from our combined collections, that…

POTW: Before the Roller Disco

Cecily Dyer

Ralph Irving Lloyd, Meserole House, 1000 Lorimer St., c. 1905, lantern slide, V1981.15.124; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week’s photograph of Adrian and Mary Meserole’s house on Lorimer Street takes us to the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.  Adrian Meserole’s family had once owned much of present-day Greenpoint. His ancestor Jean Meserole and his wife were Huguenots—Protestants in Catholic-controlled France—who fled with their young son first to Amsterdam and then to New Amsterdam, present-day New York City, in 1663, becoming one of…

POTW: The 1960 Plane Crash That Rocked Park Slope

Sarah Quick

Close-up of portion of United Airlines airplane after crash at Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place, 1960.Irving I. Herzberg photograph collection.
On December 16, 1960 a United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided in midair above New York City. The TWA plane crashed on the coast of Staten Island, killing all 44 passengers and crew. The United airliner veered to the East, crashing into the densely populated neighborhood of Park Slope, right at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Sterling Place. The plane left a large trench running down Sterling Place and set fire…

POTW: Vanderveer Park: When Flatbush Was a Suburb

Deborah Tint

Rustic Vanderveer Park sign at Flatbush Avenue and Avenue F, with a few houses in the background and a one-horse shay, 1894. NEIG_0905, Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Center for Brooklyn History.
  The last quarter of the nineteenth century brought rapid changes to many parts of Brooklyn, not least to the town of Flatbush and its environs. Flatbush (from the Dutch vlacke bos, flat forest or wooded plain) was one of the original 6 towns making up the city of Brooklyn, and became part of that city in 1894. Four years later Brooklyn would become part of the…

POTW: The Curious Origins of Thanksgiving

Ally Malinenko

Providing for others, 1952, SCHL1347; Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photo Collection, Center for Brooklyn History
Thanksgiving is typically thought of as a day where we watch a parade of large floating creatures, eat ourselves silly and then gather around the television again to enjoy grown men chasing each other in pursuit of a ball. But not too many people know its strange history. Prior to Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday, different versions of it were celebrated at different times throughout the year. One aspect of what we think of today as Thanksgiving has always been…

POTW: Take Two Shots and Call Me in the Morning: The Business of Selling Beer and Liquor

Michelle Montalbano

East Flatbush, 1980s, Jamel Shabazz Photograph Collection, SHBZ_0039, Center for Brooklyn History
There's a long history of medicinal uses of alcohol. Cooking too, for that matter. Recipe is the Latin imperative, and its original use was not for instructions on how to prepare dinner, but in prescriptions, where it was used as a command preceding a list of medicines to combine into a...cocktail. This also speaks to a more holistic understanding of food and drink as healing medicine, and chef as apothecary. But more on that in another POTW post!
"Grip, Colds…

POTW: A Brooklyn Block's Hidden History

Cecily Dyer

Classon Avenue showing entrance to Union PlacePhotograph album; Bommer family collection, 1992.033, Box A0142; Center for Brooklyn History.
  This week we explore photographs of a Clinton Hill block from the Bommer family collection. The easternmost end of Pratt Institute’s Clinton Hill campus gives little indication that it was once a densely-built city block, but it was. Bounded by Classon, Dekalb, and Willoughby Avenues, and formerly by Emerson Place to the west, the block was unusually wide. In the 1870s, a wealthy, Spanish-born merchant-developer named…

POTW: This Business of Voting…

Deborah Tint

Voting machine instructionWoman giving voters instruction in the use of a voting machine in lobby of A.I. Namm's department store. Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, CLUB_0078; Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
Brooklynites have seen many changes in voting patterns, locations and technology through the years.In the past, the voting process was more decentralized than it is today and took place in a dizzying array of locations. Many of these are still familiar to us as polling places. A list in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1920 indicates a very large…

POTW: Is It Un-American for Mothers to Work?

Diana Bowers-Smith

SWEL_0298"We want our nursery centers." Brooklyn Eagle, March 9 1947. Photographs from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, SWEL_0298; Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
In the wake of WWII, Brooklyn's working mothers fought to continue government-funded childcare.Women in Brooklyn have been leaders of social change on every conceivable political front, from the fight for racial justice and the right to vote, to equality around labor and reproductive rights. Women have also been at the forefront of protest efforts against the Vietnam War and for environmental justice.…

POTW: Designing the Library of the Future

Amy Lau

2015.008.1Long Island Historical Society, Library Floor Plan, circa 1878; 128 Pierrepont Street building architectural drawings, ARC.302; Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
This week we look back at a building design contest that literally shaped our library space.The Long Island Historical Society (the former name of Brooklyn Historical Society which recently became the Center for Brooklyn History) held a building design contest from December 1877 to February 1878 after raising approximately 93,000 dollars to construct a new building at the corner of…

POTW: Celebrating the Next Million Possibilities!

Nalleli Guillen

Button, 1997; M1999.17.1, Center for Brooklyn History
In 1997, Brooklyn Public Library celebrated its 100-year anniversary serving local readers, the first free public library in Brooklyn having opened in 1897 inside Public School 3, in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. This button is one example of our extensive button collection. In the 1980s and 1990s there was a substantive push to collect more community ephemera, and pin-back buttons such as this one are excellent examples of the importance of ephemeral social and cultural history. Last week we announced that…

POTW: Home Sweet Brooklyn

Anna Schwartz

[Candy Dept., A. I. Namm & Son Department Store], 1898, V1972.1.749 ; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Halloween is still four weeks away, but store shelves are already stocked with candy for eager trick-or-treaters. While today most of the candy is manufactured outside of New York, a hundred years ago Brooklyn had a thriving candy industry. In the mid nineteenth and early twentieth century, Brooklyn was one of the largest confectionery and chocolate manufacturing centers in the United States. By 1908, local…

POTW: Fall(ing) into an Odd Brooklyn Autumn

Nalleli Guillen

The "Camperdown elm," circa 1950; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection (V1974.5.3405), Brooklyn Historical Society
With temperatures falling, the beloved (or controversial) smell of pumpkin spice in the air, and the autumnal equinox passed on Tuesday, fall has officially arrived! While the “vehicular-ly” blessed may head upstate or into New England for their annual “leaf peeping” pilgrimages, Brooklynites looking for a taste of fall foliage need only head to Prospect Park. Home to tens of thousands of trees, the one that, perhaps, best embodies our mood in 2020…

POTW: The Migration of Mexican Cuisine

Bo Méndez

Old Mexico Restaurant[Old Mexico Restaurant, 115 Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights.], 1959, V1974.4.295; John D. Morrell photographs, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This month-long observance encourages Americans to recognize and celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of communities who trace their heritage to Spanish-speaking populations from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, as well as Spain itself.Hispanic Heritage Month begins every year on September 15 and extends through October 15. Its unique timeframe…

POTW: Sorting Mail at the Post Office

Maggie Schreiner

Men sorting mail at Vanderveer Post Office, circa 1925, V1973.5.630; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection (ARC.202); Brooklyn Historical Society.
Happy (recent) Labor Day! This photograph of workers sorting mail was taken at the Vanderveer Post Office, located on Nostrand Ave near Avenue I.The photo depicts the process of manual mail sorting, from the workers standing at the large wooden tables, to those putting mail onto shelves and into slots. Over time, the process of sorting mail has become increasing mechanized, and as a result, the workforce of the post office…

POTW: Mapping New York City's Waterways

Cecily Dyer

A draught of New York from the Hook to New York Town: by Mark Tiddeman [1773-1780]; NYC-[177-?].Fl.RA; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s map is a colorful nautical chart, where the numbers in the water indicate soundings (measurements of the depth of the water) in fathoms (one fathom equals six feet). The map is oriented with north to the right and shows the western end of Long Island, including four of Brooklyn’s original six towns. Can you spot them? A draught of New York from the Hook to New York Town was originally created around 1730 by British navigator and…

POTW: Building NYC's Water Infrastructure

Maggie Schreiner

Profile of lower part of Croton Aqueduct: compiled under the direction of John B. Jervis by Theophilus Schramke. Ground plan of the lower part of Croton Aqueduct; [1846], Map Collection, M-[1846].Fl.Folio; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week we’re taking Photo of the Week on a journey uptown.This 1846 map shows a cross-section of the southern portion of the Old Croton Aqueduct, from the Harlem River to the Distribution Reservoir (at the present-day location of Bryant Park), and resulting flow of water to the southern tip of Manhattan at the Battery. Construction of the Old…

POTW: A Bungalow by the Bay

Anna Schwartz

Auction notice of valuable real estate at Sheeps Head BayAuction notice of valuable real estate at Sheeps Head Bay; [1879], Map Collection, B P-[1879].Fl; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This 1879 auction notice advertising lots for sale in Sheepshead Bay sought to lure potential buyers to Brooklyn's southern limits with the promise of "bathing, boating, and fishing." At the time, the Sheepshead Bay--named after a nightmarish fish with rows of human-like teeth--was less developed than its more popular beachfront cousins, Coney Island and Brighton Beach. Compared to these other…

POTW: No To-Go Cocktails Allowed: Brooklyn's Temperance Village

Nalleli Guillen

Map of South Brooklyn Temperance Village in the 8th Ward of the city of Brooklyn; Map No. B P-[184-?].Fl
Before Prospect Park, before the “Slopes,” before the brownstones, there was “Temperanceville,” or the “South Brooklyn Temperance Village.” This little remembered planned community was part of the first wave of residential development that transformed Brooklyn’s 8th Ward beginning in the early 1830s. This map, probably printed about 1849, advertises available lots for sale between Fourth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, and 12th and 15th Streets. On a current neighborhood map,…

POTW: On the Rail: the Behr Monorail that Never Was

Amy Lau

bhs_bc003516268_aMap showing Behr Monorail route, Brooklyn; [1889], Map Collection, B C-[1889?].Fl; Brooklyn Historical Society.
During the first decade of the twentieth century, Fritz Bernard Behr, a British engineer and inventor of a monorail system, created plans to build a monorail line from South Ferry to Surf Avenue in Coney Island.Behr claimed that express trains on his monorail system would travel between seventy-five and a hundred miles an hour. He also proposed that riders would pay a reasonable three or five cent fare. While Behr had constructed an experimental…

POTW: A Grave Tale: Roswell Graves, Jr. and the Cemetery of the Evergreens

Adrienne Lang

Cedar Knoll, from map 161, Cemetery of Evergreens: [by Robert] Graves, surveyor, Robert Graves, 1860; B A-1860.Fl; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Among other things, Roswell (Robert) Graves, Jr. was a civil engineer, New York City Surveyor, real estate developer, and not-so-honest businessman. In 1849 he was one of six trustees to incorporate the Cemetery of the Evergreens (also known as Evergreens Cemetery) on the Brooklyn Queens border, part of what’s now known as the Queens Cemetery Belt.Prior to the 19th century, New Yorkers were buried in small cemeteries in churchyards or…

POTW: A Litigious Legacy: the Story of a Gravesend Map

Mary Mann

Map of the western part of the Township of Gravesendoriginally laid down by a scale of five chains or 20 rods to an inch, 8th August 1788 by Herman Lefford & Roger Strong: April 16th 1806; [18??]
It was April of 1639, and Anthony Jansen van Salee and his wife Grietje had just been given six months to leave the New Netherlands forever. Anthony, the first known person of Muslim descent to settle in the Americas, had been in and out of court often over the years, chiefly for refusing to pay mandatory fees to the Dutch Reform Church. Grietje had also weathered her share of…

POTW: Start Exploring with the BHS Map Portal

ljuliano

Average monthly rent by blocks, Brooklyn: supplement to Survey of the New York City market: prepared by Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. and its system companies. [1940]; B B-[1940].FL; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today Brooklyn Historical Society is excited to celebrate the launch of our new Map Portal, providing online access to 1500 digitized maps. For the remainder of the summer, we’ll be taking a weekly dive into our map collections to give you a taste of the breadth and depth of the collection, and entice you to start exploring!Paying rent is on every New…

POTW: A Summer Day at Dreamland

Cecily Dyer

v19721771Eugene L. Armbruster, Dreamland, 1904; V1972.1.771, Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Eugene L. Armbruster's dreamlike photograph shows a mother and daughter in Coney Island's Dreamland amusement park in 1904, the year the park opened. Dreamland was the last of Coney Island's original three large amusement parks, along with Steeplechase Park and Luna Park, and sought to draw visitors with sophisticated architecture and its location right at the water's edge, where the ocean breeze would cool the public during…

POTW: Quarantine Summer

Maggie Schreiner

Otto Dreschmeyer, Sunset, Coney Island, August 23, 1966, v1988.12.92, Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, v1988.12, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Now that it is July, Brooklynites are truly in our quarantine summer. Though we may not have our usual bevy of pastimes to look forward to, beaches reopened with lifeguards yesterday, and we are continually entertained (and sometimes annoyed) by fireworks in neighborhoods across the borough and city. This image brings these two pastimes together, showing a view of the sunset behind the Coney Island shoreline with a double exposure of…

POTW: A Reckoning for Brooklyn's Philip Livingston: Slaver, Trader, and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Nalleli Guillen

Attributed to Thomas McIlworth, Philip Livingston, circa 1764; M1974.72.1, Brooklyn Historical Society
We are witnessing a moment of reckoning sweeping across the globe. The simultaneous power and fragility of historical narrative is being exposed as communities reject public monuments erected by past generations. Sculptures of Confederate generals, of Christopher Columbus, of American presidents including Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt are being scrutinized, the “great deeds” they memorialize weighed against the histories of racial oppression and violence they ignore.…

POTW: Transforming Brooklyn's Legal Landscape

Anna Schwartz

Demolition of the Old Kings County Courthouse, Matthew Black, 1961, gelatin sliver print, V1973.5.609; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photograph featured in today's photo of the week shows the demolition of the old Kings County Courthouse in 1961. Only the portico of the once Palladian structure--now a carcass of stone and marble--remains. The courthouse, erected in the 1860s and designed by architects Gamaliel King and Herman Teckritz, was once one of Brooklyn's finest civic structures. Located on 250 Joralemon…

POTW: Grammar School Graduation, 1900

Cecily Dyer

Graduating class, Public School 15
With this week's Photo of the Week, we congratulate the graduates of 2020! The photograph above shows the graduating class of P.S. 15 in the year 1900. The school stood on Third Avenue between Schermerhorn and State streets. Today it is the home of the Khalil Gibran International Academy High School, but you can still see evidence of its history above the entrances, where there appears a “Public School” sign in terra cotta over one door, and “Public School No. 15” over another. We are fortunate that on the back of the photo, the donor…

POTW: Black Lives Matter

Maggie Schreiner

bhs_V1989.22.7_a-1Bob Adelman, Civil rights demonstration, circa 1962, v1989.22.7; Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations v1989.022, Brooklyn Historical Society.
This image comes from our collection of photographs from the Brooklyn Congress on Racial Equality (CORE). In the spirit of the work that CORE and similar organizations have done over many decades, today we are using this space to highlight campaigns, organizations, resources, and books where you can learn more, donate, and get involved with the movement for racial justice…

POTW: Brooklyn is not a Place, It is a People

Bo Méndez

Teaching Ballet Class Remotely, March 2020.Lauren Jaeger, Teaching ballet class remotely, March 30, 2020, 2020.003.222; Brooklyn Historical Society COVID-19 collection, 2020.003; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Over the past several weeks, our Photos of the Week have expressed gratitude for Brooklyn and New York’s essential workers who have been keeping the city going during the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant shelter in place circumstances. In this final installment of this series, we’re putting focus on a different facet essential to Brooklyn: Brooklynites themselves. In a…

POTW: Class Portraits from Clinton Hill

Cecily Dyer

Group portrait of Miss Stanton and girls
This week we honor Brooklyn's teachers. To all the educators who have rapidly adapted to a remote learning environment, thank you for continuing to provide educational opportunities and a crucial sense of routine to our children. Children in 19th and early 20th century school photographs often look stiff and expressionless—an image of childhood that feels unfamiliar.  The many poses and personalities among these students at Emmanuel House in Clinton Hill, by contrast, give these charming photographs a sense of relatability even one…

POTW: Cleaning Up in Brooklyn

Maggie Schreiner

Operation Clean Sweep Demonstration, circa 1962, v1989.22.2; Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demo, v1989.22, Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week we’re honoring our borough’s cleaners and sanitation workers. To the people who are cleaning hospital rooms, grocery stores, buses and subways, and picking up garbage and recycling, thank you for doing this important work to keep us safe and healthy! The above image from 1962 shows a Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstration called “Operation Clean Sweep” and illustrates the…

POTW: Keeping New York in Motion

Nalleli Guillen

Flatbush car barn, circa 1885; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection (v1972.1830), Brooklyn Historical Society
This week we honor the transportation workers who are keeping New York City connected in this time of global crisis. To the bus and subway operators and drivers, engineers, mechanics, and tradesmen, along with cleaning staff, thank you for what you are doing to keep our essential workers and others still commuting daily safe. We are devastated by reports, including this recent opinion piece from the New York Times, of transit workers getting sick and…

POTW: Changing with the Times, Always First to Respond

Amy Lau

Engine 202 Ladder Company 101 fire fighters on truckEngine 202 Ladder Company 101 fire fighters on truck, 1925 ca., gelatin silver prints, v1973.5.593; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week we honor the first responders in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) -- the paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and the Fire Department of the City of New York -- who provide all kinds of vital pre-hospital care. Thank you!   This gelatin silver print of firefighters from the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY…

POTW: Taking Stock of Staying Stocked

Bo Méndez

Interior of Sahadi Importing Company, Brooklyn, N.Y[Interior of Sahadi Importing Company, Brooklyn, N.Y], circa 1983, v1992.35.5; Jim Kalett photographs for "Brooklyn -- and How it Got that Way", Brooklyn Historical Society.
During these weeks of sheltering in place, we will be honoring Brooklyn’s essential workers: the people who keep us fed, provide groceries and other essentials, clean homes and workplaces, and take care of us when we’re sick.This week we're honoring our borough's tireless grocery store workers, who have been working to keep food, household needs, and…

POTW: The Evolution of a Brooklyn Block

Brooklyn Historical Society

[Christmas mail delivery], circa 1925, gelatin silver prints, V1973.5.640; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week we honor all the postal, shipping, and delivery workers who continue to deliver our mail, packages, and food throughout our vast city, come rain, shine, or pandemic. This photograph of a US Postal Service carrier pushing his package-filled cart was taken in front of the Wynmore Social Club at 255 Adams Street in downtown Brooklyn around 1925. The club was located across the street from the main Brooklyn…

POTW: A Flatbush Pharmacy

Cecily Dyer

Interior of Cutler's Drug StoreInterior of Cutler's Drug Store, 1887, V1972.1.587; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week we are honoring all those employed in pharmacies who continue to work throughout the pandemic, ensuring that New Yorkers can obtain the medications they need.  We thank you!   George E. Cutler was born in 1842 in Massachusetts, where, after serving in the Navy and fighting in the Civil War, he studied pharmaceutics, boarding and working at an apothecary in his hometown. By the 1870s, he had moved…

POTW: Cooking for Brooklyn

Maggie Schreiner

Pilgrim Laundry CookPilgrim Laundry cook, circa 1910, v1989.003.3; Pilgrim Laundry photographs, v1989.003, Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks we will be honoring Brooklyn’s essential workers: the people who keep us fed, provide us with groceries and other essentials, clean our homes and workplaces, and take care of us when we’re sick.This week we’re honoring our borough’s hard-working food service workers, who are cooking meals for delivery-only restaurants, providing grab-and-go lunches for school children, and sustaining our frontline medical workers at…

POTW: Doing Your Part to Take Care of Brooklyn

Nalleli Guillen

Annual Report, American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter, 1943-44; American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter collection (1985.091), Brooklyn Historical Society
Are you Taking Care of Brooklyn? In these unprecedented times, support our front line healthcare providers by doing your part: Practical Social Distancing; Stay home; Wash your hands; Avoid touching your face. BHS’s recent public history project and exhibition of the same name, Taking Care of Brooklyn, explores the history of women as caregivers, both in the home and in the workforce. In the late nineteenth century, the…

POTW: A Mother's Rights

Nalleli Guillen

Collections storage at BHS
This week’s POTW takes you behind the scenes, inside BHS collections storage!Hanging on our paintings rack is an unusual portrait of Brooklynite Rachel Hardy Ray that depicts her nursing a child, not something you see too often in nineteenth-century American portraits. It's almost as if her baby was carefully placed to keep the artist from capturing a full #freethenipple moment!As unusual as it may seem, breastfeeding has actually been a traditional motif in art for centuries, used to represent maternal protection and fertility. It was a common trope…

POTW: Brooklyn Women Rule the Road

Nalleli Guillen

Woman in car, 1910-1925, V1981.283.3.89; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society
Sexism in driving is as old as the American automobile industry. At the turn of the twentieth century, as Americans began purchasing personal vehicles, social commentators immediately dismissed female drivers, assuming the “fair motorist” was timid and hindered by “woman’s natural distaste for mechanics.” Luckily, photographs like this one from the Burton family papers and photographs show that women have ruled the road just as long as men! As the Brooklyn Daily…

POTW: Emily Roebling's Bridge

Nalleli Guillen

Brooklyn Bridge, circa 1901; Early Brooklyn and Long island photograph collection, V1972.1.1278, Brooklyn Historical Society
When it opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge immediately became one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks, a symbol of American ingenuity and technological prowess. Did you know it likely never would have been completed without the steadfast management of one great woman? Emily Warren Roebling (1843-1903) took over daily oversight of the bridge’s construction in 1872. That year, her husband Washington Roebling developed decompression sickness, “the…

POTW: Hunterfly Road and Brooklyn's Weeksville

Nalleli Guillen

Eugene L. Armbruster, Hunterfly Road, circa 1922; V1987.11.2, Brooklyn Historical Society
Certain houses, streets, or neighborhoods have the ability to transport passersby back in time. The three houses in this photograph, today home to the Weeksville Heritage Center, preserve the memory of Brooklyn's once thriving nineteenth-century free African American community, Weeksville. The earliest of these houses (the single story duplex in the middle of the photograph) dates to the 1840s. The house was built not even two decades after New York State outlawed slavery, when many…

