Blog posts by Michelle

Conte crayon drawing of a man sitting by a window through which is a row of Brooklyn brownstones at dusk fading into a band of small scenes along the top of the composition

Brownstones in the Background: Townhouses in the Art Collection

Michelle

[Buttons from the Steven W. Brown collection on Brooklyn history and the brownstone revival movement], 1974 ca.-1985 ca., Laminated printed paper and metal, M1995.5.8 and M1995.5.22 ; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Brooklyn brownstones and townhouses can be spotted throughout CBH's paintings, prints, and works on paper. From introspective to romantic depictions, Brooklyn's iconic residential architecture has been used by both amateur and professional artists to communicate more than just a sense of place. This…

Color photograph of two cylindrical storage tanks collapsing into dust in the background with a row of brick residential buildings line the right side of the street

POTW: Implosion of Maspeth Holders

Michelle

Ty Kirton, Implosion of Maspeth Holders, July 15, 2001, GEHP_0239; Greenpoint Environmental History Project, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History 
This Photo of the Week captures the dramatic (albeit planned) destruction of the Maspeth Gas Holders. Located on Maspeth Avenue in Greenpoint, the Holders were built by Brooklyn Union Gas in 1927 and 1948. Together, the tanks held 32 million cubic feet of natural gas and provided consistent pressure for the surrounding residential lines during high demand. The older…

Rectangular metal tag that reads "Zimets Bed Spring Corp." in red, dark blue and cream.

POTW: Spring Time

Michelle

[Sign for Zimets Bed Spring Corp.] 1934-1936, metal and paint. Artifact collection, M1990.42.1. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
While searching for a seasonal image to share for our Photo of the Week, I came up with a different kind of “spring” entirely. This 6-inch metal sign from Zimets Bed Spring Corp. was likely originally attached to a bedspring made by this Brooklyn manufacturer.  Though the Center for Brooklyn History doesn’t hold any records from the business itself, we can learn more about Zimets…

Black and white photograph of a woman attaching a gauze face masks onto two young boys sitting on a counter while a man ties a similar mask on a woman standing next to them.

POTW: Smog Safety

Michelle

Brooklyn Eagle, Boro bazar battles smog, 1953, gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, NEIG_2080. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
From November 18th to the 23rd, 1953, a stagnant air mass trapped high levels of air pollution over New York City. The city’s Department of Air Pollution Control (which had opened earlier that year) was flooded with calls from residents reporting coughing and eye irritation. A 1962 analysis of mortality data found excess deaths between 18-26 persons a day during…

Black and white photograph of five children in winter clothes playing and sliding in slushy snow in a park pavilion.

POTW: Sliding in Fort Greene

Michelle

George Bradford Brainerd, [Five children playing under the roof of a pavilion in the winter], [187?], gelatin silver print. George Bradford Brainerd photograph collection, BRAI_0406. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
No skates? No problem! Taken by amateur photographer George Bradford Brainerd (1845–1887) in the 1870s, this photograph shows several children sliding around on the slushy snow beneath a pavilion in what is today called Fort Greene Park. The park would have been known as Washington Park at the time…

Oil portrait of an older man in a black suit sitting in a chair holding law book in his lap

Lots of Lott: Examining Portraits of John A. Lott

Michelle

The Center for Brooklyn History is home to a wide variety of portraits of Brooklyn residents. The walls of the Othmer Library include a handful of our portrait paintings—serious-looking oil on canvas images of wealthy 19th-century men and women dressed to impress.

Portraits on the west wall of the Othmer Library. Photo taken by Michelle Kennedy 2024.
Though most of these paintings were donated in the years between the founding of the Long Island Historical Society in 1863 to the early decades of the 20th century, the…

Black and white photograph of a movie theater marquee over a sidewalk with three people walking further down the block.

POTW: Coal on the Marquee

Michelle

[Albemarle Theatre], [1940?], gelatin silver print, THEA_0003; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Opening to the public in 1921, the Albemarle Theatre at 973 Flatbush Avenue was designed to feature both "photo-plays" and vaudeville acts. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle predicted the theater's nearly 3,000-person capacity and reasonable ticket prices would "...prove magnets for the lovers of nitra attractions", referring to nitrate film base.The Eagle would be proved correct: the…

Multiple exposure color photograph of neon and electric signs at night

POTW: Seeing Double

Michelle

Otto Dreschmeyer, [Night, Coney Island], August 10, 1965, color slide, V1988.12.117. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Have you visited Coney Island this summer? This Photo of the Week is a multiple exposure—created when several exposures are overlaid to create a single image—of amusements along Surf Avenue. Despite the layering of the photograph, many of the brightly lit signs are still legible including Faber's Fascination, the Cavalcade Skooter ride, the Tornado, Nathan's Hot Dogs, and a theater marquee for…

Black and white photograph of the Brooklyn waterfront facing the East River with dozens of train cars and empty rail tracks

POTW: New York's Floating Cars

Michelle

[Freight Trains at the New York Dock Company Docks, Red Hook, Brooklyn], circa 1920, V1973.5.878. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Before trucks became common, trains carried most American freight over land. In the same era, New York Harbor became the busiest port in the United States — if not one of the busiest in the world. Brooklyn’s (and all of Long Island’s) factories, refineries, and warehouses were only connected via freight rail to…

Black and white photograph of a metal cylinder covered in floral patterns being worked by a pair of hands with a small hammer

POTW: Hello, Doily!

Michelle

Jules Geller, Royal Lace Paper Works, 1954, gelatin silver print, WORK_0299. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Mass-produced items can still require the human touch. This Photo of the Week depicts an employee of the Royal Lace Paper Works at 846 Lorimer Street hand-engraving a metal die with intricate floral patterns. Though the dies themselves were manufacturing tools, the skill needed to create them was similar to that needed to engrave fine silver. Each die would…