Blog posts by Allyson

POTW: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Allyson,

[Story hour with Dr. Seuss books], 1959, CBPL_1223; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week is from 1959 and depicts a librarian reading a book to children. But not just any book because today is March 2 and that is the birthday of Mr. Theodor Seuss Geisel - or as he's better known, Dr. Seuss. I suspect this is a copy of The Lorax but it's hard to tell. Mr. Geisel was born March 2, 1904, in Springfield Massachusetts to Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Seuss Geisel. He attended Dartmouth College…

POTW: Library on Wheels

Allyson,

Post_0047. Bookmobile in Canarsie. Brooklyn Postcard collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week is Brooklyn Public Library's very own bookmobiles. This image comes from our Postcard Collection and it depicts the bookmobile, the mobile unit that used to bring books to patrons throughout the borough. This photo is from Canarsie and is dated from the 1950s.  Brooklyn Public Library still has a bookmobile program - three in fact - that bring books, programs, and technology all over Brooklyn.…

POTW: M & I International Food in Brighton Beach

Allyson,

[Russian grocery store in Brighton Beach], 1987, COHEN_0148; George Cohen photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Obviously I’m hungry because today's Photo of the Week is an interior shot of market, most likely the  in Brighton Beach back in 1987. It is a part of the George Cohen photo collection.M & I International Food was described by the New York Times as “breaking all the rules of retailing.” There was no catchy name and certainly no smiling servers. And yet it had…

POTW: Pumpkin Time

Allyson,

 

Clinton Hill Branch, BPL_0557; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 Today's Photo of the Week is welcoming Autumn to Brooklyn. Pictured here are two children holding pumpkins outside of the Clinton Hill Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.Pumpkin carving, as a tradition in America, is believed to have been started when Scottish and Irish immigrants came to the United States in the 19th century. They brought with them the tradition of carving scary faces into turnips, but upon encountering pumpkins for the first…

Brooklyn in Love

Allyson,

 Welcome to the wonderful month of September, which means it is officially fall, which I love. So for today’s blog post I thought we would take a look back at Brooklyn in Love. We have a number of collections that feature engagements, weddings, and anniversaries of Brooklynites from all different walks of life. Also, one of my favorite things, as a first generation American myself, is how it tells an immigrant story.

[Wedding photograph. [Joseph and Regina Schwartz, parents of Mrs. Julian Ramus], circa 1885, bhs_v1978.174.19 Ramus family papers and…

POTW: Jennie Jerome

Allyson,

 

Jennie Jerome, PORT_0293 ; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 Today's Photo of the Week is from 1864 and features 10 year old Jennie Jerome, the young girl who would grow up to be the mother of Winston Churchill. Jennie was born in Brooklyn in what is now thought to be 426 Henry Street in 1850. The year she was born, Millard Fillmore became President of the United States - and Leonard Jerome, Jennie's father, was appointed U.S. Consul to Trieste. In 1860 the Prince of Wales paid a…

POTW: Jacob L. Van Pelt House

Allyson,

Van Pelt house, 1906, AUST_0279 ; Daniel Berry Austin photograph collection, Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Today’s Photo of the Week is a two-story wooden-frame house with a portico known as the Jacob L. Van Pelt house located at 86th Street near Bay 23rd Street in Bensonhurst. Van Pelt Manor, as it is also known, was part of New Utrecht, which was one of the original Dutch towns in Brooklyn. The original owner was a descendent of Teunis Laenen Van Pelt, one of the earliest Dutch settlers. Van Pelt…

POTW: The Williamsburgh Branch

Allyson,

 This week's Photo of the Week is an image of the Williamsburgh Branch of Brooklyn Public Library located at 240 Division Avenue. The Williamsburgh Branch, which was built in 1903, was one of 21 branches created with funds provided by Andrew Carnegie. One of the more interesting facts about the Williamsburgh Branch is that enclosed in one of the cornerstones is a capsule containing Brooklyn Newspapers, the Carnegie contract, and other contemporary documents.  Depicted are, presumably, school children, seated at the library with a librarian at the desk in the corner. It is assumed…

Glasslands Gallery

Allyson,

 Glasslands Gallery was a club in Williamsburg, located at 289 Kent Avenue. It was opened by Brooke Baxter and Rolyn Hu in 2006. Baxter had a previous gallery in the same building which was called Glass House Gallery. As a concert venue, Glasslands was one of the longest running venues on the Williamsburg waterfront. As notoriety grew Glasslands started to attract bigger acts including Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear, Matt and Kim, Deerhunter, Kimya Dawson and Julianna Barwick. Vampire Weekend and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Bon Iver and MGMT were some of the earlier…

Black and white photograph of two carved carousel horses

POTW: Coney Island Carousel

Allyson,

[Coney Island Carousel], 1969, HERZ_0022; Irving I. Hertzberg photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week is by Irving Hertzberg depicting the B&B Carousel. Built in 1906 it incorporates the work of four distinct masters of Coney Island style craftsmanship and artistry: William F. Mangels, Marcus Charles Illions, Charles Carmel, and August Wolfinger and is the centerpiece of the Steeplechase Plaza and a signature attraction at Luna Park in Coney Island. Irving Hertzberg's photo…

