Out of the Box: Brooklyn in 1896
The Center for Brooklyn History marks BPL’s 125th Anniversary with a special series showcasing our remarkable archives and collections. Join experts, eyewitnesses, and CBH staff as they uncover gems from the collection and reflect on the history they tell.
Click here to view the entire series.
Brooklyn in 1896
Brooklyn Public Library first opened its doors in 1896. It was two short years before the consolidation of the City of Greater New York. An industrial harbor bustled with commerce. The once thriving free Black village of Weeksville was gradually becoming part of Crown Heights. And subways would soon transform the Borough. Historians Thomas Campanella (Brooklyn: The Once and Future City) and Prithi Kanakamedala (curator of In Pursuit of Freedom) join CBH librarian Michelle Montalbano for a subjective look at 1896 Brooklyn, as told through the CBH archives.
Participants
Thomas J. Campanella is Professor of City Planning at Cornell University and Historian-in-Residence of the NYC Parks Department. He is a recipient of Guggenheim, Fulbright and Rome Prize fellowships, and has held visiting appointments at Columbia, Harvard and MIT. His books include Brooklyn: The Once and Future City (2019), a finalist for the 2020 Brendan Gill Prize; The Concrete Dragon (2008) and Republic of Shade (2003), winner of the Spiro Kostof Award. Tom has written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Slate and New York Magazine. He divides his time between Ithaca and the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up.
Prithi Kanakamedala is an Associate Professor in History at Bronx Community College, and the MALS Program at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research interests include archives, material culture, and 19th Century free Black communities in Brooklyn and New York. She previously served as historian for In Pursuit of Freedom and curator for Brooklyn Abolitionists, a partnership of Brooklyn Historical Society (now Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library), Weeksville Heritage Center, and Irondale Ensemble Project.
