Blog posts by Sarah

A Queen Dethroned?

Sarah,

[24 Middagh Street], 1922, V1974.32.72; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks (ARC.022), Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Today’s Photo of the Week looks at 24 Middagh Street, the “Queen of Brooklyn Heights” and star of a recent New York Times article Bragging Rights in Brooklyn Heights. The article looks at two properties (24 Middagh Street and 25 Cranberry Street) and their claim to be the oldest homes in Brooklyn Heights. 25 Cranberry Street underwent a “peel-back” renovation several years ago to maintain…

POTW: Safe, Sound Trophies

Sarah,

[Safe, sound trophies], 1946, CRIM_0019; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
In the months following World War II, thousands of GIs returned home with serviceable weapons kept as souvenirs. In 1946, the Alcohol Tax Unit for the Eastern District launched a campaign to collect these guns and render them non-serviceable, free of charge. Once inoperable, the weapons could be returned to their owners as legal war trophies.The program was popular, with guns of all types including rifles, pistols,…

Celebrating Black Veterans: Walter E.D. Robinson

Sarah,

[Members of the 367th Infantry Regiment], circa 1918, Walter E.D. Robinson papers, box A0071, folder 2; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
February is Black History Month! Today, we’re celebrating Black Veterans with a look at the Walter E.D. Robinson papers. Robinson was born in Bed-Stuy in 1893 and attended Erasmus Hall High School, where he was involved with several clubs, including the Smart Set Athletic Club.In 1918, Robinson became one of the approximately 350,000 Black Americans to serve in World War I. According to The…

POTW: Praise in the Park

Sarah,

[Group portrait, cropped], circa 2000; Brooklyn Arts Council Folk Arts collection, CBHM.0002, box 74, folder 2, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Thanks to a generous grant from the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program, previously inaccessible audiovisual materials from the Brooklyn Arts Council Folk Arts collection are now available to researchers! One of the programs included in this project is "Praise in the Park: Musical Expressions of Faith." Held annually from 1999 to 2002 at the Prospect Park Music…

Veterans Day Salute

Sarah,

[Boy saluting an American flag during an Armistice Day event], circa 1945, HOLI_0017; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week looks at a boy stopping to salute an American flag during an Armistice Day event, presumably at Borough Hall. Armistice Day was first observed on November 11, 1919, one year after the end of World War I. President Wilson honored this historic day with a stirring speech, a portion of which can be read here: "To us in America the reflections of…

POTW: Welcoming 5786

Sarah,

[Rabbi Irving Mirsky of Baith Israel Anishei Emes, 236 Kane St., blows the shofar], 1949, HOLI_0086; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week shows Rabbi Irving Mirsky of Baith Israel Anishei Emes, located 236 Kane Street. The Rabbi is blowing the shofar to mark the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the new year and beginning of the high holidays. In addition to prayer and reflection, Jewish people celebrate with several traditional foods, including round challah sweetened with…

POTW: A Trip to Bear Mountain

Sarah,

[Young people posing in front of a bus, cropped], 1959, OSOS_0683; Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. Donated for capture by Linda Burke Galloway at Boys and Girls High School. 
We love Brooklyn but sometimes you need to get away! Today's Photo of the Week looks at a group posing in front of a Gold Star bus in Williamsburg before a trip to Bear Mountain State Park. Only 45 minutes from New York City, but a world away, these city kids could look forward to hiking, swimming, and enjoying…

Preserving Brooklyn’s Folk Art Traditions Through Digitization

Sarah,

The Center for Brooklyn History recently received a generous grant from the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program to digitize previously inaccessible audiovisual materials from the Brooklyn Arts Council Folk Arts collection. We're so excited to share this unique collection with our researchers and hope this blog post will provide additional insight into the collection and digitization process. Brooklyn Arts Council: A Short History Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) was founded in 1966 by Charlene Victor as the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association (BACA). The program…

The General Slocum Disaster

Sarah,

[Slocum boat on fire], 1904, v1974.022.10.151; Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
On June 15, 1904, the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church chartered the General Slocum to carry church members to an annual outing on Long Island. Shortly after setting sail, a fire broke out below deck. Crew members found the ship's fire hose rotten, lifeboats chained to the deck, and life vests that reportedly fell apart in the hands of panicked passengers. The boat breached on North…

POTW: Cute and Cuddly?