POTW: Williamsburg families

Nalleli Guillen

Lucille Fornasieri Gold, Williamsburg families, 1980-1985; V2008.013.73, Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn-born photographer Lucille Fornasieri Gold said of her photographs, “I engage the social and moral questions, but I don’t try to answer them.” Through her photographs, Fornasieri Gold documented everyday life in Brooklyn, her portraits and street scenes encouraging viewers to consider the stories captured on camera. This image of a quiet moment shared by two families in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in the 1980s unlocks a complex local history. Fueled by…

POTW: Desegregating Brooklyn's Classrooms

Nalleli Guillen

Group portrait of boys in a classroom, circa 1905, photographic print, v1972.1.739; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This class portrait was taken in about 1905 at Brooklyn's P.S. 134. Of the thirty-two young faces captured in the image, one is African American (visible just left of center). During Black History Month, this unnamed young man’s matriculation at P.S. 134 in the early twentieth century is a reminder of the long struggle to desegregate Brooklyn’s public schools, one that continues into the present day. In the 1800s, Brooklyn’s public school system was strictly…

POTW: A Leather Pocketbook

Nalleli Guillen

bhs_m1983.201.2_3of5_a (1)
This leather pocketbook once belonged to shipmaster Elihu Smith (1771-1825). Although he moved to New York City in 1810, Smith was born near New Bedford in Bristol County, Massachusetts. When he came of age, he quickly rose through the maritime ranks. His illustrious sailing career purportedly took him to China, England, and domestically, on frequent trips between New England and New York. Smith family manuscripts (also in the BHS collection) show that Elihu and his second wife Catharine both descended from old American Quaker families, hers from…

POTW: A Souvenir Bell Cast from the Fire

Nalleli Guillen

bhs_m1990.33.1_1of6_a (1)
In 1895, Brooklynite James Dunne (1842-1915) commissioned the manufacture of several miniature bells like this one. Inscribed "Brooklyn City Hall, Feb. 26, '95," they were forged from the remnants of the great bronze bell that once hung in Brooklyn's City Hall (today known as Borough Hall). Originally hung in 1859, the bell weighed 8,626 pounds and was cast in Boston by the ironworks of Henry N. Hooper & Company. Tragedy struck in the early morning hours of February 26, 1895, when the building caught fire. The blaze originated from a…

POTW: Alfred Steers's commemorative medals

Julie Golia

Medal, circa 1900, M1985.15.3; Alfred E. Steers collection; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Donated to the Society by his descendants, this commemorative medal is one of many in BHS's collection that belonged to Brooklynite Alfred E. Steers (1860-1948). Born into a grocer family in the town of Flatbush (today a neighborhood of Brooklyn), Steers quickly rose to prominence in local government. Appointed first a justice of the peace in Flatbush in the 1880s, Steers became city magistrate the following decade. In 1910, he was elected Brooklyn Borough President. Steers' large…

POTW: Revolutionary-era cannonball

Julie Golia

Musket ball, circa 1700s, M1985.403.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
BHS possesses a unique collection of Revolutionary War family heirlooms, found objects, and relics that together provide a window into the history of the war itself, and also how later generations commemorated it. Before her death in 1943, New Yorker Nora Gertrude Welch donated this three-pound cannon ball to Long Island Historical Society (today Brooklyn Historical Society). Having discovered it near White Plains, New York, she likely inferred its connection to the Revolutionary War and George Washington's…

POTW: A Ceremonial Firefighter's Helmet

Julie Golia

Firefighter's helmet, circa 1886, M1989.44.7; James A. Kelly collection of Brooklyn firefighting records; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As New York and Brooklyn became increasingly dense cities, the specter of fire and its destructive potential loomed large. In Brooklyn, beginning in 1785, local citizens regularly selected their volunteer firefighters at town meetings. For the next 84 years, an expanding network of volunteers fought fires across Brooklyn. Station crews worked independently of each other, sometimes leading to competition between teams to reach fires first.…

POTW: Happy New Year!

Julie Golia

Swerdlof wedding, 1946, V1991.11.100.17; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week, we are revisiting one of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for 2020. Now that the holidays are behind us, the focus has shifted to the season of glitter, champagne, and the midnight ball drop. In Brooklyn, there are hundreds of events and parties to ring in the New Year. Whether you’re prepping for a festive night on the town or a low-key evening at home, there’s so much to celebrate. All…

POTW: Cozy up for the holidays!

Julie Golia

Runkel's pure cocoa sample, early 1900s; M1986.237.1; Brooklyn Historical Society. 
Seasons Greetings from Brooklyn Historical Society! If you’re celebrating, we hope you’ve had a festive holiday filled with family, Christmas trees and menorah lightings, latkes and hot cocoa. This tiny object from our collection put us all in a cozy mood. Standing about an inch high, this tin from the early 20th century likely held just enough powder for one steaming cup of cocoa. This little artifact is just one of many we're learning more about as we process BHS's historic artifact…

POTW: It's Christmastime in Brooklyn!

Julie Golia

Holiday View 12, circa 1956, 2006.001.1.131; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, arc.216; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today we are revisiting one of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for 2020. It’s a festive time of year all over Brooklyn and the above photograph is just one of many in our collections illustrating just how celebratory our very own Williamsburgh Savings Bank became while it functioned as a bank.  Extremely large Christmas trees, piles of gifts, highly visible…

POTW: Manhattan Bridge

Dan Brenner

Underwood & Underwood, Manhattan Bridge, circa 1910, Gelatin silver print, v1973.5.324; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Manhattan Bridge opened to the public on the morning of December 31, 1909. It was the third suspension bridge built to span the East River, joining the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges. At the beginning of construction, its name was “Bridge No. 3” but that didn’t stick. In the end, the city opted for simple, christening the bridge Manhattan. In 1901, the city recruited Department of Bridges commissioner Gustav Lindenthal and engineer R.S. Buck to…

POTW: Winter is coming...

Dan Brenner

John D. Morrell, [View of waterfront, taken from Esplanade], February 5, 1961, Chromogenic color print, v1974.9.140; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Even though winter doesn’t officially arrive until December 21, it sure feels like it has already invaded Brooklyn! We are bracing ourselves for the inevitable drop in temperature and the dreadful wintry mix— two words put together that nobody wants to hear. It is especially chilly down on the waterfront, as shown above. This image by John D. Morrell shows a view of the waterfront taken from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in the…

POTW: Thanksgiving Day

Dan Brenner

Harry Kalmus, Edna Machtiger’s wedding, Thanksgiving day, 1946, Black-and-white negatives, V1991.11.103.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
From all of us here at Brooklyn Historical Society, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday. Happy Thanksgiving! This image comes from the Harry Kalmus papers and photographs (ARC.046). After serving in World War II, Kalmus took up photography, working for advertising agencies and corporate offices in Manhattan. Later in life, he and his family moved to Kew Gardens in Queens and eventually settled on Long Island in the town of Freeport. He…

POTW: G. Frank Edgar Pearsall

Dan Brenner

G. Frank E. Pearsall, [Portrait of child], circa 1870, Cabinet photographs, V1992.17.32; Brooklyn Historical Society.
G. Frank Edgar Pearsall was born in New York City on November 23, 1841. His parents died when he was young leaving Frank, along with his brother Alva, to be raised by their aunt in Saratoga, New York. In the early 1850s, the Pearsall brothers’ uncle, Townsend Duryea, took them under his wing. A pioneering daguerreotypist, Duryea owned a photography studio and taught the brothers his trade. After only two years, Duryea left the United States for Australia and…

POTW: John Yapp Culyer

Dan Brenner

Alva A. Pearsall, [John Yapp Culyer], circa 1870, Photographic print, 1977.430; Brooklyn Historical Society.
John Yapp Culyer was born in New York City on May 18, 1839. After studying surveying and engineering at New York University, he became a member of the engineer corps working under Frederick Law Olmsted, who was then superintendent of Central Park. Over the course of the next decade, Culyer also volunteered his services in the United States Sanitary Commission (A federal relief agency that provided support for sick and wounded Civil War soldiers), splitting his time…

POTW: The Elephantine Colossus

Dan Brenner

[Elephantine Colossus], circa 1893, Illustration, V1972.1.1090; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Elephantine Colossus was an elephant-shaped hotel attraction located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island from 1885 through 1896. Also known as the Elephant Hotel, this unique structure stood twelve stories high and contained a total of thirty-one rooms, including a tobacco shop and a museum. At the time, it was such a site to behold that it was dubbed the eighth wonder of the world! During its short life on Surf Avenue and West 12th Street, the Elephantine Colossus was…

POTW: The Carroll Street Bridge

Dan Brenner

John D. Morrell, [Carroll Street bridge], February, 28, 1960, Gelatin silver print, V1974.4.1450; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Carroll Street Bridge crosses over the Gowanus Canal between Bond and Nevins Street and resides near the border between the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Gowanus and Carroll Gardens. Of the 794 bridges and tunnels currently operating under the purview of the New York City Department of Transportation, it is the least-used bridge in the city. Despite this, the Carroll Street Bridge is actually a New York City historic landmark. It is one of only three…

POTW: Lucille Fornasieri Gold Photographs

Dan Brenner

Lucille Fornasieri Gold, [Russian women in Brighton Beach], circa 1975, Digital image, V2008.013.16; Brooklyn Historical Society
Every photograph in Lucille Fornasieri Gold’s collection is a story unto itself. Case in point, the image above of an early morning scene on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood alongside Coney Island on the southern shore of Brooklyn. Seated at two tables are four Russian women, collectively looking off into the distance at something out of frame. I wonder what it could be they are looking at. In 1930, Lucille Fornasieri Gold was born in…

POTW: The Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding Collection

Dan Brenner

Frank J. Trezza, [Ship fitters], 1977, Color slide, v1988.21.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This image comes from the Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding collection, which documents the Brooklyn Navy Yard through a turbulent period of change. Closed by the Department of Defense in 1966, the Navy Yard was reopened a few years later under the management of the Seatrain Shipbuilding Corporation. A subsidiary of the shipping and transportation company Seatrain Lines, the Seatrain Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1968 with the help of federal government subsidies and…

POTW: The Sharon Hall Hotel

Dan Brenner

John D. Morrell, [Sharon Hall Hotel], March 6, 1960, Gelatin silver print, v1974.4.1504; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Some readers might remember this building as the Sharon Hall Hotel. Prior to its revamping however, it was an apartment building known as the Montrose. This magnificent structure was designed, sometime between the 1860s and 1880s, by Montrose W. Morris, the Brooklyn based architect best known for designing some of the earliest multi-unit apartment buildings in New York City. The design of the Montrose is very similar in style to the Alhambra, another larger…

POTW: Zig Zag Records, Sheepshead Bay

Dan Brenner

James and Karla Murray, Zig Zag Records, 2005, 2009.004.28; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The image above shows the exterior of Zig Zag Records, a family-owned shop in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay, which shuttered its doors in 2011. This photograph is part of an ongoing project by photographers James and Karla Murray which documents the storefronts of Brooklyn and New York City. It was featured in the 2009 Counter Culture, part of the “Public Perspectives” exhibition series held at Brooklyn Historical Society. The exhibition also coincided with the publication…

POTW: Bliss Estate, Owl's Head Park

Dan Brenner

[Bliss Estate, Owl’s Head Park], circa 1915, V1973.6.680; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Located in the Brooklyn neighborhood previously known as Yellow Hook (today Bay Ridge), Owl’s Head Park is tucked along the water in the neighborhood’s northern most section, offering spectacular views of the bay and nearby New Jersey. In 1856, Henry Cruse Murphy - former Brooklyn mayor, founder of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and first director of the Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society!) - built his estate on the site that would eventually become Owl’s Head Park…

POTW: Altar to Liberty, Green-Wood Cemetery

Dan Brenner

Altar to Liberty, Green-Wood Cemetery, August 27, 1920, V1973.5.1005: Brooklyn Historical Society.
Situated on Brooklyn’s highest point, Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery, stands the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, Minerva. Designed as an altar to independence, the bronze Minerva appears to be waving to the Statue of Liberty which is clearly visible from her vantage point. Charles Higgins, the creator of Higgins India Ink, led the charge on this project. He considered the Battle of Brooklyn, fought on August 27, 1776, to be an overlooked event of historic significance in…

POTW: Ocean Parkway Bike Path

Dan Brenner

[The Ocean Parkway, Three Drives, Two Bicycle Paths and Sidewalks], circa 1894, V1986.250.1.78; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Stretching from the southwest entrance of Prospect Park to the ocean shore of Coney Island, Ocean Parkway spans just under five miles across the borough of Brooklyn. In 1894, the parkway became New York City’s first dedicated bicycle path, and the very first in the United States! In 1866, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux proposed constructing two stretches of open public parkways to Brooklyn’s board of Park Commissioners, an extension of their…

POTW: The Ralph Irving Lloyd Lantern Slides

Dan Brenner

Ralph Irving Lloyd, [Cats on a roof], circa 1905, V1981.15.219; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklynites have been obsessed with photographing cats long before social media was a thing. These fancy felines were photographed by Brooklyn’s own amateur photographer and ophthalmologist, Ralph Irving Lloyd. Lloyd was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on September 11, 1875. After high school, Lloyd moved to New York City and attended the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, graduating in 1896. Two years later, he enrolled at the New York Ophthalmic Hospital for further…

POTW: Clay Lancaster

Dan Brenner

[Clay Lancaster and August Heckscher, reception at Gage & Tollner], November 28, 1967, v1973.5.1582; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Architectural Historian and author Clay Lancaster (on left) was born on March 30, 1917 in Lexington, Kentucky. After receiving his Master’s from the University of Kentucky he moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights and worked as both a librarian in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library and as a lecturer on architectural history at Columbia University in Manhattan. One of Lancaster’s most noteworthy accomplishments was…

POTW: The Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard Collection

Dan Brenner

Anthony Costanzo, [Brooklyn Navy Yard], circa 1960, v1988.37.118; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This photograph comes from the Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard collection (ARC.023). Costanzo was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and served in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. In 1963, he attended Teachers College at Columbia University and received his Master’s in Education. After graduating, Costanzo stayed in New York City, working as a Public Information Officer for the U.S. Department of Navy at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He would remain in…

POTW: Marianne Moore

Dan Brenner

[Marianne Moore, reception at Gage & Tollner’s], November 28, 1967, v1973.5.1588; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Coincidentally enough, the other day I was enjoying my lunch on the Brooklyn Heights promenade when an elderly gentleman approached me and asked if I had heard of Marianne Moore. When I told him I had, he sat down next to me and shared the story of his day. He had been walking up and down the promenade all morning asking people if they knew who she was. This man was delighted to have found me, although we ended up not actually talking about Marianne Moore.…

POTW: The Williamsburg Bridge

Dan Brenner

[The Williamsburg Bridge, spanning the East River], circa 1910, v1973.6.575; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Williamsburg Bridge opened to the public on December 19, 1903, spanning the East River and connecting Manhattan’s Lower East Side with the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. It was designed by American Civil Engineer Leffert L. Buck and architect Henry Hornbostel who would later also collaborate on the design of the nearby Queensboro Bridge. This time period coincided with a massive population growth in New York City, prompting an ease of movement between boroughs…

POTW: Fabulous Coney Island!

Dan Brenner

[Fabulous Coney Island], circa 1950, Photographic postcard, v1973.4.1511; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Summertime in August means it’s time to beat the heat. New York of course has its fair share of beaches but one of its more well-known spots to go for a swim is Brooklyn’s own Coney Island. Pictured above is “Fabulous Coney Island” as captured from the 1950s! The Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone, attractions that both received landmark status in the late 1980s, are represented here as well as the historic Steeplechase Park. All but Steeplechase Park remain today. The park…

POTW: The Red Hook Grain Terminal

Dan Brenner

[Gowanus Canal Grain Terminal], circa 1930, Photographic print, v1973.5.978; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Situated at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, the Red Hook Grain Terminal was built in 1922, as part of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). This project was a plan to incorporate a new series of waterways to re-route and improve shipping along the Erie Canal. The New York State Canal System also included the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, the Champlain Canal, and the Oswego Canal. The Erie Canal…

POTW: The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

Dan Brenner

C.M. Tacopina, [Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Construction], 1963, Color slide, v1984.1.154; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Designed by Swiss-American engineer Othmar H. Ammann, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was built between 1959 and 1964. It is the longest suspension bridge in North America as well as the eleventh longest in the world. Totaling 4,260 in length across New York Harbor, it crosses the Narrows waterway from the shore lines of Fort Hamilton in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge to Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. The bridge is named after sixteenth-century…

POTW: Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

Dan Brenner

Donald L. Nowlan, [Pond], circa 1975, Color print, v1990.2.241; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s (BBG’s) Japanese Hill-and Pond Garden was the first Japanese garden curated within a public botanic garden in America. Designed by Japanese-American landscape architect Takeo Shiota, the garden took two years to complete, opening to the public in 1915. The project cost $13,000 and was funded largely by a gift from Alfred T. White, a benefactor and trustee. In 1947, Japanese-American Gardener Frank Okamura was hired to care for the Japanese Hill-and-Pond…

POTW: The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch

Dan Brenner

[Cyclists in Grand Army Plaza], circa 1900, Black-and-white-photograph, v1987.41.7; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Towering over the northern entrance of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch was built between 1889-1892 in the Beaux-Arts style as part of Prospect Park Plaza, known today as Grand Army Plaza. Construction of the arch was supported in part by the Grand Army of the Republic, a private fraternal organization for Union Army veterans of the American Civil War founded just after the war’s end, in 1866. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial…

POTW: The Fulton Ferry Fireboat House

Dan Brenner

bhs_v1989.18.63_tJoseph Maraio, Fulton Ferry Fireboat House prior to renovation, circa 1975, color slide, v1989.18.63; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Located in the Fulton Ferry Historic District in Brooklyn, the Fulton Ferry Fireboat House was built in 1926 on the former site of the old Fulton Ferry Terminal. Two years’ prior, Brooklyn’s Union Ferry Company had terminated service from this location due to the declining number of ferry commuters. This occurred in part because the early 1900s saw a rise in alternate means of available transportation including automobiles and…

POTW: Schenck-Crooke House

Dan Brenner

[Schenck-Crooke House], circa 1900, photogravure, v1981.283.58; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Originally located at 21-33 East 63rd Street in the Flatlands neighborhood of Brooklyn, The Schenck-Crooke House was built between 1675-1677 and is considered to be one of the oldest Dutch colonial houses in New York. The Schenck family arrived from Holland in 1650 and settled in the area then known as Amersfoot. Twenty-five years later on December 29, 1675, Jan Martense Schenck purchased his own farmland and built the house on the property. Designed in the traditional Dutch colonial…

POTW: Kings Theatre

Dan Brenner

Interior view of Kings Theatre, circa 1950; v1973.5.1847; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush, the Loews Kings Theatre opened its doors on September 7, 1929 with a screening of Evangeline, directed by the prolific filmmaker Edwin Carewe. The theatre was then one of the five “wonder theaters” of New York and New Jersey, all owned by Loews and with similar grandiose designs. The Kings Theatre was the flagship of the company. Programming originally included a stage show accompanied by a feature film, but production costs coinciding with…

POTW: Brooklyn Fire Headquarters

Dan Brenner

Alfred C. Loonam, Jay St., Brooklyn, N. of Willoughby St., 1950 ca; photograph, v1974.2.16; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In 1892, the Brooklyn Fire Department opened its headquarters at 365-67 Jay Street, located between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The building was designed by renowned Richardsonian Romanesque Style (and later, Neoclassical) architect Frank Freeman, also known for such brilliant works as the Herman Behr Mansion in Brooklyn Heights, and the Eagle Warehouse in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Six…

POTW: Huron Street Public Bath

Dan Brenner

Huron Street Public Bath, 1905; illustration, v1973.6.276; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Huron Street Public Bath was built in 1903 and opened its doors in 1904 amidst New York City’s Public Bath Movement, a city-wide Progressive Era initiative intended to improve the lives and living conditions of city dwellers who lived in tenements. At the turn of the century, bathrooms in tenements were not required by city law. Without running water, people were dependent on water provided by city pumps. This lack of personal hygiene combined with overcrowding contributed to the…

POTW: Hicks-Platt House, Gravesend

Dan Brenner

Ralph Irving Lloyd, Hicks-Platt House, Gravesend, circa 1915; lantern slide, v1981.15.5; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In 1643, English Anabaptist Lady Deborah Moody, along with a group of English colonists from Massachusetts, arrived in New Amsterdam to seek out religious freedom. At the time, Director Williem Kieft of the Dutch West India Company needed people to settle and defend the land in Brooklyn he had recently stolen from the local Lenape tribe. Kieft granted a land patent for Moody and her group to establish the area, thus founding what is now the Brooklyn…

POTW: Paerdegat Basin

Dan Brenner

Ralph Irving Lloyd, Paerdegat [Basin], circa 1910, lantern slide, v1981.15.144; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The saltwater wetland known as Paerdegat Basin is nestled between the southern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Canarsie and Georgetown. The word Paerdegat derives from the Dutch meaning “horse gate”, but over the years the basin was also known by other names including Bestevaar Kill, Bedford Creek, and Paerdegat Creek. In the early 1900s, this area seemed quite solitary and pleasant, which you can get a sense of from the above image. The trees surrounding the basin were part…

POTW: Mozart in Concert Grove, Prospect Park

Dan Brenner

38080B5BMozart in Concert Grove, Prospect Park, ca. 1897, V1973.2.294; Brooklyn oversize 19th century collection, V1973.002; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Have you ever wondered why a bronze bust of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart resides in Prospect Park? The story of how the world-renowned Austrian composer’s likeness came to be in Brooklyn dates back to the year 1897. If you take a stroll through the southeastern side of Prospect Park in Brooklyn you will find yourself in Concert Grove. The area was originally designed for park-goers to leisurely enjoy live music in the nearby…

POTW: Hotel Margaret

Dan Brenner

Hotel Margaret, ca. 1930, V1984.1.458; Brooklyn Slide Collection, V1984.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For years the majestic Hotel Margaret stood on the corner of Columbia Heights and Orange Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, overlooking the New York harbor with a grand view of Manhattan. The ten-story hotel once laid claim to being the tallest building in Brooklyn, the sun parlor on the top floor offering a panoramic view of the city in all directions. The building was designed using polychrome shades of stone which provided even more allure to…

