December, 2011

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Happy New Year!

Written by Leah on December 30th, 2011

As the year comes to an end the staff at Brooklyn Historical Society would like to wish you a very Happy New Year! In honor of New Year’s celebrations this weekend, here is a sample of festive images from Brooklyn’s past.

Saloon of Charles Schindler, 1905 ca., V1972.1.1064; Early Brooklyn and Long Island Photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Women dancing and playing piano, 1946 ca., V1991.110.164; Brooklyn Bureau of Community Services photographs, ARC.129; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Dancing, 1966, V1992.16.13.34, John Cazzetto photograph collection on the John A. Roebling II family, V1992.016; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Namm employee's Excursion on Hudson River Day Line, 1910, V1972.1.763; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, ARC.201; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge, 1983, V1987.3.29; Bernard Gotfryd color slides and photographs, V1987.003; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Library & Archives | No Responses »
Tags: Brooklyn photographs, Dancing, New Year's, Photography Collection

Brooklyn History Photo of the Week: Sledding in Prospect Park

Written by Steve Terry on December 28th, 2011

Sledding in Prospect Park, January 1967, V1990.2.39; Donald Nowlan Brooklyn collection, ARC.120; Brooklyn Historical Society.

This photo shows sledders in Prospect Park, January 1967. Equipped with the wood sleds, plastic discs, and pieces of cardboard, hundreds of winter revelers of all ages flock to the hills of Prospect Park every year. When Prospect Park opened in 1867, it provided a free and accessible public space for Brooklynites to congregate, exercise, and play in the heat of summer and the chill of winter. Today, Prospect Park remains one of the most popular sledding sites in Brooklyn.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. To search our entire collection of images visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Hidden Collections, Library & Archives | 2 Responses »
Tags: Brooklyn, Photo of the Week, Photographs, photography, Photography Collection, Prospect Park, Winter

Brooklyn History Photo of the Week: Holiday House

Written by Emily Reynolds on December 21st, 2011

Holiday House, February 28, 1960, v1974.4.1364; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Photographer John D. Morrell was Assistant Librarian of the Long Island Historical Society (today known as Brooklyn Historical Society), and donated more than 2,600 photographs of Brooklyn neighborhoods to the library. Most are photographs documenting Brooklyn storefronts and blocks. The collection is a wonderful resource for researchers due to the detail included with each photograph. This photograph shows a small store called Holiday House, located on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Carroll Street taken on February 28, 1960 – it’s great to have that much geographic information for so many images!

Thanks to a generous grant from Gerry Charitable Trust, Morrell’s photographs have all been scanned and cataloged, and are available on BHS’s online image gallery; a finding aid for the collection is on our catablog.

Posted in Library & Archives | No Responses »
Tags: Brooklyn, John D. Morrell, Photo of the Week, Photographs, photography, Photography Collection

Can you solve the map mystery?

Written by Carolyn on December 16th, 2011

When I catalog historical maps, I always try to figure out the modern geographic area that they cover, ideally down to the neighborhood level. Usually, I can find the answer, but the following map has me stumped. It likely covers some part of Brooklyn, but that’s about as much as I can figure out. So I’m sending this out to all you map sleuths with the hopes that you can solve the mystery. Thanks for your help!

Survey map of Brooklyn. ca. 1800s. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.

And some detail shots:

Survey map of Brooklyn. ca. 1800s. Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Hidden Collections, Library & Archives | 9 Responses »
Tags: manuscript maps, maps

Brooklyn History Photo of the Week: Columbia Heights

Written by Emily Reynolds on December 14th, 2011

Columbia Heights, ca.1885, v1973.6.651; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.

In 2007, real estate blog The Real Deal called Columbia Heights “Brooklyn’s most expensive street” because of the limited number of properties and the stunning views of Manhattan from buildings on the west side of the street. Columbia Heights has long been one of Brooklyn’s most-coveted addresses, and over the centuries many of the mansions and brownstones along the street housed the borough’s most prominent families. Residents of Columbia Heights have included members of the Pierrepont family, the Roebling Family, Henry Ward Beecher, and more recently, Norman Mailer.

Posted in Brooklyn Past & Present, Library & Archives | No Responses »
Tags: Brooklyn, Columbia Heights, Library, Photo of the Week, Photographs, Photography Collection

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