Brooklyn Academy of Music

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 destroyed the building in 1903 and plans were made to construct a new building in the Fort Greene neighborhood, a rapidly growing suburb in the late 19th century. In 1908, opening events commenced for the newly constructed BAM at 30 Lafayette Avenue.  To learn more about BAM’s history, check out their archives here.

This photograph comes from the Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection comprised of roughly 1,400 black-and-white photographs from 1860 to 1920. The majority of this collection depicts views of Brooklyn and Suffolk County, including many views of Coney Island and Prospect Park. To see more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org