POTW: Prospect Park Picnic Ground

Dan Brenner

Prospect Park Picnic Ground, ca.1920, V1980.2.88; Prospect Park lantern slide collection, V1980.002; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Spring has officially sprung! It’s time to put away those winter clothes and bask in the warm rays of the sun. One particular activity I look forward to when the weather permits is having a relaxing picnic. In 1920s Brooklyn, the picnic grounds in Prospect Park were quite the hot ticket as you can see above. Let’s hope the park doesn’t get this crowded over the next few weeks as it gets even warmer. Regardless, go outside and enjoy! This image…

POTW: Squibb Plant, Brooklyn

Dan Brenner

Squibb Plant, Brooklyn, V1973.5.789; Brooklyn Photograph and Illustration Collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After serving as a physician at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Medical Station, Edward Robinson Squibb founded his own pharmaceutical manufacturing company, The Squibb Company, in 1858. In 1892, he formed a partnership with his family and changed the name to E.R. Squibb and Sons. During the 1920s, Squibb hired architect Russell G. Cory and associate Walter M. Cory of Turner Construction Company to design and build a new manufacturing plant located at 25-30…

POTW: Brighton Beach Hotel, 1888

Dan Brenner

Brighton Beach Hotel, being moved back from the ocean, April 3rd, 1888, V1973.6.661; Brooklyn Photograph and Illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After becoming a millionaire selling mules and horses to the Union Army during the American Civil War, William Engeman returned home to New York where he purchased the land nestled between Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn for twenty thousand dollars, then known as Middle Division. He renamed the newly acquired land Brighton Beach and in 1870 opened the Ocean Hotel, a modest structure compared to…

POTW: Stauch Baths in Coney Island

Dan Brenner

Stauch’s Baths, 1984, V1992.48.1; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, V1992.048; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Above is a photograph by Anders Goldfarb of Stauch’s Baths on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Once a popular destination for gay men in the 1940-50s, it fell into disrepair after a fire destroyed the building in 1983, and was eventually torn down in 1992. You may also recognize the building from Walter Hill’s iconic 1979 film The Warriors. The graffiti prominently displayed on the front of the bath house was added by the production crew for the opening scene of…

POTW: A Man Playing the Trumpet in Prospect Park

Julie May

v200801381A Man Playing the Trumpet in Prospect Park, ca. 1975, V2008.013.81; Lucille Fornasieri Gold Photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Spring is in the air here in Brooklyn! It’s time to shed those protective layers, put away that winter jacket, and enjoy the warm weather! Whether it be taking a walk through park or playing your trumpet while people are trying to relax on a nearby bench (as seen in this photograph) – the objective is to go outside and enjoy yourself. What are your favorite things to do when winter ends and springtime begins? Let us know in…

POTW: A Man and His Dog in Prospect Park

Dan Brenner

v200801340[Man and Dog], V2008.013.40; Lucille Fornasieri Gold Photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In Prospect Park a dapper fellow sits on a bench, cigarette in hand, and dog by his side. Most likely, this pair of friends are patiently awaiting the first signs of springtime just as we all are doing here in New York City. This week’s photo is dedicated to our canine friends who endure all kinds of weather conditions to be by our side. The trusted sidekick and best friend to all humans, who is looking forward to a springtime walk in the park just as much as you…

POTW: Coffey Park, 1934

Dan Brenner

v19743160Red Hook Park Paths (Coffey Park), V1974.3.160; Praeger Survey Collection, V1974.003; Brooklyn Historical Society.
  Coffey Park sits snug in the middle of Red Hook. Before it was Coffey Park, it was Red Hook Park. Before that it was a patch of land in a developing neighborhood of Brooklyn. Due to the rise of the waterfront industry and population growth of the mid to late 1800s, Red Hook grew in size. People arrived, houses were built, and a park was declared. It was named after Michael Coffey, a well-known representative of the district and long-time…

POTW: Dedication of Bronze Plaque on Samuel F.B. Morse Monument, April 27th, 1968

Dan Brenner

v1973.5.367Dedication of Bronze Plaque on Morse Monument in Green-Wood Cemetery, April 27th, 1968, V1973.5.367; Brooklyn Photograph and Illustration Collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the American painter and inventor of the telegraph, died on April 2nd, 1872 in New York City and was subsequently buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenwood Heights. Years later in honor of his 177th birthday, the Morse Telegraph Club (MTC) commissioned a commemorative bronze plaque to be placed on the monument. The…

POTW: Bedford Avenue YMCA

Dan Brenner

v1973.5.5411115 Bedford Avenue YMCA, 1930 ca., v1973.5.541; Brooklyn Photograph and Illustration Collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In 1853 the first YMCA in Brooklyn opened its doors. Back then, the mission of the Young Men’s Christian Association was more evangelical than anything – but they did have a swimming pool and other such facilities. The Bedford Avenue branch opened in 1888 at its original location of 420 Gates Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. As the population of the area expanded in size, so did the need for an even larger…

POTW: Manhattan Furrier

Dan Brenner

2009.004Manhattan Furrier, 2006, 2009.004.15; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
 This photograph shows the exterior of Manhattan Furrier, once located at 685 Manhattan Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.A family owned and operated business since 1916, it unfortunately shuttered its doors in 2011, much to the dismay of their long-time customers. In NYC, the furrier trade reached its peak in the 1960s and 70s as fur coats were quite fashionable and all the craze. The 1990s gave way to a slow…

POTW: Juxtaposition

Julie May

20100082Sunrise on Brighton Beach, 2010.008.2; Jacob Mann photographs, 2010.008; Brooklyn Historical Society.
At Brooklyn Historical Society, we strive to collect photographs that document a moment in the history of the borough while also conveying a particular aesthetic that appeals to our aspirations to exhibit beautiful works of art. This photograph is one of those successful juxtapositions that tell us something about the built environment of Brooklyn in 2010 that is also a beautiful execution of the art form. Of his photographs, Jacob Mann says “My photography is a…

POTW: Flatbush Avenue

Julie May

v1973.5.1486612 Flatbush Avenue, 1971, V1973.5.1486; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week's photograph highlights the quotidien caught on the streets of Brooklyn. Flatbush Avenue runs from Downtown Brooklyn through several neighborhoods and over Jamaica Bay into Queens. Driving a portion of it is a tumultuous journey through cultures that demonstrate the variety of Brooklyn life and culture. On the block in this photograph, you could grab a Schaefer beer, buy your favorite lipstick, and head upstairs to your great…

POTW: High Hopes for Snow!

Julie May

From My Office, 1888 V1974.7.81; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I hate to be repetitive, but with this week’s forecast seems both promising and a little harrowing. We may avoid the arctic tundra that the northern Midwest will experience, but may encounter the usual “wintry mix.” As seasoned Brooklynites know, this could mean anything from skating rinks for sidewalks to pellet-rain that permeates the thickest of puffy coats. Or no precipitation WHAT. SO. EVER. Nevertheless, I’m hoping to wake up to that elusive and calming blanket…

POTW: Doing the Snow Dance!

Julie May

Snow Storm, 450 9th Street, Brooklyn, ca. 1905, V1981.15.134; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.015; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s mid-January and New York City has yet to see significant snowfall. I don’t know about you, but I am eager to wake up to a delicate blanket of white throughout what feels like the urban jungle. This week’s photo depicts a man walking through a blizzard upon already well-laid tracks. In addition to carrying a bundle with his left arm, that may also be his winter warrior canine companion…

POTW: Daisies

Tess Colwell

[Children as daisies, from Sewing School Class], ca 1910, V1981.284.23; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week depicts children as daisies from sewing school class around 1910. The Emmanuel House, located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn was a civic center and…

POTW: Cat named “Lazybones”

Tess Colwell

Cat named “Lazybones,” circa 1910, V1981.15.182; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week depicts a cat named “Lazybones,” likely in the backyard of a Park Slope home, around 1910. I often come across a similar scene in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park, with cats spotted on porches, fences, hidden…

POTW: Happy New Year!

Tess Colwell

[Swerdlof Wedding], 1946, V1991.11.100.17; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Now that the holidays are behind us, the focus has shifted to the season of glitter, champagne, and the midnight ball drop. In Brooklyn, there are hundreds of events and parties to ring in the New Year. Whether you’re prepping for a festive…

POTW: Merry Christmas

Tess Colwell

Holidays View 12, ca. 1956, 2006.001.1.131; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, arc.216; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. It’s a festive time of year all over Brooklyn and the above photograph is just one of many in our collections illustrating just how celebratory our very own Williamsburgh Savings Bank became while it…

POTW: Hand-colored photographs

Tess Colwell

[Girl Seated Wearing Bow-Trimmed Dress], circa 1865, V1978.174.66; Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. The photo of the week is a portrait of an unknown girl, sometime around 1865. This photograph is possibly an example of hand-colored photography, which was the most popular and effective way to create color…

POTW: City Hall on Fire

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn City Hall Tower Fire], 1895, V1981.15.132; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, 1981.15, Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. This photo of the week depicts a roof level view of the 1895 fire at Brooklyn City Hall (today's Borough Hall).  If you look closely, you can see fire ladders propped against the building and firefighters on the roof using hoses to…

POTW: Happy Hanukkah!

Tess Colwell

Grandmother at Hanukkah Party, 1980, v1992.43.29; Marcia Bricker photographs, v1992.43; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Hanukkah began on Sunday evening and continues through Monday, December 10. If you're celebrating, we hope you’ve had a festive holiday filled with family, menorah lightings, and maybe a few-too-many latkes. Here at BHS we wish you and your…

POTW: Lundy’s Restaurant

Tess Colwell

[Lundy’s Restaurant], 1961, V1974.4.1678; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For the next several weeks, we are revisiting some of our favorite photos of the week. We hope you enjoy looking back with us as we prepare new posts for the New Year. Lundy’s Restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn has seen its fair share of good and bad times since it opened in 1935. In its heyday, the restaurant reportedly seated over 2,000 patrons. Opened by Irving Lundy, the historic seafood…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving

Tess Colwell

Sunday School Thanksgiving/Collection, 1910 ca, v1981.284.20; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As you prepare for your Thanksgiving travels and celebrations, we bring you a photo of the week from Thanksgiving, 1910.  The photograph depicts a collection of  items we think were sent to Baptist Home, a community center for senior citizens, located in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.This photograph comes from the Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, comprised of 87…

POTW: Prospect Park

Tess Colwell

[Lake +Wellhouse, Prospect Park], 1896, V1973.5.1528, Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Prospect Park is a Brooklyn treasure providing 526 acres of green space, wetlands, forested areas, and trails for all to enjoy. According to NYC Parks, eight million visitors a year enjoy the park and its many facilities and public spaces. The park was constructed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and opened to the public in 1867. The photo of the week depicts a view of the…

POTW: Hurricane Sandy

Tess Colwell

[Shore Hotel sign damaged from the Hurricane Sandy], 2012, 2014.010.7, MIchael Claro Hurricane Sandy Photographs, 2010.010; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s been six years since Hurricane Sandy, but it’s not soon forgotten. The storm began on October 29, 2012 and brought flooding, wind, and storm surges that devastated many communities throughout Brooklyn and New York City. The photo of the week depicts the Shore Hotel sign in Coney Island showing damage from Hurricane Sandy.This photograph is by Michael Claro, a Brooklyn…

POTW: Pygmalion and Galatea

Tess Colwell

[Theater--Pygmalion and Galatea], ca. 1910, 2014.019.17.05.016a, Packer Collegiate Institute records, 2014.019; Brooklyn Historical Society
Need some ideas for your Halloween costume? Get some inspiration from Packer Collegiate Institute students dressed in costume for a stage production of Pygmalion and Galatea, at the Packer Collegiate Institute Chapel, sometime around 1910. The 1871 play by W.S. Gilbert is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, where a sculptor’s creation comes to life and falls in love with the artist.…

POTW: Othmer Library

Tess Colwell

[Othmer Library, Long Island Historical Society], ca. 1938, V1974.031.65, Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society
Have you visited our landmarked library? Brooklyn Historical Society houses a world-renowned archives and special collections library on the second floor. The Othmer library has a magnificent reading room that is open to the public. We welcome and invite you to research our collections, read and do personal work, or simply sit and enjoy the space. The library is open…

POTW: Meserole House

Tess Colwell

Meserole House, 1000 Lorimer St., ca. 1905, V1981.15.124, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, 1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society
The photo of the week depicts the Meserole house located at 1000 Lorimer Street in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1905. The Meserole family was one of the original five families who settled in Bushwick, then one of the five towns of Brooklyn, and  today known as the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Jean Miserol (d.1695), a French Huguenot, immigrated to New…

POTW: Ramus Family Papers

Tess Colwell

Julian Ramus, ca. 1900, V1978.174.2, Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn Historical Society’s vast photography collections includes several family portrait collections, including the Ramus family portraits. The photo of the week depicts a young boy, Julian Ramus, on a bicycle in front of 214 Dean Street in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1900.The Ramus family in Brooklyn began with Isaac Ramus (circa 1805-1876). He was a retail dealer in hosiery and…

POTW: Autumn

Tess Colwell

Fall [Prospect Park West], ca. 1905, V1981.15.207, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Fall is officially here, and it happens to be my favorite time of year in Brooklyn. I love the crisp air, changing leaves, and the abundance of apple varieties. The photo of the week by Ralph Irving Lloyd is titled “Fall” and depicts the tree-lined sidewalk along the stone wall bordering Prospect Park West around 1905. I previously highlighted another photograph by Lloyd titled “Summer.” Which…

POTW: Typewriting Class

Tess Colwell

[Typewriting class], circa 1930, V1973.5.551; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a typewriting class in the Secretarial School at the Central Branch of the Young Women's Christian Association of Brooklyn in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1930. A note handwritten on the back of the photograph indicates, “The number enrolled in educational classes at the Y.W.C.A. last year was 3,930.” This photograph shows an integrated pool…

POTW: William Koch Glass Plate Negatives

Tess Colwell

[Two hunters in a field of haystacks], circa 1900, V1985.4.1; William Koch glass plate negatives; Brooklyn Historical Society.
One strength of Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections is the 19th century photographs. There are hundreds of photographs from this period that glimpse at Brooklyn’s pastoral past. The photo of the week by William Koch is one of my favorites from this period. Two hunters are depicted in a field of haystacks in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, sometime in the late 1890s. There is so much to…

POTW: Packer Collegiate Institute

Tess Colwell

[Chemistry room], 1891, 2014.019.17.05.049; Packer Collegiate Institute records; Brooklyn Historical Society.
New York City Schools are back in session this week! Are you ready for another school year? The photo of the week depicts a chemistry classroom at Packer Collegiate Institute in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn taken in 1891.The Packer Collegiate Institute was established as the Brooklyn Female Academy on Joralemon Street in 1845. It was formed by a committee of local citizens who were interested in…

POTW: West Indian Carnival

Tess Colwell

[Kiddie Carnival], 1994, 2010.019; West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Every year on Labor Day, the West Indian Carnival brings thousands of people to the streets of Brooklyn.  Activities begin on the Thursday before Labor Day and conclude on Monday with the parade on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Carnival evolved among the enslaved African population in Trinidad as a parallel to, and political send up of, the masquerade balls of French…

POTW: Drake Bakery photographs

Tess Colwell

Girl Contestants, 1941, V1987.7.53; Drake Bakeries photographs, v1987.007; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts children participating in a 1941 cake-eating event sponsored by Drake Bakeries at Luna Park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. Eight young women are shown with hands behind their backs, competing to try to eat an entire cake. The judges, singers Diane Courtney and Bradford Reynolds are pictured in the background. Drake Bakeries hosted a three-day “Kiddy Party” at Luna Park where a…

POTW: The Cyclone

Tess Colwell

Cyclone No. 2, 2005, 2005, 2008.035.2; Ron Meisel photographs, 2008.035; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s hard to believe that there are only a few more weeks to savor summer. This photograph by Ron Meisel reminds me to make the most of the long summer nights before fall approaches. Taken in 2005, the photo of the week depicts the Cyclone rollercoaster at dusk in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn.The Cyclone is an iconic Brooklyn landmark. It was built in 1927 by Harry C. Baker and Vernon Keenan. In the mid-19th…

POTW: The Michael Shellens family collection

Tess Colwell

[Shellens family portrait], circa 1912, V1988.468.61; Michael Shellens family collection, ARC,094; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the Shellens family around 1912 in front of their home in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. Michael Shellens (pictured back left) was born in Belgium in 1854 and moved to the United States at a young age. He became a ship’s cabin boy in his teen years and worked his way to captain, taking several voyages across the globe until his retirement in 1898. He later…

POTW: Brooklyn Storefronts

Tess Colwell

La Borinquena, 2004, 2009.004.8; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts an exterior view of La Borinquena, a family-owned grocery store located in the South Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Known as Los Sures (Spanish for the Souths or Southside), the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican roots stretch back to the early half of the twentieth century, when Puerto Rican migrants began settling in the borough. A thriving center of Puerto…

POTW: Happy Summer!

Tess Colwell

[Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album], circa 1912, 2015.010.1; Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We hope you’re having a fun and relaxing summer so far! The photo of the week is from the Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album depicting summer social activities, including boating, fishing, and sunbathing, from 1908 to 1917 in the Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, and Brighton Beach neighborhoods of Brooklyn. To see more pages from this album, check out this page.Charles (Karl)…

POTW: Lucille Fornasieri Gold Photographs

Tess Colwell

Lucille Fornasieri Gold, [Children playing at water fountain], circa 1975, V2008.013.37; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week by Lucille Fornasieri Gold is one of my favorites from Brooklyn Historical Society’s photography collection. Taken around 1975, it depicts children playing in a water fountain by the Flatbush Avenue entrance to Prospect Park. The wall graffiti and loose garbage on the ground is a reminder of the fiscal crisis that gripped New York City in…

POTW: Marcia Bricker Photographs

Tess Colwell

Marcia Bricker, Women with Ceiling, 1976, V1992.43.12; Marcia Bricker photograph collection, V1992.43; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Documentary photographer, Marcia Bricker, has pursued a visual study of cafeterias since the 1970s, focusing on Dubrow’s cafeteria in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. Dubrow’s was a family-owned chain of cafeteria-style, self-service restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the last of which closed in 1985.  Brooklyn Historical Society photography collection includes 47 photographs taken by…

POTW: Happy Fourth of July!

Tess Colwell

Sunset, Coney Island, 1966, V1988.12.92; Otto Dreshmeyer Brooklyn slides, V1988.12; Brooklyn Historical Society.
All of us at BHS wish you a happy Fourth of July! With that in mind, we bring you some fireworks over Brooklyn. The photo of the week is a double-exposure depicting a Coney Island Sunset and fireworks. A double-exposure is a photographic method that involves opening the camera shutter twice to expose the film multiple times. This results with two separate images superimposed onto one image.This photograph comes…

POTW: Spencer Memorial Church

Tess Colwell

[Spencer Memorial Church], circa 1930, V1973.5.396; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Happy Pride! New York City is celebrating LGBTQ pride this month with parades, parties, and events throughout the city. This week, we bring you a Photo of the Week focused on a Brooklyn space with a historic connection to the LGBTQ community. Spencer Memorial Church, pictured here around the 1930s, is located at the corner of Clinton and Remsen streets in the Brooklyn Heights…

POTW: Soccer in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn soccer league team], circa 1991, V1989.2.8.1; Photography collection, V1989.2.8; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This summer, soccer fans across the globe are celebrating the return of the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted by Russia. In a major upset, the United States men’s national soccer team didn’t qualify this year, but Brooklynites are fortunate to have access to dozens of opportunities to watch the matches throughout the day, accompanied by all nationalities represented and the fervor of the world's adoration for…

POTW: Jackie Robinson Exhibition

Tess Colwell

[1953 Brooklyn Dodgers], 1953, V1987.19.4; Photography collection, V1987.19; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s your last chance to catch the exhibition Until Everyone Has It Made: Jackie Robinson’s Legacy, on view at our main location at 128 Pierrepont, celebrating the legacy of Jackie Robinson and his role integrating baseball, as well as his lifelong commitment to racial equality. Robinson understood the crucial role he played in the integration of America’s national pastime, but he also knew the journey toward equality…

POTW: American Sugar Refining Company

Tess Colwell

American Sugar Refining Company, circa 1890, V1973.5.840; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Well before the iconic Domino Sugar sign that graced the skyline until 2014, this is what the Domino Sugar empire looked like along the Brooklyn waterfront. The history of the sign and company goes back to William Havemeyer, a German immigrant who arrived in the United States around 1799. With the help of his brother Frederick, he opened his own refinery in 1807 on Vandam Street…

POTW: Brooklyn Dogs

Tess Colwell

Lucille Fornasieri Gold, [Women with four large dogs], circa 1975, archival inkjet prints, v2008.013.92; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s no surprise that Brooklynites love their dogs! Brooklyn Historical Society’s photographic collections include hundreds of images depicting Brooklyn dogs from various time periods. You can view roughly 50 of these photographs published online. The summer is a great opportunity to appreciate the borough’s love of pups with over 30 dog-friendly parks and dedicated spaces, and many dog…

POTW: Coney Island Boardwalk

Tess Colwell

[View of boardwalk at Coney Island.], 1958, V1974.4.526; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Coney Island boardwalk is fun for visitors all year long, but there’s nothing quite like Coney Island in the summer! Last week, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Brooklyn boardwalk a Scenic Landmark in recognition of its historic significance and as an effort to preserve the site for future generations. This weekend is the perfect time to celebrate Coney…

POTW: Tony Velez Photographs

Tess Colwell

[Home of Consuelo de Passos], 1989, v1989.1.13.9; Brooklyn’s Hispanic Communities Documentation Project, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week by Tony Velez depicts Consuelo de Passos in her Brooklyn home with part of her collection of Mexican regional costumes in 1989. This photograph is part of the Hispanic Communities Documentation project, initiated by Brooklyn Historical Society in 1988 to document the experiences of Brooklyn residents who arrived from Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and several…

POTW: Cherry Blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Tess Colwell

[Blossoms], circa 1977, v1990.2.219; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden opened on May 13, 1911, over a century ago. According to their website, the Original Native Flora Garden was the first display garden at BBG which showcased native plants. Springtime is my favorite time to visit when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. You can now keep track of the blossoms using the Cherrywatch feature on the BBG site. The photo of the week depicts the Cherry Esplanade in…