Sarah,

Boy with raccoon, 1986, COHEN_0019; George Cohen photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Move over rats and pigeons, today's Photo of the Week is looking at that other, often overlooked member of our city's wildlife: the raccoon. The little trash panda seen in this photograph was kept as a pet in Brighton Beach in the 1980s, but according to the City of New York, that's a big no-no. Wildlife NYC states "No one may possess a raccoon without a license, and licenses are not issued for pet wildlife." Rules and…

POTW: Barrel of Fun

Sarah,

 

[Barrel of fun], circa 1953, CONE_256. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
The Barrel of Fun was a popular ride at Steeplechase Park in the shape of a cylinder that rotated as the ride-goer tried to walk through. The unsteady surface caused stumbles and tumbles, falling over family, friends, and dates in an effort to reach the other side. How would you fare in this classic Coney Island attraction? Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery…

POTW: Street Scenes with John D. Morrell

Sarah,

[South side of Kings Highway between E. 16th Street & E. 17th Street. Levine's Clothing, 1612 Kings Highway Adler's Ladies Specialty Shop -1610 Kings Highway], 1961, V1974.9.353, John D. Morrell photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
The John D. Morrell photographs collection includes over 2,000 black and white and color negatives and prints, donated by Long Island Historical Society (now CBH) assistant librarian John D. Morrell. Images include street scenes from almost every Brooklyn neighborhood,…

Black and white photograph of buildings on St. John's Place, one with a campaign sign for Kings County District Attorney William O'Dwyer in the 1945 mayoral race.

POTW: O'Dwyer for Mayor

Sarah,

[1831 St. John's Place], 1945, PORT_0680; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Today's Photo of the Week looks at 1831 St. John's Place, where the owners were supporting Kings County District Attorney William O'Dwyer in the 1945 mayoral race. O'Dwyer was elected the 100th mayor of New York City later that year, and after two terms was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico by President Truman. Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which…

POTW: Fort Hamilton Cannon

Sarah,

[Boys at Fort Hamilton cannon], circa 1910, V1981.284.55; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
 Today’s Photo of the Week shows a group of youngsters posing on the Fort Hamilton cannon, a 116,000-pound Rodman gun at John Paul Jones Park. The cannon was made during the Civil War, but after several failed tests at Fort Hamilton it was deemed unsuitable for combat. After a brief stay in Pennsylvania, it was returned to Brooklyn in 1900 and installed in the park, where it sits today.…

Kitchen Connections

Sarah,

One of the things I love about archival research is how many senses it activates. The obvious visual delights, tactile sensations, hints of grass and vanilla wafting from the boxes, and the reading room rustle of papers, chairs, and keyboards. Noticeably and rightfully absent is our fifth sense, taste. Archival research has no flavor*, but food is constantly on the minds of many researchers. What were their research subjects eating? What did it taste like? What did their homes smell like while it was cooking? How and where did they source ingredients? These questions are key to understanding…

POTW: A Tree Grows on Garfield Place

Sarah,

[Garfield Place trees], circa 1916; Raymond V. Ingersoll collection (BCMS.0061), Box 13. Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
Walking around Park Slope is especially lovely in the Spring as the trees bloom to create a canopy over the sidewalks. One of the neighborhood's most beautiful streets, Garfield Place, has Raymond V. Ingersoll to thank. Ingersoll served as Brooklyn Parks Commissioner from 1914 to 1917, making tree planting around the borough a top priority for his administration. Garfield Place was one of the lucky…

Sepia toned photograph of two men on a tandem bicycle

POTW: Biking with a Friend

Sarah,

 [Tandem bicycle on the beach at Coney Island], 1889, V1972.1.808; Early Brooklyn and Long Island photograph collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
What's better than riding a bike on the beach? Riding a bike on the beach with a friend. Today's Photo of the Week looks at the tandem bicycle, an intimate vehicle that requires teamwork. Operating a tandem bike might be easy, but finding a tandem partner is tricky. You need someone sporty, unafraid of leg cramps, with the desire to go in the same…

POTW: From the Vault: Real Brooklyn, a day in our lives photographs now available at BHS

Sarah,

This From the Vault post was originally written by John Zarrillo and published on March 10, 2016 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.

Chosen for Mom, by Doris Adler, 2003; Real Brooklyn, a day in our lives photographs, 2007.041, Box 1; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
This post was authored by BHS Library and Archives processing intern…

Pint-Sized Pilgrims

Sarah,

[Young turkey hunters], 1951, HOLI_0109; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
Residents of the Infants Home of Brooklyn, located at 1358 56th Street attended their 1951 Thanksgiving dinner dressed as pint-sized pilgrims, ready to hunt their own turkey! For children living at the Infants Home, a holiday to gather with family may have felt a little sad, but we love how their caregivers tried to make the holiday a little more fun. We hope these little ones had the best Thanksgiving ever.  At…

National Pasta Day

Sarah,

[Employees of I. Defrancisci & Son Macaroni Machines], 1917, OSOS_0015. Our Streets, Our Stories collection. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. Donated for capture by Leonard DeFrancisci.
Did you know that October 17th is National Pasta Day? According to Italy Magazine, there are approximately 350 different types of pasta, including a personal favorite, macaroni. These curved, bouncy little tubes are the perfect vehicle for a variety of sauces and cheeses or eaten alone with butter and garlic. If you lived in Brooklyn…