POTW: 1977 Blackout

[Children playing in fire hydrant spray], 1977, v2007.042.32; 1977 Blackout Slide collection, 2007.042; Brooklyn Historical Society.

With recent temperatures in the nineties and a heat advisory issued last week for New York City, it’s a good time to be thankful for air conditioning and city pools. The photo of the week takes us back to the summer of 1977 in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. On July 13-14, 1977, New York experienced an electricity blackout which led to looting and arson throughout the city. Bushwick had some of the worst damage because of the high incidence of arson along a thirty block stretch of Broadway. The events in Bushwick are also notable because they continued into July 14, whereas most of the neighborhoods were calm by the end of July 13.

The photo of the week depicts children playing in the spray of a fire hydrant in Bushwick following the blackout of 1977. In the background, you can see some damage to homes from the fires. This photograph comes from the 1977 Blackout Slide collection which includes photographic slides of Bushwick taken by two photographers following the 1977 blackout. The images predominately depict structures that were damaged during the looting and fires from the blackout. To see more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery. You can learn more about the event and the collection here.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org