POTW: David C. Hurd papers and photographs

Tess Colwell

David and Avril at their home in Brooklyn, July 1960. David C. Hurd papers, 2015.019; Brooklyn Historical Society.
One of the most exciting aspects of working with the rich collections at Brooklyn Historical Society is uncovering the lives and stories of past Brooklynites. The photographs and letters in the David C. Hurd papers, reveal a heartwarming courtship and love story between David and Avril Hurd, pictured here in July 1960.David C. Hurd was born in Jamaica and migrated to Brooklyn in 1907, living in various…

POTW: Brooklyn Gardens

Tess Colwell

Students Tending Victory Garden, 1943, 2014.019.17.01.006; Packer Collegiate Institute records, 2014.019; Brooklyn Historical Society.
One of the best parts of spring in Brooklyn is the reward of endless produce options from the farmers market or grocery store to your local CSA or community garden. According to NYC Parks, community gardens account for 100 acres of public open space in the city. The photo of the week depicts Packer Collegiate Institute students tending to their Victory Garden on campus during the spring of…

POTW: Edna Huntington

Tess Colwell

[63-71 Sands Street], circa 1940, v1974.16.0043; Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society has a legacy of notable collection staff who work hard providing research assistance and enhancing our rich collections. We just passed National Library Week and thought it would be a good opportunity to draw your attention to a former librarian who donated hundreds of photographs and personal papers to the BHS collection. The photo of the week by former Head Librarian…

POTW: Baseball

Tess Colwell

Boys Club, circa 1910, v1981.284.51; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s officially spring, which also means the start of baseball season. The photo of the week depicts a portrait of a boys baseball club taken at the Emmanuel House in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1910. Brooklyn played a key role in baseball's early history, in part because of the rapid growth of amateur clubs that developed within a decade after 1845. By 1858, there were 71 clubs in…

POTW: Luna Park

Tess Colwell

[Children in the Scenic Railway], circa 1930, v1973.5.1228; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In honor of Luna Park opening for the season last weekend, the photo of the week depicts children on the Scenic Railway amusement ride at Luna Park around 1930 in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. The railway ride known as “Dragon’s Gorge” opened to the public in 1905 taking visitors through a fantasy world of fire-breathing dragons. In 1944, an electrical issue caused…

POTW: Spring

Tess Colwell

[Flowers], circa 1975, v1990.2.232; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Tuesday, March 20 marked the official first day of spring with promises of warmer, greener days ahead! With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts flowers of various colors behind a row of hedges in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden during the spring of 1975.This photograph comes from the Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection comprised of papers and photographs pertaining to Nowlan’s high school and college years…

POTW: 24 Middagh Street

Tess Colwell

[24 Middagh Street], 1922, V1974.32.72; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.022; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Housing research is one of the most popular topics at Brooklyn Historical Society. Last week, a researcher visited the Othmer Library in search of information related to 24 Middagh Street, a home in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. We uncovered some fascinating photographs and resources pertaining to this historic property, including the photo of the week depicting the southeast…

POTW: Drake Bakeries

Tess Colwell

[Industrial Mixing Equipment Inside Drake Bakeries Building], circa 1940, v1987.7.6; Drake Bakeries photographs, v1987.007; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts an interior view of Drake Bakeries factory at 77 Clinton Avenue on the border of the Clinton Hill and Fort Greene neighborhoods of Brooklyn around 1940. A man is pictured pouring ingredients into an industrial mixing container.Drake’s Cakes was a brand of snack cakes founded in Brooklyn by Newman E. Drake in 1888. Around 1900, the company…

POTW: Jacob Mann Photographs

Tess Colwell

Sunrise on Brighton Beach, 2009, 2010.008.2; Jacob Mann photographs, 2010.008; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society is fortunate to have several fine art photographers represented in the photography collections, including Jacob Mann, a fine art photographer and painter based in Brooklyn. The photo of the week depicts a sunrise on Brighton Beach taken by Mann in 2009.About this photograph, Mann says, “In my playground pictures I see the playgrounds as places from fairy tales within a dark and preoccupied…

POTW: Winter Sports in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

Prospect Park Skiing, circa 1925, v1980.2.61; Prospect Park lantern slide collection, v1980.2; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The 2018 Winter Olympics are underway! I have been watching in amazement and wonder at all of the incredible athletes, including 19 New Yorkers, competing in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. With that in mind, I dug up some photographs of Brooklynites enjoying winter sports. The photo of the week depicts a man skiing in Prospect Park in the mid-1920s.This photograph comes from the…

POTW: Happy Valentine’s Day

Tess Colwell

[Elderly couple in Prospect Park], circa 1975, v2008.013.30; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we share a photograph that captures a couple’s tender moment in Prospect Park, around 1975. We hope you have a day filled with love and maybe a little too much chocolate.This photograph comes from the Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs collection comprised of 93 color and black and white photographs by street photographer, Lucille Fornasieri Gold,…

POTW: Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Collection

Tess Colwell

[Eberhard Faber boxing and labelling department], circa 1920, v1988.35.2;Eberhard Faber Pencil Company collection, ARC.028; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts employees in the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company’s boxing and labelling department, around 1920, in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. The company began in Nuremberg, Bavaria (now Germany) in 1761 when Casper Faber began manufacturing and marketing pencils in his village of Stein. The business continued to grow and expand through many…

POTW: Harry Kalmus papers and photographs

Tess Colwell

[Smitty Smith’s baby], circa 1950, v1991.11.106.1; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The strength of Brooklyn Historical Society’s photographic collections is the built environment, including photographs of buildings and homes that document nearly every Brooklyn neighborhood’s street grid. Not to be overlooked, however, are the collections that focus on Brooklyn’s diverse and active population. This photo of the week from the Harry Kalmus papers and photographs collection depicts…

POTW: Empire Stores

Tess Colwell

[Empire Stores], circa 1880, v1991.90.9.1; George J. Bischof papers and photographs, ARC.008; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society is exited to announce the opening of the Waterfront exhibition at BHS Dumbo. Waterfront is an exhibition and multimedia experience that brings to life the vibrant history of Brooklyn’s coastline through stories of workers, artists, industries, activists, families, neighborhoods, and ecosystem. BHS Dumbo is located in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Empire Stores, pictured here…

POTW: Brooklyn Academy of Music

Tess Colwell

Brooklyn Academy of Music, Montague Street, circa 1895, v1972.1.781; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today, Brooklynites know the iconic Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) building off of Flatbush Avenue in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, but it got its start just blocks away from us at BHS Pierrepont. BAM, seen here around 1895, opened its first location on January 16, 1861, at 176 Montague Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.  A fire…

POTW: Snowy Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

[Frozen lake in Prospect Park], 1985 ca.,v2008.013.45; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Following the Bomb Cyclone and icy temperatures last week, Brooklyn has been looking frozen and snow-covered. The photo of the week depicts the Prospect Park Lake iced over during the winter of 1985. Here’s hoping for some warmer days ahead!This photo comes from the Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs collection comprised of 93 color and black and white photographs by Gold, taken between 1968…

POTW: Frigid New Year

Tess Colwell

[Man smoking on boardwalk], 1984, v1992.48.56; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, V1992.048; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s cold out there! 2018 welcomed us with frigid temps and a wind chill that doesn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. We hope you’re staying warm out there.The photo of the week depicts a man smoking on the Coney Island Boardwalk during the winter of 1984. Somehow, his expression makes me think that he can relate to the weather we’re experiencing right now. This photo comes from the Anders…

POTW: Season’s Greetings

Tess Colwell

[Holidays view 28], 1960 ca, 2006.001.1.138; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, ARC.116; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We hope you are enjoying the holiday season and we wish you a joyful, bountiful New Year!The photo of the week depicts a holiday display at the Williamsburgh Savings Bank around 1960 in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. This photograph comes from the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings collection comprised of photographs…

POTW: Happy Hanukkah!

Tess Colwell

Grandmother at Hanukkah Party, 1980, v1992.43.29; Marcia Bricker photographs, v1992.43; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Wednesday, December 20 is the last day of Hanukkah. If you’ve been celebrating the last 8 nights, we hope you’ve had a festive holiday filled with family, menorah lightings, and maybe a few-too-many latkes. Here at BHS we wish you and your family a Happy Hanukkah!The photo of the week depicts a grandmother at a Hanukkah party in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1980. This photograph comes from…

POTW: Brooklyn Theatre Fire

Tess Colwell

Johnson St. as it appeared after the fire, 1876, V1972.1.923; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Brooklyn Theatre Fire—one of the deadliest theatre fires in history—occurred 141 years ago, on December 5, 1876. The tragic event occurred during the final act of the play “The Two Orphans.” The fire started when a gaslight ignited part of the show’s scenery. Acclaimed actress, Kate Claxton, who performed that night, reported to the New York Times in 1885 that she and…

POTW: Packer Collegiate Institute Records

Tess Colwell

Gym class on roof, 1911 ca, 2014.019.17.05.039b; Packer Collegiate Institute records, 2014.019; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent school for preschool through Grade 12, located on Joralemon Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, just a few blocks from BHS Pierrepont.  Thanks to funding from Packer Collegiate Institute and the Leon Levy Foundation, the Packer records have been processed, described, and accessible via a digital humanities website dedicated to the…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving!

Tess Colwell

Sunday School Thanksgiving/Collection, 1910 ca, v1981.284.20; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
All of us at Brooklyn Historical Society wish you a relaxing and joyful Thanksgiving holiday! With that in mind, the photo of the week is a view of a Sunday School Thanksgiving collection around 1910 in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.This photograph is from the Emmanuel House lantern slide collection comprised of 87 photographs dating from 1900 to 1914 depicting children…

POTW: Urban Archive

Tess Colwell

[Stanley’s Lunch], 1958, v1974.4.914; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections include more than 30,000 photographs—7,500 of which can be searched in our online image gallery. You can also view BHS’s photographic collections in a few other locations online: the Digital Public Library of America is a rich resource of over 18,000,000 materials gathered from institutions throughout the country; and the newly released Urban Archive app is a location-based…

POTW: BLDG 77

Tess Colwell

[Building 77], 1948, v1973.6.365; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Navy Yard have a thriving partnership leading student, teacher, and after school programs at BLDG 92 in Social Studies and STEM topics, including labor and industry, sustainability, and innovation. Since 2001, the BNY has undergone major upgrades, expansion and growth that has yielded significant growth in employment and industry. Part of that expansion is the…

POTW: Dodgers

Tess Colwell

The Last Night at Ebbets Field, 1957, 2011.007, Schaefer Brewing Company scrapbook on Ebbets Field, 2011.007; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Tonight is Game Seven of the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros. The Dodgers have appeared in 19 World Series—9 in Brooklyn and 10 in Los Angeles. In 1957, fueled by financial and political circumstances, the Dodgers’ team owners made a controversial decision to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles. The photo of the week depicts three Dodgers pitchers (…

POTW: Happy Halloween

Tess Colwell

[Children in horror costumes], 1984, v1992.48.55, Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1992.48; Brooklyn Historical Society.
With Halloween just around the corner, we wanted to bring you one of the spookier photographs from our collections. The photo of the week is a portrait of two kids wearing Halloween costumes in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1984.This photograph comes from the Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island collection comprised of 68 black-and-white photographs of Coney Island in…

POTW: Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza

Tess Colwell

[Soldiers and Sailors Arch, 1894], 1894, V1986.250.1.18, William Schroeder, Sr. scrapbook collection, ARC.121; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza was unveiled 125 years ago on October 21, 1892 to commemorate those who fought with the Union troops during The Civil War. John H. Duncan won a $1,000 prize for the design of the arch and construction began in 1889. While the war ended over 30 years earlier, the 1880s and the 1890s were at the heart of a period historians call “…

POTW: Hurricane Sandy

Tess Colwell

[Woman in front of a damaged home caused by Hurricane Sandy], 10/29/2012, 2014.010.8, Michael Claro Hurricane Sandy Photographs, 2010.010; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s hard to believe five years have passed since Hurricane Sandy hit the New York City region. The city is still recovering from the devastation caused to homes, businesses, public transportation, and lives since the 2012 superstorm. We are heartbroken to hear of the devastation caused by storms in the Caribbean, Florida, and Texas. If you feel inclined, we…

POTW: Telephone Booths

Tess Colwell

[Yard worker in a telephone booth], circa 1965, v1988.37.36, Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard Collection, v1988.37; Brooklyn Historical Society
In the not-so-distant past, telephone booths could be seen on nearly every street in New York City. Today, there are only four remaining old-style, glass, enclosed, functioning sidewalk phone booths along West End Avenue in Manhattan. The photo of the week depicts a yard worker making a phone call in a telephone booth at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around 1965.This photograph comes…

POTW: John D. Morrell photographs

Tess Colwell

[Hicks Street], 1974, v1974.9.477, John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Hicks Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1974. I love the variety of retro cars visible along the street in this photograph. How many can you name? If you’re looking to be transported to 1960s and 1970s Brooklyn streets, look no further than the John D. Morrell photographs collection. This collection is comprised of over 2,000 photographs that include buildings and…

POTW: Kindergarten class at Fort Greene Park

Tess Colwell

[Kindergarten class at Fort Greene Park], circa 1910, V1981.284.32, Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
No matter the decade or time period, it sure is challenging to keep kindergarteners still for a group photograph! The photo of the week depicts a kindergarten class in Fort Greene Park around 1910. I love how every kid has a different expression on their face and no one seems interested in the photograph.This photograph was exposed on a glass plate negative. There are two…

POTW: Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks

Tess Colwell

[Portrait of man posing on a boardwalk in Coney Island], 1898, v1974.022.4.068, Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.199; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Did you catch the Tales from the Vault program at BHS Pierrepont on Monday? If not, we have some exciting project news to share. In 2015, BHS received a generous grant from Gerry Charitable Trust to digitize and catalog seven scrapbooks from the Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks collection. We are pleased to announce that the scrapbook pages are…

POTW: Tennis

Tess Colwell

[Dr. Wade and his cousin Dr. L. N. Anderson in Prospect Park], circa 1881, v1974.11.12, Anderson and Nostrand families papers and photographs, ARC.199; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The 2017 United States Open is underway, bringing some of the best tennis players in the world to New York City. This year marks 20 years at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. You can learn more about the US Open and get tickets here.The photo of the week depicts Dr. Wade and his cousin, Dr. L.N. Anderson, and two unidentified women, posing with…

POTW: West Indian Carnival

Tess Colwell

[Performers at West Indian Carnival], 1994, 2010.019, West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Now in its 50th year, the West Indian Carnival in Brooklyn is one of the largest outdoor street festivals in North America. The West Indian Carnival tradition in New York City stems from private gatherings and parties held in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1920s, typically in February. In the 1940s, an outdoor street festival began taking place on 7th Avenue in Harlem,…

POTW: Anders Goldfarb Photographs of Coney Island

Tess Colwell

[Person reading on boardwalk], 1989, v1992.48.59; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Anders Goldfarb is a Brooklyn-born documentary photographer. After receiving his MFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1986, he moved to Greenpoint and turned his lens on his neighborhood. His work includes many scenes from the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, but also scenes from other Brooklyn neighborhoods. Brooklyn Historical Society has a collection of 68 black-…

POTW: Collection Storage

Tess Colwell

[Collection Storage, Long Island Historical Society], circa 1980, v1974.031.60; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections include books, photographs, archival materials, maps, oral histories, fine art, and artifacts. Many of these materials are stored on-site, however, because of the size and needs of such a large and diverse collection, BHS has two additional off-site storage locations. In order to responsibly care for collections, the…

POTW: Brooklyn Storefronts

Tess Colwell

Vasquez Grocery, 2004, 2009.004.3; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
James and Karla Murray are photographers who have spent years documenting storefronts throughout New York City. Their work is a unique and rich record of New York City infrastructure, documenting vanishing establishments and some that have stood the test of time. Brooklyn Historical Society is fortunate to have a small collection of photographs by James and Karla Murray that depict…

POTW: Happy Summer!

Tess Colwell

[Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album], circa 1912, 2015.010.1; Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album, 2015.010.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We hope you’re having a fun and relaxing summer! The photo of the week is from Charles (Karl) Blieffert’s personal scrapbook, depicting some of his summer adventures in Brooklyn around 1912. The album includes 249 black-and-white photographs of Charles Blieffert’s young friends in the Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, and Brighton Beach neighborhoods of Brooklyn. He documented…

POTW: Brooklyn Historical Society Pierrepont

Tess Colwell

[Long Island Historical Society, Pierrepont Street and Clinton Street], 1961, V1974.031.30; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Visitors to the Brooklyn Historical Society Pierrepont location sometimes ask if the building served another purpose before it was the historical society. The answer is—it was always the historical society! Built in 1881, the Queen Anne-style building was designed by architect George Browne Post. The Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn…

POTW: 19th Century Photographs

Tess Colwell

[Women and little girl in garden], circa 1900, v1985.4.38; William Koch glass plate negatives, v1985.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
One strength of Brooklyn Historical Society’s vast collections is the 19th Century Brooklyn photographs. The photo of the week is from one of those collections--the William Koch glass plate negatives collection-- and depicts a woman and little girl in a garden in Brooklyn, around the late 1890s. Glass plate negatives were a popular photography format during this time and required a light-…

POTW: Prospect Park

Tess Colwell

[Tennis on the Long Meadow], circa 1915, v1973.5.3422; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts lawn tennis on the Long Meadow in Prospect Park, around 1915. To celebrate the park’s 150th anniversary, Brooklyn Historical Society has partnered with Prospect Park Alliance to present a new exhibition titled The Means of a Ready Escape: Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The exhibition highlights the social history of the park and features over one hundred…

POTW: Happy Fourth of July!

Tess Colwell

Sunset, Coney Island, 1965, V1988.12.112;Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides,v1988.12; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We hope you had a festive and relaxing holiday weekend! Watching the annual fireworks is one of my favorite Fourth of July traditions. With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts a fireworks display at Coney Island in 1965.This photograph comes from the Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides collection comprised of 157 color slides taken by Dreschmeyer in Brooklyn from 1965 to 1968. Dreschmeyer was a lifelong…

POTW: Cyclone

Tess Colwell

Thrills on the Cyclone, circa 1955, V1973.4.1456.11; Postcard collection, v1973.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Coney Island Cyclone is 90 years old! The wooden roller coaster opened to the public on June 26, 1927, costing twenty-five cents per ride. The Cyclone was declared a NYC landmark in 1988 and a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The photo of the week depicts the Cyclone around 1955 in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn.This photograph comes from the Postcard collection consisting of hundreds of…

POTW: Pride

Tess Colwell

[70 Willow Street], 1922, V1974.32.99; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.308; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Every June, NYC Pride is a month long celebration commemorating and celebrating the LGBT community. The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project maps out historic sites associated with the LGBT community in all five boroughs, including Brooklyn.The photo of the week depicts one of those historic sites: 70 Willow Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, pictured here in 1922. This home was…

POTW: Penny-farthing

Tess Colwell

[Boy with bicycle], 1886, V1974.7.49; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Eddie Tepper posing with a penny-farthing bicycle in 1886. This is one of my favorite photographs in the BHS collections. I love the boy’s pose and how the circular wheels are echoed in the circle frame.Penny-farthing is a type of bicycle that was popular from roughly the 1870s until the 1880s. They were faster and lighter than previous bicycles, but they were also very dangerous…

POTW: Beach Season

Tess Colwell

[Group at the beach], 1909, v1981.283.3.88; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s officially beach season! All NYC beaches opened on Memorial Day, operating daily from 10am to 6pm until Labor Day. The NYC Parks Department maintains 14 miles of beaches, many of those miles in Brooklyn. To learn more about NYC beaches, and to find one closest to you, check out this page.The photo of the week depicts a group at an unknown beach in 1909. This photograph comes from the Burton family…

POTW: Kennedy Memorial

Tess Colwell

Kennedy Memorial, 1965, v1988.12.4; Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, v1988.012; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Monday was Memorial Day, a federal holiday remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. While Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971, its origins can be traced back to the years after the Civil War. Today, thousands of parades and events take place throughout the country . We hope you took a moment to honor those who have died in service.The photo of the week…

POTW: Shifting Perspectives

Tess Colwell

In the Surf, Manhattan Beach, U. S. A., 1889, v1972.1.1019; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is a stereograph depicting men and women wading in the surf at Manhattan Beach. Stereographs are two nearly identical photographs that have been mounted on cardboard. When viewed through a stereoscope, a 3-D image appears. You can view this photograph, along with 7 additional stereographs from our collection at BHS Dumbo’s inaugural exhibition,…

POTW: BHS Dumbo

Tess Colwell

[Dockworkers, Brooklyn], 1924, v1973.5.917; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts dockworkers on Furman Street in Brooklyn, hoisting and moving goods into a waterfront warehouse—once a ubiquitous sight in the early twentieth-century, when Brooklyn boasted one of the largest commercial waterfronts in the world. Today, only a few of those waterfront warehouses remain. Empire Stores, located on Water Street in DUMBO, is one of them. It’s also the…

POTW: Happy Mother's Day

Tess Colwell

Waiting on Myrtle Ave. for Car- Mothers' Outing, 1911, V1981.284.27; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In honor of Mother’s Day this Sunday, we bring you a mother-themed photo of the week. The photograph depicts women and children waiting for the Gates Avenue train car on Myrtle Avenue during a “Mothers’ Outing.” The closer you look, the more charming the photograph gets—small moments between mother and child and adorable outfits. If only we knew what this outing entailed!This…

POTW: Ambergill Falls

Tess Colwell

[Ambergill Falls in Prospect Park], 1880 ca., v1974.7.109; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Now that spring is upon us, it’s the perfect time to explore Brooklyn’s green spaces. The photo of the week depicts Ambergill Falls located by Rock Arch Bridge in Prospect Park. This is one of several waterfalls that was designed by Olmsted and Vaux, the Park’s creators. Prospect Park Alliance offers many free walking tours and events throughout the warmer months, which is a great way to…

POTW: Housing and Building Research

Tess Colwell

[#1661-1665 85th Street.], 1958, v1974.4.491; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Housing and building research is one of the most popular research topics at Brooklyn Historical Society. The library and archival collections include a variety of materials that are helpful in understanding the history of Brooklyn neighborhoods, blocks and buildings. If you’re interested in diving into your own housing research, be sure to check out our Housing and Building Research guide that outlines a…

