Blog Posts tagged as: POTW

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

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History, 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…

Opening the Pocket Doors: Say Cheese!

Katherine, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist

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…

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…

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…

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…

Opening the Pocket Doors: What Could Have Been

Katherine, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist

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)…

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…

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…

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

Katherine, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist

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…

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…

From the Vault: Transformation and Discovery

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History, 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…

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…

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…

Opening the Pocket Doors: Save the Clock Tower!

Katherine, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Opening the Pocket Doors: Humble Beginnings at the Hamilton

Katherine, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist, Leon Levy Senior Processing Archivist

[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…