Blog posts by Dee

Red text and red image of tulips on yellow background; text reads, Making Brownstones Bloom

POTW: Making Brooklyn Bloom

Dee,

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, “Making Brownstones Bloom” flyer with “Tulips” by Jacques Hnizdovsky, 1985, color ink on paper; Brooklyn Historical Society ephemera collection, ARC.272; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week is a bright flyer advertising a day-long educational program at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) with information sessions about maintaining a garden in the city. A stunning floral illustration - "Tulips" by Ukrainian-born artist Jacques Hnizdovsky - just about pops off the page, with its bold…

Brightly colored and funky psychedelic illustration of a sunrise with several human figures, stars, planets, and floral motifs

POTW: A Psychedelic Sunrise

Dee,

Peter Max, Brooklyn Yellow Pages cover, 1970-71, color ink on paper; Brooklyn City and Telephone Directories, BCMS.0064; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week is the brightly colored cover of the 1970-71 Brooklyn yellow pages published by the New York Telephone Company. I was searching through our directories hoping to answer a reference question about a Brooklyn business when I was stunned to find that several 1970s volumes have gorgeous covers created by artists. Recognizing this style of art from…

Black and white photographic triptych with full-length portrait of young woman in gown

The Life of Adele Rollins Miller

Dee,

Recently I've been going through some boxes of genealogical files and manuscripts in order to create a finding aid for the material. Most of these are rather dry listings of vital statistics or pages of research notes. But when I came across a box labeled "Ancestry of Henry Clifton, Jr.", what I found inside was altogether different.A crumbling binder held an assortment of typed and handwritten pages, as well as scrapbooked ephemera, correspondence, and photographs. The manuscript was prepared by Adele Rollins Miller (Clifton) for her son Henry Clifton, Jr. There are sections for her ancestry…

Black and white photograph of people examining framed reproductions of artwork amidst library bookshelves

POTW: A New Service

Dee,

Verna Photographers, [Employees at Central Library], black and white photographic print, circa 1950s, CBPL_0694; Brooklyn Eagle photographs, BCMS.0002; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
As part of the current exhibition at the Central Library, Department of Transformation: Letters for the Future, library cardholders are able "to borrow a selection of works by the artists and collectives in the exhibition." Inspired by this project, this Photo of the Week shows a different art-lending program that started at BPL in 1950.…

Detail of front cover of 1912-1913 annual report for the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School, brown paper with black silhouette image of child running after rabbit on grass

POTW: Chasing a New Beginning

Dee,

Front cover, Howard Orphanage and Industrial School Annual Report, 1912-1913, black ink on paper; Brooklyn Charitable Organizations for Children collection, 1985.106, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's photo of the week is the startlingly modern image that adorns the front cover of the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School's annual report for 1912-1913. The institution was founded as the Home for Freed Children and Others in 1866, and later renamed after Oliver Otis Howard, a Union general and commissioner of the…

Black and white photograph of group of construction workers smiling and some waving their helmets

POTW: Salute to Sandhogs

Dee,

Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel [workers], black and white photographic print, 1947, TRAN_0148; Brooklyn Eagle photographs, BCMS.0002; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In honor of Labor Day, today's Photo of the Week is a group of hardworking "sandhogs" who were toiling underground to create the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (now the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel) in 1947. This photo caught my eye because of the workers' exuberant joy, despite the abundant evidence of arduous work in their muddy boots and dirt-streaked clothing. When I searched…

Color postcard of a lake in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

POTW: Sunset Park's Bygone Lake

Dee,

Lake, Sunset Park, color postcard, circa 1910s, POST_0011; Brooklyn postcard collection, BCMS.0060, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
According to this circa 1910s color postcard from our Brooklyn postcards collection, there was once a lake in Sunset Park, which was certainly news to me. A 1902 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article on "Park Improvements in Brooklyn and Queens" noted that "one of the features of this park is the beautiful, clear spring lake on the summit of the hill." Also of note in this postcard is the designation of…

Spring 1953 cover of Packer Current Items with block printed green and yellow plants and part of Packer's building

POTW: Fresh Blooms

Dee,

Erica Satzinger, PCI Spring 1953, color ink on paper; front cover, Packer Current Items, 1953; Packer Collegiate Institute records, 2014.019, Box 124,  Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I know, I know - flowers, for spring? Groundbreaking. But when I came across this charming hand printed cover of the student publication Packer Current Items in our collection of Packer Collegiate Institute records, I couldn't resist. It features not only a cheery surround of yellow blossoms and deep green leaves, but also a lovely little…

Printed and stylized image of a steamship in sepia ink with caption Ex-Libris and signature Cassel

POTW: Design Talent Born in Brooklyn

Dee,

Dabiel Cassel, Ex-Libris, color print; inside cover, Lincoln Landmark yearbook, Abraham Lincoln High School, 1938; Brooklyn yearbook collection, BCMS.0031, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Dedicated readers of this blog will know that I have a soft spot for our school history holdings. Recently, while searching our yearbooks from Abraham Lincoln High School (located on the border of Coney Island and Gravesend), I came across several charming ex libris illustrations inside their front covers. One such image is this week's…

Black and white photograph of woman at desk with papers and ink wells in front of her and gaze direct to camera