POTW: Brooklyn Pets

Tess Colwell

Cat [in flower garden], 1967, v1988.12.134; Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, v1988.12; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Pet photography appears almost immediately after photography was introduced in the mid-19th century. The first known photograph of a dog was a daguerreotype title Poodle with a Bow, on a Table by an unknown photographer in the 1850s. It’s clear from the photographic collections at Brooklyn Historical Society that Brooklyites love their pets! There are hundreds of pet photographs in our collections and many…

POTW: Aerial Photography

Tess Colwell

Our City, 1926, v1972.1.1266; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This aerial photograph depicts downtown Brooklyn (foreground), the East River (middle), and Manhattan (background) in 1926. When this photo was taken, aerial photography had been in existence for nearly 70 years. In 1858, French portrait photographer Gaspard Felix Tournachon shot the earliest-known aerial photograph from a tethered balloon. Unfortunately, that image does not survive. The earliest known…

POTW: Jackie Robinson Exhibition

Tess Colwell

[Jackie Robinson (R) and Yogi Berra/ World Series- Yankees and Dodgers], 1955, v1987.1.4; Photography collection, v1987.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Jackie Robinson had an impressive and record-shattering baseball career. He was the first African-American player in the Major League; winner of the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1947 and Most Valuable Player award in 1949; and he led the Dodgers to their 1955 World Series victory. Robinson viewed his athletic career as an endeavor greater than baseball. He was an…

POTW: Spring

Tess Colwell

[Pathway and Trees in Prospect Park], circa 1975, v1990.2.166; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, v1990.2.166; Brooklyn Historical Society.
*Update: We originally attributed this photograph to Brooklyn Botantic Garden, but thanks to reader feedback and to our colleagues at BBG we were able to confirm that it is in fact Prospect Park. Look how the public helps us update our collection records! Thanks!Monday marked the first day of Spring, after the sixth warmest winter in New York City. The photo of the week depicts a…

POTW: Reliable & Frank's

Tess Colwell

Inside Reliable and Frank's, two customers], 1978, v1988.21.370; Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding collection, v1988.21; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the interior of Reliable and Frank's, an Army-Navy store located across from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in 1978. The store sold uniforms to sailors until 1966, when the Navy decommissioned the Yard. Despite this, the store remained opened by diversifying their clientele. They later sold uniforms to cruise ship workers, college students, and even…

POTW: Bernard Gotfryd photographs

Tess Colwell

[East New York courtyard.], 1970 ca, v1987.3.6; Bernard Gotfryd color slides and photographs, v1987.3; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Bernard Gotfryd color slides and photographs is one of my favorite collections at Brooklyn Historical Society. Gotfryd’s photographs capture Brooklyn street scenes with children playing, people sitting on stoops, and sidewalk activity from 1965 to 1983. The photo of the week is an image from this collection that depicts people cleaning up a courtyard in the East New York neighborhood of…

POTW: Smith-9th Street Station

Tess Colwell

[View of portion of Smith-9th Street Station (IND).], 1958, v1974.4.1131; John D. Morrell photographs, v1974.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Do you live off the Smith-9th Street station? The photo of the week depicts the snow-covered station located in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, in December 1958. The station opened in 1933 and closed for two years during massive renovations between 2011 and 2013. The elevated station is 87.5 feet high and is considered the highest above-ground subway station in the world.This…

POTW: Family Research

Tess Colwell

[Man with child], ca. 1909, v1981.283.3.103; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is from around 1909 and depicts a man holding a baby outside a Brooklyn home. This photograph comes from the Burton family papers and photographs collection which contains personal documents and photographs from the Burton family. To me, family photographs can convey genuine, intimate interactions and evoke feelings of affection and comfort that resound in loving families. I admire…

POTW: Hunterfly Road Houses

Tess Colwell

[Hunterfly Road Houses], 1922, v1987.11.2; Eugene L. Armbruster photograph and scrapbook collection, v1987.011; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Hunterfly Road Houses in 1922, the last remaining structures of the Weeksville community, part of the present-day Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Weeksville was founded in 1838, and named after James Weeks, a former slave from Virginia, who was an early investor and resident of the community.  It quickly became a thriving community of black…

POTW: Brooklyn Sewers

Tess Colwell

[New Catch Basin/Court +Remsen Sts], 1920 ca, v1974.24.42; Arthur Weindorf glass plate negatives , v1974.024; Brooklyn Historical Society.
You’ve probably heard the urban legend of alligators living in the New York City sewers, but did you know there is small grain of truth to that? In February 1935, a few teenage boys discovered a 125-pound alligator in a sewer at 123rd street while shoveling snow. A New York Times article describes one of the boy’s encounter with the alligator: “What he saw, in the thickening dusk,…

POTW: Jackie Robinson

Tess Colwell

[Jackie Robinson in dugout], circa 1950, v1987.1.3; Photography collection, v1987.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Yesterday would have been Jackie Robinson’s 98th birthday. He became the first African American baseball player to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He played ten years in the MLB and helped lead the Dodgers to their 1955 World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. On April 5, 2017, Brooklyn Historical Society…

POTW: Blizzard of 1888

Tess Colwell

[Horse-drawn sleigh, Flatbush Avenue and Clarkson Avenue], 1888, V1974.7.74; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I’ve been missing the magic of a Brooklyn snow fall during this unseasonably warm winter, but looking at this photograph, I’m reminded that I should be careful what I wish for. New Yorkers were reportedly experiencing similarly warmer temperatures and rain leading up to the Blizzard of 1888. No one suspected a four day blizzard in March, with high winds and roughly 40…

POTW: Paerdegaat Basin

Tess Colwell

Paerdegaat [Basin], ca 1910, v1981.15.144; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides,v1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Paerdegaat Basin around 1910 in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. The 1.25 mile long channel connects to Jamaica Bay in the south, and is named for the Dutch word “horse gate.” The surrounding wetland area includes groves of trees and a habitat for many bird and animal species. I love the soft tree reflections in the water and the small tent visible in the background. Did…

POTW: Ektachrome Film Returns

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn Bridge], 1964, v1988.1.181; A. Edna Glyde Photograph Collection, v1988.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
A few months ago, I featured a photograph taken with ektachrome film, which has been out of production since 2012. Last Thursday, Kodak announced that they are bringing back their iconic Kodak Ektachrome film later this year. They stated, “The film, known for its extremely fine grain, clean colors, great tones and contrast, became iconic in no small part due to the extensive use of slide film by the National…

POTW: Second Avenue Subway

Tess Colwell

[Subway passengers], ca 1985, v2008.013.87; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 20087.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Over the weekend, the Second Avenue Subway opened after almost a century of planning. The station extends the Q line to three new stations at 72nd, 86th, and 96th streets in Manhattan. Did you ride the new subway line over opening weekend?This photograph is one of my favorite images of the NYC subway in our collection. Taken by photographer Lucille Fornasieri Gold, it depicts subway passengers on an…

POTW: Happy New Year

Tess Colwell

[Winter sunset, Coney Island], 1968/01/21, v1988.12.85; Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, v1988.012; Brooklyn Historical Society.
There’s something beautiful and peaceful about the beach during the winter. I love this photograph by Otto Dreschmeyer depicting a Coney Island sunset in January 1968. I hope to experience at least a few of these in person during the New Year. What are you resolving to do in the coming year? Whatever it may be, we wish you a healthy, happy, and abundant 2017!This photograph comes from the Otto…

POTW: Happy Holidays!

Tess Colwell

[Holidays view 19], ca 1965, 2006.001.1.129; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, ARC.116; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s the most festive time of year in Brooklyn. Christmas-related festiveness is just one of the many forms of celebrations taking place this time of year. This includes pop-up holiday markets, Christmas tree stands, and festive home decorations galore. However you choose to celebrate, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!With that in mind, the photo of the…

POTW: Electrification of Long Island Rail Road

Tess Colwell

[Electrification of Long Island Rail Road at Washington Avenue], 1903, v1984.1463.3; Long Island Rail Road construction photographs, V1984.1463; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the excavation during the electrification of the Long Island Rail Road on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn in 1903. A crew of men can be seen using shovels and picks to manually complete the arduous excavation work during winter. This photograph sticks out to because of the view of men and women and horse-drawn carriages at…

POTW: Prospect Park Sea Lions

Tess Colwell

Sea Lion Pool, Prospect Park Zoo, 1987, v1990.62.2; Jerome Frank photographs, V1990.62; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Have you visited the sea lions at the Prospect Park Zoo? The photo of the week depicts the Sea Lion Pool on October 15, 1987. The zoo is located on the east side of Prospect Park, along Flatbush Avenue. The zoo opened in 1935 as part of a city-wide revitalization project initiated by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. The Sea Lion Court is one of the most popular exhibits and is also a unique architectural…

POTW: Brooklyn Storefronts

Tess Colwell

Katy’s Candy Store, 2005, 2009.004.31; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the exterior of Katy’s Candy Store, a specialty candy shop located at 125 Tompkins Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The family-owned shop opened in 1969 and closed permanently in 2007. This photograph is part of an ongoing project by photographers James and Karla Murray to document storefronts in Brooklyn and New York City. A…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving!

Tess Colwell

[Edna Machtiger’s Wedding, Thanksgiving Day], 1946, V1991.11.103.2; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As you prep for your Thanksgiving celebrations or travels, we bring you a photo of the week that takes us back to Thanksgiving, 1946. This photo depicts an unidentified man carrying a plate of food for Edna Machtiger’s wedding on Thanksgiving Day, 1946. Do you think there’s turkey on that plate?A New York Times article published on November 26, 1946, describes a suggested menu for a…

POTW: Brighton Beach Hotel Move

Tess Colwell

[Men examining railroad cable at moving of Hotel Brighton], 1888, V1974.7.86; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Brighton Beach Hotel was a grand, three-story, 174-room waterfront hotel in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn.  The hotel was built too close to the ocean, and after ten years, the hotel faced serious erosion issues that threatened the structure and foundation. In April 1888, a decision was made to move the entire (estimated eight million pound) structure…

POTW: John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge

Tess Colwell

[John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge], ca 1890, v1981.283.55, Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you look closely, it might remind you of another bridge here in Brooklyn. That’s because both the Brooklyn Bridge and the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge were created by the same civil engineer and designer, John A. Roebling. The above bridge spans the Ohio River to connect Cincinnati, Ohio and…

POTW: Brooklyn Bar

Tess Colwell

[Men inside Bar], ca 1900, v1972.1.1063, Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
If you made it to the Oktoberfest-themed Free Friday event here at BHS, you may have seen this photograph among other beer-related collections items. I find this photograph particularly charming because it offers a glimpse into the bar customer and décor in turn of the century Brooklyn. I love the landscape images depicted behind the bar, the barkeeper’s clothing, and the wood details. Today…

POTW: Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Tess Colwell

[Manhattan skyline at night], ca 1964, V1988.1.147, Edna Glyde photograph collection, V1988.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade never ceases to amaze me. At BHS, we’re lucky to be able to experience the views from the Promenade regularly, as it’s only a few blocks away from our office in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. I love this photograph of the skyline at night, taken by Edna Glyde around 1964.The unique tone of this…

POTW: Burton Sisters

Tess Colwell

[Portrait of three women], ca 1885, v1981.283.48, Burton family paper and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I love this tintype photograph of sisters Minnie Burton and Virginia Burton with their sister-in-law (presumably Josie Newcombe) seated with arms interlocked, identical outfits, and fierce expressions. This photograph was taken around 1885 by an unknown photographer, but likely at a studio in Brooklyn.The Burton family included William H. Burton, a house painter, and his wife Virginia Baptista, both…

POTW: Scrapbooks

Tess Colwell

Autumn Scene Near 3rd St., ca 1900, V1986.250.1.73, William Schroeder, Sr. scrapbook collection , ARC.121; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is titled “Autumn scene near 3rd street” and depicts a view of Prospect Park around 1900, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. This photograph comes from the William Schroeder, Sr. scrapbook collection that comprises three scrapbooks created by Brooklyn physician, Dr. William Schroeder, Sr., from around 1900 through 1904. This photograph is part of the “Parks…

POTW: Fine Art Photography

Tess Colwell

Astroland Park with Happyface and bottom half of Wonder Wheel (panoramic), 2006, 2008.035.1, Ron Meisel photographs, 2008.035; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In addition to the thousands of historical photographs in Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections, there are also a few smaller collections of fine art photography created by contemporary artists. The photo of the week depicts a panoramic view of Astroland Park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn taken by local photographer Ron Meisel in 2006. Astroland was…

POTW: Fall

Tess Colwell

Fall [Prospect Park West], ca. 1905, V1981.15.207, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society
Last Thursday marked the first day of fall, and it happens to be my favorite time of year in Brooklyn. I love the autumnal colors, the crisp air, and the abundant apple varieties! With that in mind, the photo of the week is titled “Fall” and depicts the tree-lined sidewalk along the stone wall bordering Prospect Park West on a rainy day in autumn, around 1905. In the distance is a small group of…

POTW: Othmer Library

Tess Colwell

[Othmer Library, Long Island Historical Society], circa 1938, V1974.031.65, Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Have you had the opportunity to visit Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library? If not, you’re in for a treat when you do. The New York City interior landmark was built in 1881 and features a unique truss system, beautiful stained glass, ornately-detailed shelving, and columns made of black ash wood. It is one of the most comprehensive collection of materials on…

POTW: 19th Century Brooklyn photographs

Tess Colwell

[Man with camera and boy], ca. 1880., v1974.7.45, Adrian Vanderveer Martense Collection, v1974.7.45; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society has many rich photography collections documenting Brooklyn from the mid-1800s to the present. One particular strength of the photography collections is the photographs depicting 19th century Brooklyn. The Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, Emmanuel house lantern slide collection, Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, and William Koch glass plate negatives collection…

POTW: Red Hook

Tess Colwell

[Boy walking in Red Hook], ca. 1973, V2008.013.64, Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts an unidentified boy walking in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1973. Personally, I love the striking red, white, and blue color palate of this photograph. The red fire hydrant, sign, and hat guides my eye throughout the frame. I think this photograph is a good example of how photographer Lucille Fornasieri Gold uses color and light in her work. She has…

POTW: Glass plate negative

Tess Colwell

[Two boats off beach], 1900 ca., V1985.4.18, William Koch glass plate negatives, V1985.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Can you make out the two boats depicted in this photograph? I love the dreamy quality of this image created by the smudges and texture on the glass plate negative. Glass plate negatives are one of the earliest forms of photographic negatives, dating back to 1851. There are two types of glass plate negatives: collodion wet plate negative and the gelatin dry plate. Both techniques require a light-sensitive…

POTW: Knickerbocker Field Club

Tess Colwell

[Men playing tennis, Flatbush, Brooklyn], 1889., V1974.7.71, Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, Arc.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
If you’ve ever walked along Church Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, you might not notice a gated entrance to the Knickerbocker Field Club, also known as “the Knick”, located at East 18th Street and Tennis Court. Since 1889, the private, member-owned tennis club has maintained five tennis courts tucked behind a large apartment complex and above the Q train line. It’s a…

POTW: East 25th Street

Tess Colwell

[As at present at corner of East 25th St. and Avenue D – 1917], 1917., V1986.65.1.14, John Jay Pierrepont photograph collection, Arc.197; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Last week, the stretch of East 25th street (between Avenue D and Clarendon Rd) in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn was named the “Greenest Block in Brooklyn” by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Judging criteria included maintenance, creativity, community participation, suitability of plants, and more. How does your Brooklyn block compare?The photo of the…

POTW: Red Cross

Tess Colwell

Red Cross Office, 1917 ca., v1973.2.238, Brooklyn Oversize, 19th Century Collection, v1973.2; Brooklyn Historical Society.
During World War I, the Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society) transformed the 600-seat auditorium on the first floor of its Brooklyn Heights building into a Red Cross headquarters and office. The photo of the week depicts Red Cross activities in the BHS office location, around 1917.  According to their website, the Red Cross provided aid in the form of donations, medical…

POTW: Nathan's

Tess Colwell

[View of Surf Avenue Coney Island.], 1958, V1974.4.1146, John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Nathan’s Famous has stood at the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn for 100 years. Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker and his wife Ida Handwerker opened the hot dog stand in 1916. A New York Times article reported that the Handwerkers used their life savings of $300 to open the business. Ida Handwerker created the secret spice for the hot dogs, which were…

POTW: Ferry Terminal

Tess Colwell

[Houston Street Ferry Terminal, Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y.], 1922, V1991.106.2, Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, V1991.106; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the shuttered Houston Street Ferry Terminal, a ferry that connected Manhattan (Houston Street) and Williamsburg (Grand Street) via the East River, in 1922.In 1810, Richard Woodhull purchased 13 acres of land (later named Williamsburg) that included the ferry landing, with the intention to create a suburb of New…

POTW: Masquerade

Tess Colwell

Louis Ramus [at the Masquerade Ball], 1917, V1978.174.30, Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Louis Ramus dressed for the annual Masquerade Ball at Brooklyn Turn Verein Hall on March 5, 1917 in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. I think this photograph is particularly charming because of Ramus’s festive clothing and proud stance for the photographer.Turn Verein halls originated in Germany, and expanded to the United States in communities with…

POTW: Sunbathers

Tess Colwell

[Brighton Beach sunbathers], circa 1975, v2008.013.32; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, v2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
With temperatures reaching the nineties last week, I think it’s safe to say that the summer heat has finally arrived in Brooklyn. Whether you’re desperately looking for ways to cool off or you enjoy soaking up the heat (like the sunbathers above), please remember to be safe. When the heat index reaches 100 degrees for any one day or 95 degrees for two or more days, the city opens cooling…

POTW: Happy 4th!

Tess Colwell

Sunset, Coney Island, 1966, V1988.12.92; Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, v1988.12; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We hope you enjoyed a relaxing, safe, and happy July 4th holiday! With that in mind, the photo of the week is a double-exposure depicting the sunset at Coney Island as well as a fireworks display taken in August of 1966. A double-exposure is when two images are exposed on a single frame, creating a layered and unique visual effect.This photograph comes from the Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides collection that…

POTW: Tintype

Tess Colwell

[Portrait of two women, one man and eight children on the beach], circa 1890, V1981.283.1.63; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Tintypes are hard to miss if you come across one in person. They are thin iron (not tin) plates typically with a blackish or brownish hue and crisp detail.  They were invented in 1854, and gained popularity in the 1860s as an inexpensive and accessible photographic method. Tintypes were less expensive and easier to make than their predecessor,…

POTW: Summer

Tess Colwell

[Summer, Circa 1891, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.], circa 1897, v1973.4.1081a,b; Postcard collection, v1973.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Monday marked the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year. One of my favorite ways to enjoy the long summer evenings is by visiting Prospect Park. Whether it’s jogging, hiking, reading a book, or going to a concert, there are endless ways to make the most of summer in the park.With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts people in Prospect Park, near Music…

POTW: Joe's Restaurant

Tess Colwell

[Joe’s Restaurant, Fulton Street.], 1958, V1974.4.890; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Joe’s Restaurant, located at 330 Fulton Street, was a Brooklyn Heights fixture for nearly 50 years. Joe Sartori and Joseph Balzarini opened their first restaurant in Coney Island.  Due to its popularity and success, they opened the Fulton Street restaurant in 1909, and a third restaurant on Nevins Street shortly after. Joe’s Restaurant became a popular local chain, frequented and loved by many in…

POTW: Elevated Train Station

Tess Colwell

[Atlantic Avenue elevated train station], circa 1895, V1972.2.59; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the entrance to the Atlantic Avenue subway station and the elevated train station, located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue around 1895. The elevated trains at this station operated on the Fifth Avenue Line which ran above Flatbush Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and Third Avenue, beginning in the Downtown Brooklyn…

POTW: Brooklyn Bridge

Tess Colwell

Brooklyn Bridge, circa 1903, V1973.5.298; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most iconic Brooklyn landmarks, marked its 133rd anniversary on May 24. The bridge, the first structure to physically connect Brooklyn and Manhattan, was constructed over 14 years with the labor of more than 600 workers. Connecting the two cities (Brooklyn was a separate city at the time) led to an increase in population and industry. By 1885, the population in…

POTW: Memorial Day Parade

Tess Colwell

[Emmanuel House Club 2nd and 3rd marching line in parade], circa 1910, V1981.284.6, Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, V1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn has been honoring those who have died while serving in the United States military with an annual Memorial Day parade since 1867. The parade, which begins at 78th Street and Third Avenue, marks its 149th anniversary this year and is known as the longest-running Memorial Day parade in the country. This tradition began shortly after the Civil War, a…

POTW: Idle

Tess Colwell

Idle, circa 1887, V1972.1.1253; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I couldn’t help but chuckle when a colleague pointed out this photograph from our collections. I had so many questions. Who is this young woman? Why is she strumming a broom like a banjo? And why did the photographer title this work “Idle”? That’s the fun part about working in a historical archive—stumbling upon something surprising from the past and trying to make sense of it today. Whoever this…

POTW: Cherry Blossoms

Tess Colwell

[Blossoms], circa 1975, V1990.2.219; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
If you missed the annual Sakura Matsuri, Brooklyn Botantic Garden’s cherry blossom festival, it’s not too late to experience the last of the blooming cherry blossoms in Brooklyn. According to the BBG website, the cherry blossoms bloom from late March or early April until mid-May. There are 26 different species of flowering cherries at the park, and there is no time where they all bloom at once. Instead, they all…

POTW: Streetcar

Tess Colwell

Fulton Ferry in Horse Car Days, circa 1890, V1981.15.135; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently proposed a streetcar service that would connect Queens and Brooklyn. It’s been over 60 years since Brooklyn had a streetcar service; the last streetcar line discontinued in 1956. Brooklyn operated its first light rail line in 1854. Before there was an electric-powered streetcar, there were horsecars, which were horse-drawn cars pulled over embedded tracks.…

POTW: Lucille Fornasieri Gold Photographs

Tess Colwell

[Prospect Park trumpeter], circa 1975, V2008.013.81; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Lucille Fornasieri Gold’s photographs are some of my favorites at Brooklyn Historical Society. Every photograph has an element of surprise, and genuine moments between photographer and subject. Gold began photographing street scenes with her Leica camera beginning in 1968 while her children were in school. She continued to photograph Brooklyn throughout her entire life. Her photographs are one of…

