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October, 2009

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Park Slope Walking Tour

Written by Sady on October 27th, 2009

Park Slope, Brooklyn photo by wallyg on Flickr

photo courtesy wallyg on Flickr

In 2008, BHS published the Park Slope Neighborhood & Architectural History Guide, written by Francis Morrone.  We are currently working on a neighborhood guide about Fort Greene / Clinton Hill, so, stay tuned and please be in touch if there’s something BHS needs to know, someone BHS needs to interview, or you have other ideas for this forthcoming guide.

You can download a Walking Tour of Park Slope here.

And you can listen to voices from Park Slope to accompany the tour:

LIFE OF A BLOCK
 Produced by independent radio producer, Laura Starecheski

The Rubin Family: 3 Generations in Park Slope

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The Rubin Family: Fire on Carroll Street

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TALE OF TWO LIQUOR STORES
Interviews by Corie Trancho-Robie, Columbia Oral History Research Office

Red, White, and Bubbly: Darrin Siegfried

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DeSilva South Brooklyn Liquors: Floyd DeSilva

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COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Interviews by Sady Sullivan, Brooklyn Historical Society

Park Slope Food Co-Op: Joseph Holtz

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Lesbian Herstory Archives: Maxine Wolfe

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PARK SLOPE 2.O: THE BLOGGERS

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: Louise Crawford

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The Declaration of Co-Dependence: The Blog That Must Not Be Named

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Narrated by Francis Morrone.
Recorded by Laura Starecheski, Sady Sullivan, and Corie Trancho-Robie.
Produced by Laura Starecheski for the Brooklyn Historical Society.
Thank you to everyone who was interviewed, and to the Borough of Manhattan Community College.


Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Oral History | 2 Responses »
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Brooklyn Utopias? – ‘Utopian’ Urban Planning – what does it mean?

Written by Janice on October 26th, 2009
JacobMann-playground-near-brooklyn-bridge

JacobMann-playground-near-brooklyn-bridge

Yesterday (Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009) BHS hosted a lively panel discussion about ‘Utopian’ Urban Planning, in conjunction with BHS’ current Public Perspectives exhibit, Brooklyn Utopias?. Organized by curator Katherine Gressel and moderated by urban historian and licensed architect Marta Gutman, PhD, the panel addressed what the role of artists is in urban planning and how artists and community leaders might work together. We heard from Amy Sananman, Executive Director/Founder, Groundswell Community Mural Project, Shin-pei Tsay, Deputy Director of Transportation Alternatives, Derek Denckla, Founder, Propeller Group and Alexander Gorlin, FAIA, Principal/Founder of Alexander Gorlin Architects about art, advocacy, and design projects that involve and engage communities in Brooklyn to evoke change. Many of the comments from the audience and artists focused on how imperative it is that communities be the central voice in any such endeavors.  Some of the most fascinating questions that arose relate to what bettering Brooklyn means. What is involved with ‘improving’ Brooklyn? Is a utopian Brooklyn something other than what already is? Is it something nostalgic?

What do you regard as utopian Brooklyn? What does moving forward mean? What are the forces involved with that change?

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present | No Responses »

Making Antibiotics in Brooklyn

Written by Sady on October 7th, 2009
Pfizer on Flushing Ave, image courtesy of Gawker.com

Pfizer on Flushing Ave, image courtesy of Gawker.com

Founded in Brooklyn in 1849, Pfizer is now one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and maker of drugs such as Benadryl, Depo-Provera, Glucotrol, Lipitor, Viagra, Xanax, and Zoloft, to name just a few.

BHS interviewed over 20 past and current employees of Pfizer Brooklyn on the occasion of the closing of this historic manufacturing plant.

On June 12, 2008, Pfizer’s Brooklyn plant on Flushing Avenue was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the New York Section of the American Chemical Society for its breakthrough developments in Deep-Tank Fermentation that made the mass production of penicillin possible.

A traveling exhibit Pfizer Heritage: Brooklyn and Beyond premiered at the Brooklyn Pfizer plant and featured clips from BHS’s Pfizer Brooklyn Oral History Project.

Former plant manager Owen Brooks talks about making life-saving antibiotics.

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Milton Finkelstein talks about Terramycin, an antibiotic that saved countless lives during the Vietnam War and beyond.

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Lisa McClancy and her mother Mary Ann Esmont talk about the Pfizer family.

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Eddie Anderson talks about the Industrial League Softball games.

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Roslyn Sheer talks about the Smell.

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Mike Palisoc talks about secret parties at the warehouse in Cobble Hill in the 1980s.

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These and more interviews from the Pfizer Brooklyn Oral History Project will soon be available for listening in the Othmer Library.

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