Welcome to the Center for Brooklyn History (CBH). CBH is a research library and community hub dedicated to public history.
Formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society, CBH became part of Brooklyn Public Library in 2020 and is now free and accessible to all for research, education, culture and more. Our freshly renovated landmark building—home to the Othmer Library's magnificent reading room—is a trove of special collections, archives, ephemera, art exhibits and programs that bring our borough's rich history to Brooklynites of all ages.
Brooklyn Is ...
The Center for Brooklyn History reopened on September 14th with an exhibition that celebrates the people and neighborhoods of our diverse, richly textured borough. What captures Brooklyn for you?
NYC History Day 2024
New York City History Day (NYCHD) is a program where students in grades 6-12 create projects based on original historical research and analysis.
Upcoming Public Programs
CBH hosts a wide range of free weekly programs to delight and engage our many audiences. See what's happening next, both virtual and in person.
Visit the Othmer Library
Located on CBH’s second floor, the Othmer Library and its reading room are home to special collections and archives for public use. Researchers are encouraged to make appointments in advance.
Brooklyn Connections
Brooklyn Connections is BPL’s standards-based local history education program for 4th through 12th grade educators in Brooklyn-based schools. Apply now for our 2023-2024 program!
Brooklynology
Fascinating Brooklyn stories from our local history archivists, featuring our popular Photo of the Week posts.
Search our collections
The Center for Brooklyn History makes its collections available to all researchers. Browse our books, photographs, oral histories, maps collections and more.
Our History
The story of the Center for Brooklyn History began in 1863 with the founding of the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) during a time of tumultuous change. In only a few decades, Brooklyn had grown from a tiny agricultural backwater to the third largest city in the country. Civic pride was at an all-time high. Many of Brooklyn’s citizens believed they needed to commemorate their city’s rural past before it quickly faded from memory. Founders also envisioned the LIHS as a center for dialogue about history. In the nineteenth century, the society’s roster of speakers included newspaper editor and reformer Horace Greeley, writer Arthur Conan Doyle and abolitionist and women’s rights activist Julia Ward Howe.
Over the next century, the fortune of LIHS mirrored that of Brooklyn: it navigated the consolidation into the City of Greater New York, played a part in historic conflicts such as its use as a Red Cross headquarters during World War I, and faced its own struggles as the city grappled with deindustrialization, economic decline and social change.
Upcoming Events
CBH Talk | Dana Mattioli and Emily Glazer Discuss “The Everything War”
The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power is the shocking exposé of Amazon’s endless strategic greed and pursuit of total domination.
In this business thriller and inside story, Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli…
CBH Talk | Jane Kamensky and Cynthia Carr Discuss “Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution”
In her book, Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution, acclaimed historian Jane Kamensky chronicles an improbable twentieth-century heroine and offers an entirely new understanding of the so-called sexual revolution.Candida Royalle was a porn star and cofounder of the feminist…
CBH Talk | “Treating Violence” with Rob Gore and Marlon Peterson
Dr. Rob Gore has worked in the Emergency Department of Kings County Hospital for almost 20 years. He knows all too well the violence that plagues Brooklyn’s youth, especially its youth of color.
Gore is the visionary behind Kings Against Violence Initiative (…
Get Social with CBH
Subscribe to Our Emails
Sign up to start getting our weekly programming updates, plus our popular Photo of the Week series.
Become a CBH Supporter
Whether through membership or a one-time gift, your support helps connect the past to the present and makes Brooklyn's vibrant history tangible, relevant, and meaningful for today's diverse communities—and generations to come.
Contact Us
For general inquiries regarding the Center for Brooklyn History, you can call or email us, or submit a research request.
About CBH
Staff Picks
- Family Genealogy
- Brooklyn Literary Walking Tour