POTW: Traffic

Tess Colwell

[Traffic congestion], circa 1920, v1973.5.1950; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The U.S. Census Bureau revealed some not-so-surprising news recently that New York City is growing, particularly the outer boroughs. This past year alone, Brooklyn grew by 16,000 inhabitants. City planners are estimating that New York City will reach the nine million mark by 2040. This is largely due to more people moving to the city and fewer people leaving. Mayor de Blasio has said of…

POTW: Fire on Montague Street

Tess Colwell

[Taken Friday morning May 17, 1974 day after fire at 130 Montague Street.], 1974, V1974.9.471; John D. Morrell photographs collection, v1974.9; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the damages from a fire that took place on Montague Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in the spring of 1974. In a New York Times article published the day after the fire, there were considerable damages to the 130 Montague Street brownstone. The three-alarm fire left six families homeless, and one…

POTW: A.I. Namm & Son Department Store

Tess Colwell

[Namm Store interior], 1898, V1972.1.743; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the A.I. Namm & Son department store interior, located at 450 - 458 Fulton Street in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1898. Adolph I. Namm was a Polish immigrant with an embroidery and upholstery business in Manhattan. In 1885, he moved his business in Brooklyn, and by 1891 he opened a new store at 452 Fulton. At the time, that stretch of…

POTW: Bob Adelman photographs

Tess Colwell

[Operation Clean Sweep Demonstration on Sidewalk], 1962, v1989.22.17; Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations, v1989.22; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We were sad to hear about the recent passing of photographer and activist Bob Adelman, who extensively documented the civil rights movement in Brooklyn and the southern United States, as well as pivotal historical moments like the 1963 March on Washington. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, Mr. Adelman was a…

POTW: Scouts

Tess Colwell

[Scouts at Campsite], 1912, V1981.284.636; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a group of scouts at a campsite in Forest Park in Queens, during the spring of 1912. A Brooklyn Daily Eagle article printed a week before this photograph was taken describes Forest Park as the site for a scout rally, skills test, and program. “Next Saturday, the individual scouts who are ready for their firebuilding test will be examined by the scout masters on some…

POTW: Early Spring

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn Photographs: Prospect Park-lake], ca. 1975, V1990.2.176; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Spring is my favorite season in Brooklyn, so the early spring-like temperatures lately make me excited for the warmer months ahead. What excites you about springtime in Brooklyn? Personally, I can’t wait to spend time in Prospect Park, reading and riding my bike. With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts the reservoir in Prospect Park in early spring, sometime around 1975.…

POTW: Car barn

Tess Colwell

[Flatbush car barn], ca. 1885, v1972.1.830; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a car barn that once stood at Flatbush and Tilden Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, sometime around 1885. The car barn housed horse-drawn trolleys that carried passengers between Fulton Ferry, Flatbush, Coney Island, and other areas of Brooklyn. Also pictured is James Monell (the small boy with pail), who was the original owner of this…

POTW: Adrian Vanderveer Martense

Tess Colwell

[Three men and a boy standing on sidewalk in Brooklyn] 1880 ca, v1974.7.1; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Adrian Martense (center) posing with a box camera, and two gentlemen, Henry K. Sherril and HMS Sherril. Eddie Tepper (on tricycle) is pictured in the background. This photograph was taken sometime around 1880 in an unidentified location in Brooklyn.Self-portraits were surprisingly common in the early days of photography as a means of exploration…

POTW: Wood-frame Houses

Tess Colwell

[Virginia Burton as a child holding a cat] 1910 ca,V1981.283.70; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Virginia Burton as a young girl around 1910, holding a cat in front of her family’s home at 436 Lafayette Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. I think this photograph is particularly charming because of the way Virginia is gently holding her cat and the addition of the children (possibly her siblings) peering out of the third floor…

POTW: Majestic Theater Follow-up

Tess Colwell

[View of Fulton Street.], 1959, V1974.9.13; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After we posted this image of the Majestic Theater, taken in 1968, and described it’s  transformation into today’s BAM Harvey Theater, we heard another story behind the historic Brooklyn landmark. We contacted Shay Wafer, Executive Director at 651 Arts, to fill in the details about this fascinating story:In 1988, the Majestic Theater Advisory Committee, a group of community leaders in the arts and representatives…

POTW: Love Lane

Tess Colwell

[View of Love Lane (south side.) #35 Love Lane (right) and #37 Love Lane (left.)], 1958, V1974.4.170; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
With the Valentine’s Day holiday right around the corner, the photo of the week depicts a view of the south side of Love Lane in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Love Lane is a one block mews that connects Henry Street to Hicks Street. Dating back to the Revolutionary War, Love Lane divided the estates of the DeBevoise and Pierrepont families…

POTW: Willow Street

Tess Colwell

[79 Willow St. east corner of Pineapple Street, Brooklyn 1922.],1922, V1974.32.98; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, V1974.32; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts 79 Willow Street, which stands on the southeast corner of Pineapple Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1922. This house was torn down only a few years after the picture was taken, and by 1927, the large apartment building that still stands on that corner today had taken its place. In the 1970s,…

POTW: Majestic Theater

Tess Colwell

[View of Fulton Street.], 1959, V1974.9.13; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a view of Fulton Street, including the Majestic Theater, in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1959. The Majestic Theater opened in 1904 and was known for a variety of theatrical performances, including opera, musicals, and vaudeville. By 1942, the Majestic Theater became a first-run movie theater, and later a church. Not long after this photograph was taken (in 1968), the…

POTW: Martense Farm

Tess Colwell

[Farm field, Brooklyn], 1880, V1974.7.9; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society
It wasn’t so long ago that what is today the borough of Brooklyn was a center of agricultural production. Kings County was once one of the leading vegetable producers for over 250 years, as late as 1880. It took just twenty years for areas in outer-borough Brooklyn to shift from agricultural to entirely urban residential between 1890 and 1910. To learn more about the history of agriculture in Brooklyn, be…

POTW: Ambrotype

Tess Colwell

Mariah Ramus, circa 1860, V1978.174.37; Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is an example of an ambrotype, a wet collodian photographic process that produces positive images on glass that is backed with black paper or velvet. The ambrotype was introduced in the 1850s and patented by James Ambrose Cutting. This process quickly gained popularity and surpassed the daguerreotype as the preferred photographic process. Ambrotypes were less expensive, quicker, and…

POTW: Eberhard Faber Pencil Company collection

Tess Colwell

[Boxing and Labeling Department], circa 1915, V1988.35.8; Eberhard Faber Pencil Company collection, ARC.028; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts female workers around 1915 in the boxing and labeling department of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. The company began as a U.S. subsidiary branch of A.W. Faber Company in 1849 and is the oldest pencil manufacturing company in the United States. The original office was located at 133 William Street in Manhattan.…

POTW: Happy New Year!

Tess Colwell

[Swerdlof Wedding], 1946, V1991.11.100.17; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Now that the holidays are behind us, the focus has shifted to the season of glitter, champagne, and the midnight ball drop. In Brooklyn, there are hundreds of events and parties to ring in the New Year. Whether you’re prepping for a festive night on the town or a low-key evening at home, there’s so much to celebrate. All of us at Brooklyn Historical Society wish you a very happy and healthy New Year. Cheers…

POTW: Where's the snow?

Tess Colwell

[Blizzard of 1888 postman], 1888, V1988.34.2; Carl H. Dahlstrom collection of Blizzard of 1888 photographs, V1988.034; Brooklyn Historical Society.
December is almost over, yet it hardly feels like winter has begun. Just last week, temperatures reached 60 degrees and I saw sandals and shorts on the subway. In December! According to the National Weather Service (NWS), New York City temperatures have reached record highs this month. For mid-December, the average temperature in the city was 52 degrees, which is 12.1 degrees…

POTW: Happy Holidays!

Tess Colwell

[Holidays view 18], circa 1956, 2006.001.1.128; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a holiday display above the Williamsburgh Savings Bank entrance at One Hanson Place, sometime around 1956. This photograph comes from the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photograph and architectural drawings collection, which consists of photographs and architectural drawings spanning the years 1888 to 2001 that document the construction…

POTW: Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album

Tess Colwell

[Charles Blieffert and his parents, Helene and Charles], circa 1905, 2015.010.2.2; Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Charles Blieffert (at the wheel) with his parents, Helene and Charles, posing for a portrait at a Coney Island tintype studio sometime around 1905. Charles Blieffert was the only child of German immigrant parents. He grew up at the family home located at 18th Avenue near Gravesend Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. In an effort…

POTW: Horse-drawn cart

Tess Colwell

[Horse-drawn cart], circa 1875, V1974.7.12; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Over the last several years, food trucks have been popping up all over Brooklyn, reflecting a nationwide trend. The photo of the week takes us back to around 1875, long before food truck rallies existed. In this photograph, a man is driving Flatbush Parlor Bakery’s horse-drawn food cart hawking breads, cakes and pies at Caton and Ocean Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.The origins of today's food…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving

Tess Colwell

[Thanksgiving dinner tables], 1910, V1981.284.53; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In light of the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, the photo of the week depicts a Thanksgiving dinner table at the Emmanuel House in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, sometime around 1910. Emmanuel House was a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men’s League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. They offered Sunday school, kindergarten, and recreational classes to neighborhood…

POTW: Lundy's Restaurant

Tess Colwell

[Lundy's Restaurant], 1961, V1974.4.1678; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Lundy’s Restaurant in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn has seen its fair share of good and bad times since it opened in 1935. In its heyday, the restaurant reportedly seated over 2,000 patrons. Opened by Irving Lundy, the historic seafood restaurant operated from 1935-1977, and then again from 1997-2007. This photograph depicts the restaurant in 1961 at 1901 Emmons Avenue.Irving Lundy was born in 1895,…

POTW: Hand-colored photographs

Tess Colwell

[Girl Seated Wearing Bow-Trimmed Dress], circa 1865, V1978.174.66; Ramus family papers and photographs, 1978.174; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is a portrait of an unknown girl, sometime around 1865. This photograph is possibly an example of hand-colored photography, which was the most popular and effective way to create color photographs until color film was introduced in the mid-20th century.Hand-colored photographs were created in an attempt to make monochromatic photographs more realistic. Johan…

POTW: Brooklyn Continuation School

Tess Colwell

[Woodworking class at the Continuation School], 1922, V1973.6.430; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This photo of the week was taken in 1922. On the back (also called the verso) is a handwritten note that reads, “Woodworking class at the continuation school, where boys and girls who have to leave school to seek employment may continue their education.”The Brooklyn Continuation School was located at Ryserson Street, near Myrtle Avenue in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of…

POTW: Washington Park

Tess Colwell

Ball in Air, [Slim] Sallee pitching, circa 1912, V1981.15.205; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, v1981.015; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s postseason for baseball and there’s a lot of buzz in New York with the Mets advancing to the World Series this year. With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals around 1912 at Washington Park in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.Before there was Ebbets Field, the Dodgers played at two separate…

POTW: Cranston Family Photographs

Tess Colwell

[Untitled], circa 1890, V1994.013; Cranston family papers and photographs; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a scene from the interior of the Cranston family home around 1890 in what is today the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. This photograph offers a glimpse into late 19th- century middle-class domestic life in Brooklyn, and it’s also an example of early flash photography.Alfred Cranston (pictured sitting) served with Engine 17 of Brooklyn’s Volunteer Fire Department as a young man,…

POTW: Foffe's

Tess Colwell

[Foffe's Restaurant, Montague Street.], 10/10/1958, V1974.4.714; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Pumpkins and other autumnal decorations are sprouting up everywhere in Brooklyn now that we are well into the fall season. Though it’s hard to pick out in this black and white photograph, the round objects are pumpkins, displayed as part of the Halloween decorations at Maison Foffe on Montague Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, on October 10, 1958.Maison Foffe was an…

POTW: Shipbuilding at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Tess Colwell

[Mount Navigator and Vantage Defender ships in for minor repairs], 1978, v1988.21.348; Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding collection, V1988.21; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Mount Navigator and Vantage Defender ships in for minor repair at Seatrain Shipbuilding, a private company located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in 1978.The Brooklyn Navy Yard has a long history of shipbuilding. In 1801 the United States Navy acquired the land to construct naval vessels. During World War II, the workforce…

POTW: Cat named “Lazybones”

Tess Colwell

Cat named “Lazybones,” circa 1910, V1981.15.182; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a cat named “Lazybones,” likely in the backyard of a Park Slope home, around 1910. I often come across a similar scene in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park, with cats spotted on porches, fences, hidden in bushes, and peering out of windows. This photograph comes from the Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slide collection. Lloyd photographed several neighborhood cats in this…

POTW: Abraham - Straus

Tess Colwell

 [Abraham & Straus storefront.], circa 1895, v1972.1.611; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Abraham & Straus was a department store founded in 1865 by Abraham Abraham and Joseph Wechsler with a flagship location at Fulton and Hoyt Streets in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn. The photo of the week depicts the Abraham & Straus storefront around 1895, with an unknown man posing in front of the store display.Abraham & Straus was…

POTW: Ritter Painless Dental Co.

Tess Colwell

[Ritter Painless Dental Co.], circa 1908, v1973.2.186; Brooklyn Oversize, 19th century collection, v1973.002; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the Ritter Painless Dental Co. office located at the intersection of Third Avenue, Schermerhorn Street, and Flatbush Avenue, sometime around 1908. If you look closely above the boy on the billboard, it reads “it won’t hurt a bit!” The business specialized in painless teeth extraction, as seen on the multiple advertisements displayed on the building. It…

POTW: Class Portraits

Tess Colwell

[Public School Class Room with Students], 1897, V1972.1.1043; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s officially back to school season in Brooklyn, with most school-age children returning to school this week. In light of this, the photo of the week depicts an interior view of an unknown Brooklyn classroom during the fall of 1897. It features male and female students at small desks, and a teachers standing at the back of the room.Class portraits are now standard for…

POTW: Ice in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

[Ice Delivery from the American Ice Company to Emmanuel House], ca. 1910, V1981.284.12; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a horse-drawn wagon delivering ice from the American Ice Company to the Emmanuel House in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, sometime around 1910. On the back of the photograph, “Casper, Iceman” is handwritten to describe the person in the photograph.It’s very exciting that we have a photograph documenting the ice trade in…

POTW: Harry Kalmus Photographs

Tess Colwell

[Untitled.], ca. 1950, v1991.11.17.4; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I rarely see an ice cream truck around Brooklyn that isn’t Mr. Softee, so it was a pleasant surprise to come across this photograph from the Harry Kalmus collection. In this photo of the week, children are getting ice cream from a Good Humor truck, sometime around 1950. I love the moment in this photograph—all the children lined up along the curb with ice cream in hand, and one child carefully deciding from the…

POTW: The Cyclone

Tess Colwell

Cyclone No. 2, 2005, 2005, 2008.035.2; Ron Meisel photographs, 2008.035; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s hard to believe summer is beginning to wind down—where did it go? When I look at this photograph, it speaks to my current state of wanting to get in as much summer fun as I can before fall rolls in. With that in mind, the photo of the week is a panoramic photograph of the Cyclone in Coney Island taken by Ron Meisel in 2005.The Cyclone is one of Brooklyn’s most notable landmarks. It was built in 1927 by Harry C. Baker…

POTW: Baby Prince

Tess Colwell

Baby Prince, circa 1880, v1974.7.126; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191 ; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts “Baby Prince” and an unidentified woman going on a stroll through the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn sometime around 1880. This photograph, along with many other photographs from the Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, is particularly charming and noteworthy because it truly gives us a glimpse into an earlier, less developed time in Brooklyn. This is one of my favorite…

POTW: 1977 Blackout

Tess Colwell

[Children playing in fire hydrant spray], 1977, v2007.042.32; 1977 Blackout Slide collection, 2007.042; Brooklyn Historical Society.
With recent temperatures in the nineties and a heat advisory issued last week for New York City, it’s a good time to be thankful for air conditioning and city pools. The photo of the week takes us back to the summer of 1977 in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. On July 13-14, 1977, New York experienced an electricity blackout which led to looting and arson throughout the city. Bushwick had…

POTW: Brooklyn Historical Society's building

Tess Colwell

[Long Island Historical Society, Clinton and Pierrepont Streets], circa 1925, V1974.031.1; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts Brooklyn Historical Society (formerly the Long Island Historical Society) around 1925. The land was purchased in 1868, but the Depression of 1873 stalled building plans until 1878 when enough money was amassed for construction. From December 1877 to February 1878, the Long Island Historical Society held a design competition…

POTW: Cabinet Cards

Tess Colwell

[Portrait of Josie E. Burton with dog on prop balustrade], ca 1885, V1981.283.40; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is a cabinet card of Josie E. Burton and dog (possibly her pet), taken sometime around 1885. Cabinet cards are photographic prints mounted on a commercially printed cardstock, usually displaying the photographer or studio name. In a previous post, I discussed cartes de visite, which are closely related to cabinet cards. Cabinet cards were developed…

POTW: Daisies

Tess Colwell

[Children as daisies, from Sewing School Class], ca 1910, V1981.284.23; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts children as daisies from sewing school class around 1910. The Emmanuel House, located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn was a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men’s League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. The Emmanuel House offered Sunday school, Kindergarten, and recreational classes such as…

POTW: Sheep in Prospect Park

Tess Colwell

[Sheep in Prospect Park], ca 1880, V1974.7.107; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Can you imagine witnessing this idyllic scene in Prospect Park’s Long Meadow? In the early years of the park, New Hampshire and black-faced Southdown sheep could be seen grazing in the Long Meadow with lambs in tow. Olmstead and Vaux, the designers of the park, added the sheep for practical and design purposes. The sheep helped maintain the pasture and provided a peaceful tranquility to the park…

POTW: Beach

Tess Colwell

[View of beach at Coney Island], 1958, V1974.4.528; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
There’s nothing quite like a beach day at Coney Island. Personally, I love that the proximity to Coney Island allows New Yorkers and tourists alike to experience the beach without leaving the city. This photo was taken in July 1958, but in some ways, it doesn’t look much different than a Saturday scene today---crowds, families, umbrellas, sprawled all along the coast line. This year, Coney Island is open…

POTW: Brooklyn Sewers

Tess Colwell

[Boy standing on dirt mound, Flatbush sewer site], circa 1880, V1974.7.63; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts a young boy standing on a dirt mound at a Flatbush sewer site, sometime around 1880. In the mid-19th century, there were no underground sewage systems in Brooklyn. The city was facing a rapidly increasing population and the outbreak of infectious diseases. To address the sewage and waste problems, the Board of Sewer Commissioners was…

POTW: Summer

Tess Colwell

Summer [Prospect Park West], circa 1908, V1981.15.208; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Sunday is the first day of summer, so it seems appropriate to highlight a photograph in our collection titled “Summer.” This photograph is by Ralph Irving Lloyd and depicts Prospect Park West around 1908. I love the small details in this photograph that give clues to an earlier time in Brooklyn, including the clothing style, the awnings on the buildings, and the vehicles in the background. With…

POTW: Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs

Tess Colwell

[Hasidic boys with cotton candy], circa 2003, V2008.013.59Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs is one of my favorite collections at Brooklyn Historical Society. I love that her photographs almost always have an element of surprise and I think they offer a unique perspective of Brooklyn. The photo of the week is from 2003. It displays young Hasidic boys eating cotton candy on a Brooklyn sidewalk. I find this photograph particularly charming…

POTW: House Research

Tess Colwell

[#119 Milton Street ("Blue House").], 10/19/1958, V1974.9.130; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005, Brooklyn Historical Society.
One of the best parts of living in Brooklyn is the history; every spot of property in this borough has a story. Do you know the story behind your Brooklyn home? House history research is one of the most popular research topics at Brooklyn Historical Society. The extensive resources housed in the Othmer Library will help you get familiar with the history of specific homes and neighborhoods. A…

POTW: Memorial Day Parade

Tess Colwell

E. Van Altena, Military band marching in the Brooklyn Memorial Day Parade, 1895; V1972.1.1109 , Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection , ARC.201, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Memorial Day is the official kick off of summer with beaches and barbecues, but it is also a time to honor those who served in the country’s armed forces. The earliest known celebrations of Memorial Day date back as far as 1865. New York City hosts parades in every borough to commemorate the day. Brooklyn’s annual Memorial Day Parade is…

POTW: Coffee in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

More Coffee Drinking When National Prohibition Comes, circa 1920; V1973.5.914, Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Artisanal coffee roasters in Brooklyn have been popping up everywhere in recent years, but it might come as a surprise that Brooklyn has a long history of coffee roasting that spans long before it was considered hip. The photo of the week was taken around 1920 in a warehouse at Bush Terminal (now Industry City) and features two men lifting a large bag of…

POTW: Glass Plate Negatives

Tess Colwell

[Little girl with doll and doll carriage in yard], circa 1909; V1985.4.54, William Koch glass plate negatives, V1985.004, Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week is a dry plate glass negative from the William Koch glass negatives collection. This collection includes 66 photographs from about 1890 to right around 1925. William "Billy" Koch was an amateur photographer in Brooklyn and owned a tavern named Billy Cook's Saloon in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. His photographs display houses, farms, and…

POTW: Grand Army Plaza

Tess Colwell

[Traffic at Grand Army Plaza], circa 1892; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191, V1974.7.60 ; Brooklyn Historical Society.
New York City Department of Health estimates that over a half million New Yorkers ride bikes. Just this past week, I dusted off my old bike to join the other two-wheeled commuters. Brooklyn Historical Society employees participate in the Transportation Authority’s annual Bike to Work Month which is more motivation to take in some fresh air on my commute to work. Check out other bicycle…

POTW: Cherry Blossoms

Tess Colwell

[Blossoms], 1975 ca; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120, v1990.2.214; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After a long winter, it is a welcome sight to see blooms popping up all over Brooklyn. On one particularly warm day last week, I walked to Prospect Park and sat under a blooming tree and felt so grateful for the beauty that is Brooklyn in the springtime.With that in mind, the photo of the week is a view of the Cherry Esplanade in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, taken by photographer and Brooklynite Donald L. Nowlan in…