Black and white photograph of children reading at a library

POTW: Back to School

Allyson,

Prospect Branch, circa 1910s, BPL_1117; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 It's back to school time! Today's Photo of the Week shows school children sitting in a reading room at the Prospect Branch of Brooklyn Public Library, a Carnegie library, located at 431 Sixth Avenue. The branch was renamed the Park Slope Branch in 1975. Even back then, kids knew the library was a great place to get their school work done. Just like kids today! Interested in seeing more photos from CBH's collections? Visit our online image…

Black and white photograph of the Coney Island boardwalk under construction

POTW: Coney Island Boardwalk

Allyson,

Rutter, E.E. [Coney Island Boardwalk], 1922, RUTT_0247; Edgar E. Rutter photography collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
It's officially summer time so today's Photo of the Week is brought to you by the Edgar E Rutter collection. It is an 8 x 10 print that shows the exterior view of Coney Island beach and the boardwalk under construction. Image includes a portion of the amusement park in the distant background. Inscription reads: "General view looking east from Steeplechase Pier."Edgar E. Rutter served as the…

An embellished cabinet card with a small black and white portrait photograph of a Civil War soldier in a gilded surround

Dipping into the Collection: Thall and Lopez family papers and photographs

Allyson,

For this month's blog post we thought we might take a peek into the collection, looking at the Thall and Lopez family papers and photographs. The collection consists of documents, ephemera, and photographs related to several generations of the Thall and Lopez families of Canarsie, Brooklyn. Included in the collection are letters, photographs, account ledgers, blueprints, wills, deeds, stock certificates, a Civil War infantry manual, Civil War currency, notes, newspaper clippings, electrification contracts, and assorted legal documents. It’s an interesting look at a family that has lived in…

Black and white photograph of a Black man with a Black child on his shoulders during a protest

POTW: Happy Black History Month

Allyson,

Anthony Geathers, Man carrying small boy on his shoulders at demonstration at Borough Hall, 2020, GEAT_0017; Anthony Geathers photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Happy Black History Month! Today's Photo of the Week is from the Anthony Geathers photograph collection, which consists of about 66 images taken in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout Brooklyn. This image depicts a young boy on a man's shoulder as they listen to people speaking at a demonstration at Brooklyn…

From the Vault: Ruby's Bar

Allyson,

This From the Vault post was originally written by Julie May and published on May 13, 2013 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to our Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. This Photo of the Week was originally written and published by the Brooklyn Historical Society, so some terms and links may be out of date. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to the Center for Brooklyn History…

Prospect Park Zoo

Allyson,

Prospect Park Buffalo, Daniel Berry Austin photograph collection, Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week is from the Daniel Berry Austin collection. Austin was an amateur photographer whose subjects often included farms and landscapes. This photo, of one of the buffalo's at the Prospect Park Zoo, was taken in 1902. The Prospect Park Zoo opened in 1890. At the time it was known as The Menagrie. Of the original facilities in the park, the Deer Paddock, located near the present Carousel, was…

POTW: Telephone Booth: From the Vaults

Allyson,

 

[Yard worker in a telephone booth], circa 1965, v1988.37.36, Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard Collection, v1988.37; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on October 4, 2017 by the Brooklyn Historical Society. To see the latest Photo of the Week entries, visit the Brooklynology blog home, or subscribe to our Center for Brooklyn History newsletter. In the not-so-distant past, telephone booths could be seen on…

POTW: When Disco Was King

Allyson,

Patrick D. Pagnano photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
For this week's Photo of the Week we are rolling back the clock to 1980 and we're strapping on our skates for a cruise around the dance floor of the Empire Roller Disco on Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights. The indoor rink could accommodate 2,500 skaters and was reportedly so crowded that "if you fell, you didn't fall."  In February of 1980 Patrick D. Pagnano, the street photographer, was hired by Forbes Magazine to capture that moment.  “It…

Eugenie Fribourg: Nearly 99 Years in Brooklyn

Allyson,

May is Jewish American Heritage Month and to celebrate I thought we could take a closer look at the Eugenie Fribourg Family Photographs and Ephemera Collection. It is comprised of materials relating to and documenting the family and professional life of Eugenie Merzbach Fribourg, a Jewish-American Brooklynite whose life spanned nearly the entire 20th century. She was born in 1908 and died in 2007, just weeks before her 99th birthday and the vast majority of her life was spent in Brooklyn.

Eugenie and Louis Fribourg, twins. Eugenie Fribourg collection.…

POTW: The Shot Heard Round the World

Allyson,

 

Ralph Branca, 1952, DODG_0006; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To celebrate the return of baseball season, today's Photo of the Week is of Ralph Branca, the man who became famous for what would be called The Shot Heard Round the World. Ralph Branca pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1944-1953 and then again in 1956. He also pitched for the Tigers (1953-1954) and the Yankees (1954). A three-time All-Star, he won 80 games for the Dodgers with a career high of 21 wins in 1947. In 1948 he…