POTW: A Steady Gaze

Dee,

[Prospect Branch librarian], black and white photographic print, circa 1910s, BPL_1134; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week is an arresting portrait of a librarian at BPL's Prospect branch, now known as the Park Slope Library. According to the branch page on our website, "Park Slope Library began life as a small collection of books on natural history in Prospect Park's Litchfield Mansion. A storefront library soon opened on Ninth Street until the beautiful Andrew Carnegie-funded building opened at its…

Color postcard image of a castle-like tower with ivy growing on it

POTW: A Castle in Brooklyn

Dee,

Bliss Castle, color postcard, circa 1910s, POST_0180; Brooklyn postcards collection, BCMS.0060, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Did you know there was once a "castle" in Bay Ridge? Today's Photo of the Week is a color postcard depicting the observatory and tower at the Eliphalet Williams Bliss estate, which eventually became Owl's Head Park. Bliss had purchased the estate from famed NY state senator Henry Cruse Murphy, under whose ownership the property "was the Mecca of prominent politicians, men of social and literary…

Bluescale portrait photo of Shirley Chisholm at 39 with caption Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Key Woman of the Year

POTW: Early Shirley

Dee,

Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Key Woman of the Year. Detail from Key Women, Inc. Brooklyn Branch Annual Reception program, September 15, 1963. Irwin Lutzky collection, 1987.006, Box 1, Folder 4; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
In exactly two months, on November 30th, it will be the 100th birthday of Brooklyn's own Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant. Chisholm was also the first Black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the…

Two blue and white pins from Erasmus high school. One reads Erasmus and one reads Beat Boys High.

Brooklyn's got school spirit

Dee,

Here at the Center for Brooklyn History, we collect anything and everything related to Brooklyn history. That includes materials related to our borough's many schools, such as yearbooks and high school newspapers, documenting Brooklyn's long educational history. But did you know we also have artifacts from Brooklyn schools? Brooklynites have shown their school pride in all kinds of ways through the generations, and we collect and document it all, from our broad composite Brooklyn schools collection to collections of material from specific schools or individuals. In honor of Back to School…

Black and white photographic print of an elaborate church building on a street corner

POTW: Turrets Long Gone

Dee,

Sand Street Memorial Church, Henry and Clark Sts. Cradle of Brooklyn Methodism, circa 1900; black and white photographic print, CHUR_507; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, BCMS.0002, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  Today's Photo of the Week spotlights a long-gone church building that once stood at Clark and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights. Despite having grown up in this neighborhood and walked by this corner countless times, I had no idea that what is currently a boxy apartment building with the local…

Black and white photographic postcard depicting a large house on a hill in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

POTW: The House on the Hill

Dee,

The Albertype Co., Northwest Corner Ridge Boulevard and 85th Street, circa 1940; black and white photographic postcard, V1973.4.547; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week showcases a beautiful home in Bay Ridge at 8311 Ridge Boulevard. This stunning mansion at the top of a hill is still standing today, though it is located at the corner of 84th Street and Ridge Boulevard, not 85th Street as this postcard states. The house is one of my favorites…

POTW: Rain, rain, go away

Dee,

Ralph Irving Lloyd, A Rainy Day, circa 1910; black and white photograph, V1981.15.176; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.015, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
I don't know about you but I'm pretty sick of rain - and we haven't even reached the storied April showers yet. Regardless, I take solace in the fact that rain-flooded streets are nothing new in Brooklyn, as this circa 1910 lantern slide by Ralph Irving Lloyd proves. Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd (1875-1969) was a Brooklyn ophthalmologist and an avid amateur…

Color photograph of Fulton Street showing the Majestic Theater and other businesses under blue skies

POTW: From the Vault: Majestic Theater

Dee,

This From the Vault post was originally written by Tess Colwell and published on January 27, 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.

[View of Fulton Street.], 1959, V1974.9.13; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The photo of the week depicts a view of Fulton Street, including the Majestic Theater, in…

POTW: May the Library Be With You

Dee,

[Child in Luke Skywalker Halloween costume], 1977; Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031, V1974.31.127; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The year is 1977. You're obsessed with the best movie you've ever seen in your life, Star Wars. Of course you want to dress as the movie's hero, Luke Skywalker, for Halloween. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of Star Wars costumes everywhere, as retailers scrambled to catch up with the movie's unforeseen popularity. So you pull out your galoshes and utility belt to get that perfect…

POTW: Park Slope's Colorful Past

Dee,

Carl Steinbuch, [119-125 Park Place], circa April 1973, color slide, V1982.7.11. Carl Steinbuch slide collection, V1982.007; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Today's Photo of the Week shows one block of Park Place looking noticeably different than it does today. Several of the classic nineteenth century brownstone rowhouses on this block are painted not-so-classic colors, with blue, yellow, and mint green all lining up next to the traditional reddish brown of the leftmost house. A bright red convertible in the foregorund brings another…

POTW: Remembering Summer 2020

Dee,

Ron Foster, [Group of people holding their fists up at a demonstration.], July 4 2020, color digital photograph, BRCP_0009. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Three years ago this summer, the streets of Brooklyn, like the streets of cities all across the country, erupted in Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murder of George Floyd along with so many others at the hands of the police. As in years past, the area around Brooklyn's Central library became a gathering point for protesters. Then newly part of the…