POTW: Personal Correspondents

Tess Colwell

[Lincoln and son], circa 1864; John B. Woodward papers, ARC.275; Brooklyn Historical Society
In April 1865, General Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. Thanks to the popularity of cartes de visite photographs, like the one pictured above, we can better understand how personal and nationalized portraits shaped the wartime experience on the battlefront and the home front. Cartes de visite first came to the United States from Paris in 1859 and because incredibly popular. They…

POTW: Ebbets Field

Tess Colwell

[Ebbets field], 1914 ca; Brooklyn photographs and illustrations, ARC.202, V1973.5.1801; Brooklyn Historical Society
It’s officially spring, which also means the baseball season is underway. The photo of the week features the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ebbets Field around 1914. On April 9th 1913, over 100 years ago, the Brooklyn Dodgers hosted an opening game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the brand new Ebbets Field. The stadium was located in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, on Sullivan Place.The Dodgers made history in…

POTW: Sheepshead Bay

Tess Colwell

Crabbing,1880; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191, V1974.7.39; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Sheepshead Bay, like many other places in Brooklyn, has undergone many changes over the years. Named after a local fish once ubiquitous in the bay, the town was formerly a sleepy fishing village. With the advent of the subway and later the Belt Parkway, Sheepshead Bay was transformed by business and tourism. In recent years, recreational fishing fleets have declined, and more party boats and dinner boats have gained…

POTW: Pilgrim Laundry

Tess Colwell

[Female Laundry workers at Pilgrim Laundry], ca 1910, V1989.3.1; Pilgrim Laundry photographs, v1989.003; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week comes from the newly processed Pilgrim Laundry collection. Pictured above is one of the six black and white interior photographs from the collection. In this photograph, female workers are displayed using laundry machinery around 1910.Pilgrim laundry was a laundry facility located in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn and first opened its doors in 1894. The…

POTW: Hurricane Sandy

Tess Colwell

[Woman in front of a damaged home caused by Hurricane Sandy]; 2012, 2014.010.8; Michael Claro Hurricane Sandy photograph collection, 2014.010; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Where were you when Hurricane Sandy hit? The 2012 superstorm devastated homes, businesses, public transportation, and lives all throughout the region.  It’s been over two years since the storm, but the damage and memory of that event is not easily forgotten.Teacher and photographer Michael Claro documented Hurricane Sandy through his lens, and donated…

POTW: Brooklyn Bridge

Tess Colwell

[Glimpses of Brooklyn], circa 1894, V1986.12.1.4; Glimpses of Brooklyn viewbooks, ARC.227; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of my favorite Brooklyn landmarks, and fortunately for me, the bridge is just a few blocks from the BHS office. Pictured above is the Brooklyn Bridge in 1894, with just a few women and one man walking along the pedestrian bridge. Today, nearly 4,000 people walk the bridge every day. Can you imagine experiencing the bridge without the crowds?When the bridge opened to the public…

POTW: Bickford's

Tess Colwell

[351-357 Fulton Street], ca 1940, V1974.16.0028; Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044; Brooklyn Historical Society.
What’s your go-to lunch spot in Brooklyn? Pictured above is Bickford’s, a luncheonette on Fulton Street, in 1940. The restaurant opened in 1921 with the goal of providing quick service and moderately priced fare.Bickford’s had 24 locations and extended hours, which attracted characters of all types and backgrounds. Most notably, Beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg were spotted late at…

POTW: In Bloom

Tess Colwell

[Scene in Park “wild”], ca 1880, V1974.7.110; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, 1974.7, Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s officially March, which hopefully means the worst of this long winter is behind us. According to the New York Times, this frigid winter has its benefits: the snow covered ground is a great insulator, and creates the perfect environment for beautiful and lush spring foliage. As reporter Andy Newman said in the article last week, “Enjoy the hard winter that makes a good spring.” That’s something to…

POTW: City Hall on Fire

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn City Hall Tower Fire], 1895, V1981.15.132; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, 1981.15, Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week marks the 120th anniversary of the 1895 fire at Brooklyn City Hall (today’s Borough Hall). This photograph displays a roof level view of the 1895 City Hall cupola burning.  If you look closely, you can see fire ladders propped against the building and firefighters on the roof using hoses to extinguish the fire. The fire started because of a lighted gas jet in a third floor closet. The…

POTW: Sledding

Tess Colwell

[Brooklyn Photographs: Prospect Park], 1978, V1990.2.183; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, 1990.2, Brooklyn Historical Society.
How are you surviving this never-ending winter? With temperatures dipping into the single digits and sporadic snow and sleet showers, it feels like there’s no end in sight. The upside is there’s no better time for sledding!The Photo of the Week features a sledding scene in Prospect Park on New Year’s Day in 1978. This photograph was taken by Donald L. Nowlan, a long-time Brooklyn resident,…

POTW: Sweethearts

Tess Colwell

”Sweethearts,” Tobyhanna 09,’ 1909, v1981.283.3.53; Burton family papers and photographs, 1981.283, Brooklyn Historical Society.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this week’s photograph is a portrait of “sweethearts” dated 1909 from the Burton family collection. The collection contains over 189 photographs, of the Burton family and others. The couple above is unidentified but possibly related to the family. It’s unclear what Tobyhanna indicates, but it likely references Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. It’s all…

POTW: Your Local Subway Station

Tess Colwell

[Beverley Road Station BMT.], 12/31/1958, V1974.4.1414; John D. Morrell photographs, 1974.4, Brooklyn Historical Society.
The New York Times reported recently that subway fares are increasing again in March. Pictured above is my local subway stop, the Beverley Road Station, in 1958. Back then, a singe ride fare would cost a mere $0.15, compared to $2.75 with the most recent increase. The Brighton Line (Q train) which serves Ditmas Park and Flatbush follows the old Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Railroad. It was…

POTW: Blizzard?

Tess Colwell

[People in the street after the blizzard, Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue], March 15, 1888, V1974.7.77; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn is covered in snow this week! Pictured above is from the Blizzard of 1888, which hit New York City by surprise in March, with over 21 inches of snow. The New York Times reported on Tuesday, March 13, 1888, “It had a power of slinging the snow into doorways and packing it up against the doors; of sifting it through window frames of…

POTW: Basketball in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

[Emmanuel House Basketball Team], ca. 1910, V1981.284.26; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, 1981.284, Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s basketball season in Brooklyn! I recently saw my first Brooklyn Nets basketball game and was reminded how much fun watching and playing basketball can be, especially when the weather makes me want to hibernate inside. Basketball has a long history in Brooklyn. In the photo above, young men from the Emmanuel House basketball team are pictured in 1910. The Emmanuel House was located in…

POTW: Polar Bears in Brooklyn

Tess Colwell

[Polar Bear Club member at Coney Island], ca. 1978, V2008.013.3; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013, Brooklyn Historical Society.
When most people think of winter in Brooklyn, swimming at Coney Island isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Brooklyn Photographer Lucille Fornasieri Gold captured this man—a member of the Polar Bear Club—doing just that during the winter of 1978. The Polar Bear Club was founded in 1903 by Bernarr Macfadden. Macfadden was an early pioneer of “physical culture”—bodybuilding, exercise…

POTW: Bitterly Cold

Julie May

[Windmill in snow-covered field], ca. 1875, v1974.7.4; Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection, ARC.191; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s cold out there, Brooklyn.  I think this photograph illustrates the minimal amount of snow we have but how small and cold one can feel facing the windchill today.  This photograph was taken by Adrian Vanderveer Martense, an amateur photographer and member of the Brooklyn Camera Club, somewhere on the Vanderveer farm Flatbush.  The windmill also played a key role during the 1863 Draft Riots…

POTW: Merry Christmas

Julie May

Holidays View 12, ca. 1956, 2006.001.1.131; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, arc.216; Brooklyn Historical Society.
It’s a festive time of year all over Brooklyn and the above photograph is just one of many in our collections illustrating just how celebratory our very own Williamsburgh Savings Bank became while it functioned as a bank.  Extremely large Christmas trees, piles of gifts, highly visible decorations on the façade of the already visible building, and Christmas Shows.  You…

POTW: Festival of Lights

Julie May

Brilliant Luna Park at Night, 1903, v1972.1.1031; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s photo is to acknowledge the Festival of Lights, Chanukkah.  The festival began on Tuesday at sundown and continues all the way to Christmas Eve!  Enjoy the chocolates, dreidl spinning, and fried food.  If you find yourself unfamiliar with this holiday, read more here.The above stereograph is of Luna Park in its heyday when electricity was still a novelty and Coney Island…

POTW: House Research

Julie May

[House on back of parking lot at 47 McDonald Avenue], 1956, v1974.16.1423; Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s photograph is interesting on many levels.  First, it’s a wood frame house (although in a sorry state); second, it’s on a weird shaped lot in Windsor Terrace; and third, it was taken by our own Edna Huntington.Let’s start with the first area of interest: wood frame houses.  Wood houses were common until the fear of rampant fires set in within urban environments…

POTW: Repeal Day!

Julie May

[Portrait of men and women in prop automobile], 1937, v1986.283.46; Burton family papers and photographs, ARC.217; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Friday, December 5 marks the anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment with the 21st Amendment in 1933.  The 21st Amendment made it legal once again for Americans to distill, distribute, and consume alcohol.  While this is a Federal law, more specific rules are set by each State regarding the sale, import, distribution, and possession of alcohol within its boundaries – for…

POTW: Parades

Julie May

Bicycle Parade Passing Through Park Plaza Entrance, ca.1890, v1986.250.1.7; William Schroeder, Sr. scrapbook collection, ARC.121; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn and New York City love parades.  I wasn’t able to locate a Thanksgiving parade photograph, but hopefully a bike parade is sufficient.  This particular parade shows the entrance to Prospect Park on the right, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial arch on the left, the empty spot where the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch now stands in the center, and a clear…

POTW: The building of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Julie May

[Verrazano Narrows], 1963, v1984.1.137; Brooklyn slide collection, v1984.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  The construction of the bridge began in 1959, the upper deck was finished and opened in November of 1964, and the lower deck was completed five years later in 1969.  It was named after the Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazano and the body of water over which it spans, the Narrows.The MTA website describes several interesting facts about…

POTW: In Honor of Our Veterans

Julie May

[Survivors of the Fourteenth Regiment], ca. 1890, v1991.12.7; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In honor of Veterans Day yesterday, this week’s photograph highlights Brooklyn’s veterans.  The above photograph depicts veterans of the 14th Regiment, New York State Militia (also known as the 84th New York Infantry), at the dedication of their monument on the battlefield at Gettysburg. The regiment lost a total of 217 men over the course of the three-day battle.The regiment,…

POTW: Food vendors at Wallabout Market

Julie May

Wallabout Market, Brooklyn, ca. 1895, v1973.5.994; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week Brooklyn Historical Society is hosting our annual fundraising party, Brooklyn Bounty!  Unlike last year, we will be holding this event at a new venue in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn.  There will be music, beverages, auctions, and food.  We expect it to be as bountiful as the Wallabout Market, pictured above.  Not too far from DUMBO, the Wallabout Market was the host for…

POTW: Highland Park

Julie May

Sunday afternoon at Highland Park, Brooklyn, N.Y., ca. 1900, V1973.4.1021; Postcard collection, v1973.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For whatever random reason, I thought about posting a picture about music this week.  I came across several pavilions dotting Brooklyn’s amusement areas, parks, and waterfronts.  Highland Park’s Music Pavilion was among them, but so was the confusion about in what neighborhood it’s located.  Some of our records indicate it’s located in East New York; others Bushwick; a few Cypress Hills; and…

POTW: Autumn Harvest Season

Julie May

[Farmhouse and factory in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn], ca. 1885, V1974.28.70; Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island lantern slide collection, ARC 195; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Fall happens to be my favorite season of the year.  I especially enjoy it in Brooklyn and the Northeast because of the Autumnal colors after a sun-bleached summer and before a dishwater grey winter.  As you roam around Brooklyn this week, you might also notice the many sukkahs on the balconies of Jewish families in neighborhoods like Williamsburg,…

POTW: Transformation & Discovery

Julie May

Cortelyou Road and Flatbush Avenue, 1916, v1973.2.106; Brooklyn oversize 19th century collection, v1973.002; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As we should expect of our climate these days, the weather has been all over the place.  While I’m not one to complain about warm weather, sunny skies, and a gentle breeze, I have to admit I’m eager to don a cozy sweater, perhaps some light gloves, and to reacquaint myself with my tights collection.  I’ve always looked forward to Fall for the fashion magazines, new school supplies, any…

POTW: Ready or Not . . .

Julie May

[Leaves changing in Prospect Park], 1977, V1990.49.26; Donald L. Nowlan collection, ARC 120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Labor Day is behind us.  Schools in New York City are well underway.  The Jewish High Holidays are around the corner.  This can mean nothing else (at least to me) except that Autumn is also upon us.  Chilly nights and cool mornings only lead to moderately warm middays.  People have begun to wear jackets in Prospect Park or a scarf to ward off the goosebumps.  I even felt the need for a light pair of…

POTW: Walking with Eugene Armbruster

Halley Choiniere

It’s shocking how fast July and August have slipped by, but at least the weather is still good. One of my favorite ways to enjoy both this weather and this city is to wander around with a camera. Based on the images in the Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks collection, that appears to have also been one of Armbruster’s favorite pastimes. Flipping through Armbruster’s photographs, it is easy to imagine him wandering around different neighborhoods in Brooklyn in the 1920s, taking pictures of whatever seemed interesting or beautiful in the moment. The four images above appear to…

POTW: The Feast of San Gennaro

Halley Choiniere

[Feast of San Gennaro], circa 1978, v2008.013.17; Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society
If you missed this year’s Giglio Feast in Williamsburg as I did, there’s still the promise of the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy, pictured in the image above, circa 1978. There seems to be a certain amount of rivalry between these two Italian-American New York City street festivals, echoing the rivalry between Manhattan and Brooklyn. People loyal to the Giglio Feast are proud that it has a longer…

POTW: Electrification of the Long Island Railroad in Brooklyn

Halley Choiniere

[Electrification of Long Island Rail Road at Washington Avenue], 1903, v1984.1463.3; Long Island Rail Road construction photographs, v1984.1463; Brooklyn Historical Society
For this post, I want to share an interesting image that I scanned last week. The image above shows construction by the Long Island Rail Road near Atlantic Terminal in 1903.The Long Island Rail Road was incorporated in 1834, and used steam-powered trains until 1905, when they switched to an electric system. As part of the switch to electricity, the LIRR…

POTW: The Brooklyn Postal Service

Halley Choiniere

Post Office Scene, 1926, v1973.5.629; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society
I selected today’s image for purely aesthetic reasons. I love the color of this print. I love the long, whimsical, almost Alice-in-Wonderland hanging glass lamps with equally long pull ropes hanging from each one. I also love the perfectly tailored clothing and glossy, pomaded hair of the man in the center of the picture (see detail below of hair and tailoring). It’s one of those images that becomes…

POTW: She said, She said exhibition

Julie May

It’s with great pleasure that I announce the opening of the exhibition She said, She said: Art and inspiration in the work of Nell Painter and Lucille Fornasieri Gold.  If you weren’t already aware, Lucille Gold generously donated a set of 93 photographs to Brooklyn Historical Society in 2008.  They are all available for your viewing pleasure here.  She has been a favorite of ours for some time: we’ve offered her pictures as enhancements to fundraising events and gift prints to BHS staff; we’ve connected her to the documentarian of New York Street Games who used her photos in the film and to…

POTW: Roller Skating

Halley Choiniere

[New Utrecht Reformed Church, 16th Avenue and 84th Street, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn], 1925, v1992.49.216; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, v1992.49; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Roller skating has experienced waves of popularity in New York City from its beginnings in the 1860s through the present day.In 1863, James Plimpton patented a new roller skate design that allowed for a smoother motion while skating, making the sport something that people actually wanted to do. In the same year, Plimpton also opened…

POTW: Paul Leicester Ford (1865-1902)

Andy McCarthy

[Paul Leicester Ford], circa 1890, V1984.1.597; Brooklyn slide collection, Brooklyn Historical Society.
Paul Leicester Ford was a journalist, writer, and noted bibliographer of Revolutionary War America, whose works included a seminal collection of Thomas Jefferson's papers, and a Check-list of American Magazines Printed in the 18th Century (1889).  The Brooklyn Historical Society library stacks hold several of Ford’s novels and biographies, like Tattle-Tales of Cupid (1898) and Who Was the Mother of Franklin's Son? An…

POTW: Marianne Moore

Andy McCarthy

[Reception at Gage and Tollner], 1967, V1973.5.1589; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC 202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
On November 28, 1967, a book release party for Brooklyn writer Clay Lancaster was thrown at Gage and Tollner, the hallowed and hoary “oyster and chop house” at 372 Fulton Street.  Brooklyn poetess Marianne Moore wrote the introduction for Lancaster’s publication, Prospect Park Handbook, and is shown in the above photo wearing her trademark tri-cornered hat and presenting the lauded…

POTW: Memorial Day

Andy McCarthy

[Dartmoor, Prisoners of 1812]; 1853, v1972.1.1254; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
“It was my fortune,” begins the memoir of Lewis P. Clover, the former New York seaman holding the flagstaff in the above group portrait, “to be taken prisoner in India during the War of 1812.”  The portrait shows Clover reunited in 1853 with former inmates of Dartmoor, a “stark, mist-enshrouded” prison located on the southern moors of England where British forces incarcerated…

POTW: Ice Delivery in the City

Halley Choiniere

[Ice Delivery from the American Ice Company to Emmanuel House], circa 1910, v1981.284.12; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, ARC.136; Brooklyn Historical Society.
We recently had our first taste of pleasantly warm spring weather. It was lovely, but it also means that in about a month we will be heading into the moist, syrupy heat of summer in the city. I love summers in Brooklyn…but I have a refrigerator, and a constant supply of iced tea, iced coffee, and ice cream. Can you imagine facing the Brooklyn summer armed…

POTW: Bensonhurst, 1976

Halley Choiniere

[Youth Group, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn], 1976, v1991.110.301.26; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records, ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society
[Youth Group, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn], 1976, v1991.110.301.30; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records, ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society
It is certainly possible to enjoy and appreciate an image without knowing its context. I enjoy the clothes and the clear camaraderie of the people in the two pictures…

POTW: Forgotten Professions

Halley Choiniere

[Young man with a pig], circa 1900, v1985.4.36; William Koch glass plate negatives, 1985.4; Brooklyn Historical Society
Recent Brooklyn Historical Society blog posts have highlighted police matrons and horseshoers in Brooklyn, and I would like to continue the theme of jobs that are now obsolete in the city. The image above is one of many images of rural and farm life from the William Koch glass plate negatives collection (also highlighted in a blog post from April 2013). This particular image shows a farmer with his pig…

POTW: Horses in Brooklyn

Halley Choiniere

[Horseshoeing and Jobbing Shop, New Lots Road, Brooklyn, N.Y.], circa 1900, v1974.32.293; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, 1974.032; Brooklyn Historical Society
This week, we have yet another pastoral image of Brooklyn circa 1900, complete with a dirt road, a picket fence and a well in the yard beside the wooden clapboard house. It is not news that many of the outer neighborhoods in Brooklyn were rural and even agricultural in the late-19th and into the 20th century. What piqued my interest in this image was…

POTW: April Snow Showers

Halley Choiniere

Sunrise on Brighton Beach, 2009, 2010.008.2; Jacob Mann photographs, 2010.008; Brooklyn Historical Society
The weather was so perfect two weekends ago. It was warm. I wore sandals. I bought some plants and planted them in pots on my roof. I was in the best mood, and the city seemed like the best place in the world to be – and then it snowed. My potted plants are dead. Suddenly, the city seems like a cold, harsh place. For me, the image above encapsulates all of my April-in-the-city emotions. If the weather is warm and…

POTW: The Changing City

Halley Choiniere

I recently visited my brother in Paris, and in preparation for this trip, I went to see an exhibit of historical photographs at the Metropolitan Museum – Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris. Beginning in the mid-19th century, a city planner named Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann master-minded a program for the improvement and beautification of Paris, razing entire streets and neighborhoods in Paris with the same zeal that Robert Moses would adopt in New York City in the next century. The city of Paris hired photographer Charles Marville to chronicle the city’s transformation during this…

POTW: Red Hook Library

Andy McCarthy

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 20th 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…

POTW: Portraits with Dogs

Halley Choiniere

[Woman with Dog], circa 1910, v1990.61.20; Victorina Hayes collection, ARC.037; Brooklyn Historical Society.[Child with Dog], circa 1870, v1992.17.34; Secor, Flint and Cousins Families collection, ARC.192; Brooklyn Historical Society.[Man and Dog], circa 1975, v2008.013.40; Lucille Fornasieri-Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society. 
Within the genre of portraiture there is a sub-genre of portraits of people posing with their dogs. The Brooklyn Historical Society happens to have an impressive body of images…

POTW: Brooklyn Women

Halley Choiniere

[Rose: 82 Years Old], 1977, v1992.43.13; Marcia Bricker photograph collection, v1992.043; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s photo of the week is in honor of Women’s History Month (also known as March, if you are not in the loop). While a wonderful idea, when I sat down to write about women, I was at a loss as to where to begin. It suddenly seemed like a daunting, and potentially dangerous topic, guaranteed to offend or stereotype somebody. So, I did a search of our image collections to get some ideas, and to see what…

POTW: The Rooftops of Brooklyn

Halley Choiniere

What do you see from your rooftop? Chances are, if you have lived in Brooklyn at any point in the last century, you have spent at least some time on the roof of your building. I have many fond memories of climbing through my window and scaling my fire escape to get to the sunlight and calm of my roof. The rooftops give you space to breathe, and at least the illusion of solitude. Most of the time I am completely alone – a rare and amazing feeling to have in the city – but I also sometimes see people on other rooftops sunbathing, or sitting with a friend, or barbequing, or doing yoga, or simply…

POTW: The Streets of Brooklyn Heights

Halley Choiniere

[Street Scene, Brookyn Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y.], circa 1890, v1974.29.6; Brooklyn street scenes glass plate negatives, v1974.029; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I was initially attracted to this photograph, taken somewhere in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights circa 1890, because it is aesthetically pleasing and because I have a soft spot for bowler hats. While I am not certain of the street – perhaps a reader will be able to provide a more exact location for this image – the neighborhood in the photograph seems similar to…

POTW: Portrait of Mrs. Henry T. Fleitman

Halley Choiniere

[Mrs. Henry T. Fleitman], circa 1930; Portrait collection; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Sometimes a single image is all that you need to imagine the entire story of somebody’s life. That is how I felt when I happened upon this beautiful image of Mrs. Henry T. Fleitman while rifling through Brooklyn Historical Society’s portrait collection. Her face pointing away from everybody else in the photograph, and the contrast of her light clothing with the clothing of the people around her, give an impression of sadness and…

POTW: Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln

John Zarrillo

Abraham Lincoln statue at Abraham Lincoln High School, circa 1939, V1974.16.812; Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044; Brooklyn Historical Society
Today marks the 205th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.  When I think of Honest Abe and Brooklyn, I think of the Lincoln statue which currently resides in Prospect Park’s Concert Grove, near the newly renovated LeFrak Center ice skating rink.  Of course I should have realized that the Prospect Park Lincoln statue was already the subject of a Photo of the Week…

POTW: Constructing the Brooklyn Sewers

Halley Choiniere

A selection of images from the Brooklyn sewers construction photograph collection, ARC.209; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Brooklyn Historical Society has multiple text-based collections that highlight the pressing need for a better sewer system in Brooklyn in the nineteenth century, and describe the construction of the Brooklyn sewers.In addition to the Records of Brooklyn’s Corporation Council (a collection that has not yet been processed, but that has its own blog series), there is also the Brooklyn Bureau of Sewers…

POTW: Vamping Horns

Andy McCarthy

Brooklyn firemen, ca.1870, v1989.27.50.10; Brooklyn Firefighting Collection, 1989.006; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The library reference desk often answers questions about Brooklyn firefighting history.  Last year, a researcher was interested in 1850s badge rolls for the old Eastern District, which was comprised of the consolidated areas of Williamsburgh and Bushwick. Firefighting was a volunteer service, and members of each Engine, Hook & Ladder, Hose, or Bucket Company was issued a badge number.  The badge rolls are large ledgers…

POTW: Building the Manhattan Bridge

Halley Choiniere

[Manhattan Bridge Under Construction], circa 1905, v1988.41.6; Brooklyn sewers construction photograph collection, ARC.209; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Of the three bridges connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge certainly gets the most attention. The Brooklyn Bridge is iconic. It is the first bridge that springs to mind when you think of Brooklyn, and it is the bridge that you always stroll across with your friends when they visit the city.Brooklyn Historical Society has a number of collections related to…

POTW: Ansonia Clock Company

Julie May

Ansonia Clock Company, ca.1910, v1973.4.411; Postcard Collection, v1973.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s Photo of the Week is inspired by a researcher visit.  A Brooklyn resident and his parents stopped by the library with a story about their grandmother clock.  It lived in various homes throughout the United Kingdom before he brought this Ansonia Clock back to Park Slope where they thought it was manufactured and purchased.What we discovered was the Ansonia Clock Company originated in Ansonia, CT.  After a…

POTW: Pining for Warm Weather

Halley Choiniere

[Summer, Circa 1897, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.], ca. 1897, v1973.4.1081; Postcard collection, v1973.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In the last Photo of the Week blog post, one of my colleagues wished for a “healthy, normal dumping of snow,” and she certainly got her wish! I visited Prospect Park last Friday afternoon and watched people sledding and enjoying the snow, but any delight I felt in the snowy landscape has given way to bitterness towards the bitter cold. I, personally, am ready for a summer picnic in…

POTW: Happy New Year

Julie May

[German Evangelical Home.], 1925, v1974.1.184; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks , v1974.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Perhaps some of you are enjoying the quiet wee hours before the partiers shake themselves from heavy sleep.  As I write this, I’m thinking about how odd this holiday season has been in terms of weather.  The snow covering the street and piled up on the curb in this photograph makes me wish for a healthy, normal dumping of snow -- the kind that crunches into a tightly packed mass beneath my…

POTW: Merry Christmas

Andy McCarthy

[Xmas gift drive for children.] 1973, v1989.2.2.6; Hispanic Communities Documentation Project records and oral histories, ARC.032; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This photo was taken during a 1973 Christmas party at 22 Cambridge Place, a brownstone in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, and donated to BHS as part of a collection of photographs by Sarah Anesta Samuel, the woman standing on the very far left.Ms. Anesta Samuel was born in Panama and in the early 1950s settled in Brooklyn, where she founded Las Servidoras, later The Dedicators…

POTW: The Healthcare Dilemma

Halley Choiniere

[Waiting Room, Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital], ca. 1890, v1972.1.801; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As the initial application deadline for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act approaches, I would imagine that healthcare is on the minds of many. I recently spent a couple of hours online shopping for healthcare and filling out an application. The application process was slightly bothersome, and I experienced a high blood pressure moment when I first saw…

POTW: Repeal Day is Here!

Halley Choiniere

[Inebriate’s Home, Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn], May 24, 1894, v1973.5.2440; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
If you are wondering what to do this evening, you should plan to celebrate Repeal Day!  On December 5, 1933 Prohibition ended and the nation was given permission to legally distill, distribute, and consume alcohol. For a more detailed history, see the Photo of the Week blog posts from December 2010 and December 2012.The stately building pictured in May of 1894 is the…

POTW: Happy Thanksgiving

Andy McCarthy

[Thanksgiving dinner tables], ca. 1910, v1981.284.53; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The tables are set for the Mother's Club Thanksgiving luncheon in the banquet hall of Emmanuel House, a community church organization associated with the nearby Emmanuel Baptist Church. Soon the mothers of girls in the Young Ladies Club and boys on the bowling team will sit postured and bequipped over plates of turkey, gravy, stuffing, and of course the mashed potatoes...Located on old Steuben…

POTW: It’s November!

Julie May

November, 1898, v1986.1.7; Dwight B. Demeritt, Jr. collection of 19th century photographs, v1986.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The subject of this week’s Photo of the Week  may be identifiable by some as Prospect Park.  For others who may not live in New York City, allow me to tell you that it’s getting cold out there -- especially cruising through the park on a bicycle.  I’ll just say it: it’s downright bitterly cold.  As much as I cherish the change of seasons, I think this photograph, entitled “November,” accurately…

POTW: An Old Saloon

Julie May

Old saloon remodeled, 1923, v1974.1.182; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, v1974.001; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I am returning to a more arbitrary choice for photo of the week.  This one I came across because it was taken in November.  It piqued my interest because it is a photograph that would interest many of our researchers.  Since the current renaissance of the cocktail started in the 2000s (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/fashion/17shake.html?_r=0) and NY State Law began to allow distilling in 2002 (…

POTW: Food!

Julie May

Workers buying lunch from a food truck, ca.1965, v1988.37.39; Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard collection, ARC.023; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Anyone who has spent even a little bit of time in Brooklyn knows you can eat pretty well around here without much effort.  I saw this through fresh eyes while cycling around the borough with my brother this past weekend.  If we hadn’t eaten such a big brunch, he might have been able to succumb to the unbelievable smells emanating from the donut truck on Bergen Street.  Alas – and…

POTW: Science stuff

Julie May

[Demonstrating a geiger counter.], ca. 1950, v1991.11.13.1; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Over the weekend, I went to the Maker Faire on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens.  I was overwhelmed by the many booths manned by techy scientists, but also pleasantly reminded of the experimenting and discovering I experienced in science classes in junior high and high school.  My discoveries are rarely scientific these days, yet the connections between the science…

POTW: Autumn Avenue

Julie May

[East side of Autumn Avenue.], 1963, v1974.4.2009; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
By now, it should come as no surprise that while it was in the balmy 90s last week, it has now dropped to the frigid 50s as we exit our apartments in the morning and barely into the mild 70s by midday.  As someone who is clearly affected by the change of seasons, I am therefore thinking about the coming of Autumn; my favorite season due to the rich colors and foods which it accompanies.When I went looking…

POTW: Sustained thoughts about swimming

Julie May

[Diving Lessons], ca. 1960, v1973.5.545; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I know I said the summer was over and Labor Day weekend was the last chance to enjoy the pleasures of summertime activities.  However, with news of Diana Nyad successfully swimming from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, I feel a renewed inclination to dunk myself in the nearest body of water.  The gnarly details involving jellyfish stings,  swallowing salt water, and the shock of not using a shark…

POTW: Floyd Bennett Field

Julie May

Floyd Bennett Airport, Brooklyn, 1937, v1973.5.175; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today being the last day of July, I am pondering the brevity of summer.  Though the extreme heat waves we experience make minutes seem like days, I still feel that the summer is just flying by.  Since moving to South Brooklyn, I habitually and addictively ride my bicycle to the Rockaway Beaches in Queens via a zigzaggy route that delivers me safely to the part of Flatbush Avenue south of…

POTW: Cemeteries can be fun

Julie May

View from Altar of Liberty, Green-wood Cemetery, ca. 1915, v1973.5.1515; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Taken from a hill in Green-wood Cemetery, this photograph isn’t necessarily the quintessential photograph of a cemetery we are accustomed to seeing.  That may be because Green-wood Cemetery isn’t a typical cemetery.  Located in the present-day Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, it was founded in 1838. One of the cemetery’s most famous sites, Battle Hill,  is the…

POTW: Summer Camp

Julie May

[Christmas Seals Camp of the Brooklyn Tuberculosis and Health Association], ca. 1925, v1973.5.494, v1973.5.497, v1973.5.499, v1973.5.500, v1973.5.504; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After spending four glorious days away from work in honor of our country’s Independence Day, I feel as though my independence has been shockingly cut off – especially by the air conditioning in the climate-controlled library, (we keep the temperature in the Othmer Library at a frosty 65 degrees…

POTW: Happy Summer!

Julie May

Astroland Park with Happyface and bottom half of Wonder wheel (panoramic), 2006, 2008.035.1; Ron Meisel photographs, 2008.035; Brooklyn Historical Society.
After a couple weeks of blazing hot sun and melting humidity, it seems appropriate to highlight one of the many photographs of Coney Island in our holdings. Just as there are endless things to look at while strolling down the boardwalk or Surf Avenue, the photograph above provides endless surprises each time I look at it.  Taken as a panorama photograph (with a Hasselblad…

POTW: Two hunters in a field of haystacks

Julie May

[Two hunters in a field of haystacks] ca. 1900 v1985.4.1; William Koch glass plate negatives, William Koch, V1985.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I love the casual, kick-back feel of this photo.  I also like the old style of haystacks, and the style of these two hunters.  The William Koch glass plate negatives collection contains at least three other photographs of these two hunters {object id numbers v1985.4.17, v1985.4.28, and v1985.4.30) that show, among other things, their successful hunt expeditions.William “Billy”…

POTW: The Long Island Historical Society in 1964

Julie May

[Taken at LIHS December 1960.], 1960, v1974.31.230; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Here is a peek at what the interior of the library looked like in 1960.  You might notice a linoleum-type floor, the interior filled with display cases and desks, and some unfortunate light bulbs.  Today, our library is a very different place.  Designated an interior landmark in 1991, the floor has been uncovered to reveal the original hard wood, the room has been fully renovated, exhibits…

POTW: Women’s Motor Corps in Flatbush

Julie May

The Women’s Motor Corps on a drill in Flatbush, 1918, v1973.6.701; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I would recognize our local Brooklyn heroines with the above photograph.  It was only with the first World War that women became part of the war effort beyond domestic duties.  The Motor Corps was established by the National League of Women’s Services in conjunction with the Red Cross.  It was entirely voluntary and appealed to…

POTW: Ruby’s Bar

Julie May

[Pasqualle at Ruby's Bar watching the 1985 World Series], 1985, v1992.48.9; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1992.48; Brooklyn Historical Society.
A number of things in this photograph are compelling.  As a photographer, it’s the blinding light streaming in over Pasqualle’s head and the way it makes the shadows a contrasting comfort.  For the sports fans it must be the exciting play going on in the most important game of the season.  For mermaids, it’s a sober peek into the long-standing bar in Coney Island.Rubin…

POTW: Spring Training

Leah

Boys Club, ca. 1910, V1981.284.51; Emmanuel House lantern slides, V1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Here are a group of young boys from the Emmanuel House, circa 1910.  This image titled “Boys Club” comes from the Emmanuel House lantern slides collection. The Emmanuel House was located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. As a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men's League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Emmanuel House offered Sunday school, Kindergarten, and…

POTW: Old Woodpoint Road

Leah

Where the Old Woodpoint Boulevard stops, ca. 1905, V1981.15.115; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This photograph depicts the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn around 1905.  The photographer titled it “Where the Old Woodpoint Boulevard stops.” But in researching more, I realize it is actually Woodpoint Road!  The photographer, Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd, mistakenly labeled it Boulevard, but in fact it has been referred to as “Old Woodpoint Road” or simply Woodpoint Road in several places (…

POTW: Who’s your Valentine?

Julie May

[Ann and Stan Moel, twin cantors], 1954, v1991.11.160.1; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
In case you forgot, Valentine’s Day is once again upon us.  This week’s photograph is just your pleasant reminder to run out for the last box of chocolates or diamond delicacy because tomorrow might be as hectic as Tax Day, Black Friday, or Christmas Eve.  It’s also a reminder of this institution’s love for the photographs of Harry Kalmus, photographer of Jewish Flatbush in the 1950s.  Here is a…

POTW: Self Portrait

Julie May

Untitled, January 11, 1899, 2010.023.30; 141 Quincy Street photograph album, 2010.023; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This charming photograph comes from a photo album discovered and donated to the Brooklyn Historical Society by the current owner of 141 Quincy Street.  The album contains interior photographs of the home, this young lady’s family members including a sister, both parents, and a baby, in addition to a parade and a few outings.  141 Quincy Street is located between Bedford and Franklin Avenues in the neighborhood…

POTW: Where is our snow?

Julie May

Henry Street & Love Lane, 1888, v1974.40.1.22; Brooklyn Academy of Photography Blizzard of 1888 photograph album, v1974.040; Brooklyn Historical Society.
While I am not hoping for a blizzard to hit Brooklyn, I am crossing my fingers for a little more snow than the dusting we received in the past week or so.  This photograph was taken in 1888 by an unidentified member of the Brooklyn Academy of Photography soon after the Great Blizzard of 1888.  The storm took place on March 12 and 13, affected a large part of the East…

POTW: Volunteerism

Julie May

Reading aloud to the Tuesday group (blind women), ca. 1935, v1991.110.160; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records, ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society.
As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day and the President calls us to a National Day of Service (http://mlkday.gov/), I turned to the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records to find a photo of Brooklyn volunteers, and remind us of the little things one can do for the benefit of the larger community. The Bureau of Community Service was an organization that led a…

POTW: Food Trucks

Leah

Workers Buying Lunch From a Food Truck, ca. 1965, v1988.37.39; The Anthony M. Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard collection, ARC.023; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today gourmet food trucks can be found in every major U.S. city, but the initial concept of the food truck and “mobile kitchens” have been around since the 1860s. It came as a part of the westward migration which helped in defining the U.S. as a pioneering country. The first transportable meals came from the American West and chuck wagons. The invention of the chuck wagon…

POTW: Skiing in Prospect Park

Julie May

Brooklyn Photographs: Prospect Park, 1978, v1990.2.182; Donald L. Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC. 120; Brooklyn Historical Society.
I am drawn to the photograph above for two reasons: I am writing from my perch in the gallery level of the Brooklyn Historical Society Othmer Library where I can see a section of Clinton Street from my window. Unfortunately, there is not a snowflake to be seen and for that, I am disappointed in December. However, I hear snow is coming to NYC over the weekend while friends in Vermont and family…

POTW: Holiday Carolers

Taina

Carolers at Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, ca. 1956, V2006.001.1.129; Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building photographs and architectural drawings, ARC.116; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The children pictured above are carolers from PS 9, located in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, singing around a piano and office desk in the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building in 1956. Some of our staff members have recently joined the ranks of Christmas Carolers, singing at Albee Square in partnership with the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance…

POTW: Fulton Ferry Landing

Julie May

Manhattan skyline as seen from Brooklyn Fulton Ferry landing area, ca. 1975, v1989.18.56; DUMBO, Brooklyn waterfront photographs and slides, Joseph Maraio, V1989.018; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week's post comes from our CHART intern, Twila Rios, who is currently digitizing and cataloging the DUMBO, Brooklyn waterfront photographs and slides by Joseph Maraio.What a difference a few decades make.  This is a picture of a new park deck circa 1975 in the Fulton Ferry area of DUMBO. The two people strolling on the deck are…

POTW: Happy Chanukkah Hanukkah Channuka?

Julie May

Grandmother at Hanukah Party in Brighton Beach, ca. 1980, v1992.43.29; Marcia Bricker photographs, v1992.43; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Happy Chanukkah* Brooklyn!  Wednesday, December 12 is the fourth day and the fifth night of Chanukkah.  So, gamble away your chocolate gelt over a crazy game of dreidl, catch a glimpse of the bike-drawn menorah in Williamsburg, or attend any number of menorah lightings around town, and definitely overdo it on the latkes – Chanukkah comes but 8 days a year!One more thing: call your Bubby and…

POTW: Repeal Day Celebrations

Julie May

Charles Schindler standing behind his busy bar, ca. 1905, v1972.1.1064; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For those of you who are unaware, today is Repeal Day!  It’s the anniversary of the day that the National Prohibition Act was repealed in 1933.  For 11 unfortunate years, the United States banned the production, sale, and transport of alcohol much to the delight of teetotalers across the country.  You can read more about the history of Prohibition in Brooklyn in my…

POTW: A Sandy Plumb

Julie May

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…

POTW: Sunset Park Pays it Forward

Julie May

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.

@udosero Photos were taken in the areas between 4th & 10th Ave and between 54th and 68th St. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=437824276279897
@udosero Photos were taken in the areas between 4th & 10th Ave and between 54th and 68th St. https://www.facebook.com/…

POTW: Red Hook beating Sandy back

Julie May

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.

@ginjula This is the collapsing waterfront by the Barge Museum. #RedHook #BrooklynPhotos @brooklynhistory pic.twitter.com/13Q77pAN
 
@leahloscut Still pumping water from 543 union street, the third day pumping #gowanus #sandy #brooklynphotos twitgoo.com/68xwdd
As…

POTW: Carroll Park after Hurricane Sandy

Julie May

Our public historian, Julie Golia, tweeted a downed tree just outside of Carroll Park caused by Hurricane Sandy.

@JulieThePH One of many old, large trees down near Carroll Park. @brooklynhistory #brooklynphotos #carrollgardens pic.twitter.com/ZdFKSTzn
As many of you can probably guess, Carroll Park is in Carroll Gardens and takes up the block between Smith and Court Streets and Carroll and President Streets.  NYC Parks Department identifies it as the 3rd oldest park in Brooklyn – it was established in the 1840s, around the…

POTW: It’s the Great Pumpkin!

Julie May

Two trick-or-treaters, ca. 1965, v1991.11.2.42; Harry Kalmus papers and photographs, ARC.046; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Happy Halloween, Brooklyn!  Another great photograph from one of our favorites, Harry Kalmus.  This color slide is from his series of personal and family photographs and likely captures his children about to venture out in search of candy from the neighbors.  The photograph is also a charming reminder of simple, homemade costumes in a world where store-bought ones are increasingly the norm.   Anyway, be…

POTW: One of the many photography studios in Brooklyn

Julie May

North side of DeKalb Avenue between Carlton Avenue and Adelphi Street, 1958, v1974.4.53; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.
While we have highlighted the photographs of John D. Morrell more than a couple times on this blog, I can’t help but do it once more.  Near and dear to my heart is the evidence of the photography industry and its professionals and amateurs throughout Brooklyn.Many may be aware that there were studios galore on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn during the early years of…

POTW: Pug Love

Michael Satalof

Ernestine Aschner’s pug-dog “Toby”, ca. 1895, v1992.40.6; Fred Hoyt family research collection, ARC.043; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Though this cabinet card dates back to the late 19th century, the image possesses a timeless quirkiness. From the Fred Hoyt family research collection, the photograph shows the pet “pug-dog” of Ernestine Aschner (a German immigrant to Brooklyn and aunt of Fred Hoyt), poised in a decorative chair with a doll companion. Even today, pugs--and their owners--seem to have a certain precocious quality…

POTW: A Kennedy at the Navy Yard!

Leah

In  October of 1964 Robert F. Kennedy visited  Brooklyn Navy Yard. Earlier that year Kennedy had resigned from his position as U.S. Attorney General to pursue a seat in the Senate. During this time, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara proposed to cut $1 billion from the Navy yards system nationwide, stating before the Appropriations Committee that he was…

POTW: The Beeches in Bay Ridge

Susan Gamble

“The Beeches” 2nd Avenue and 72nd Street, Bay Ridge, ca. 1910, v1981.15.66; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, v1981.015; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This week’s photo brings us once again to the work of Ralph Irving Lloyd. Lloyd’s lantern slides of Brooklyn give us a real sense of how  much the borough has changed in the last one hundred years. With a quick search using Google Maps Street View one can see that the Bay Ridge neighborhood of the photograph is no longer the palatial hideaway it once was.Today, Bay Ridge is a…

POTW: Boys at Fort Hamilton

Keara Duggan

This photograph features boys from Emmanuel House on a visit to Fort Hamilton. Fort Hamilton is located in Bay Ridge, in the southwestern corner of Brooklyn. American soldiers had used the site as a garrison since the Revolutionary War, but the structure that stands today was not erected until the nineteenth century. The Army commenced building Fort Hamilton on June 11, 1825, completing it…

POTW: Furman Street

Julie May

From the desk of Julie May, Photo Archivist: The first noticeable and great thing about this photograph is the cars, I think. While the new Fiat is sweetly round and compact, I personally don’t think it compares to the curvy lines of the cars above. I imagine they were pretty utilitarian, but I find them romantically stylish. This picture depicts Furman Street – a Furman Street that is…

POTW: Horse-drawn Carriage

Carolina Garcia

From the desk of Carolina Garcia, project intern: When I first started working on digitizing the Adrian Vanderveer Martense collection of lantern slides, one of the things I was most amused by was the fact that the labels on the slides were stamped “A.V. Martense, Amateur”. Martense hailed from one of Brooklyn’s oldest and…