v1973.5.5411115 Bedford Avenue YMCA, 1930 ca., v1973.5.541; Brooklyn Photograph and Illustration Collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.In 1853 the first YMCA in Brooklyn opened its doors.
Back then, the mission of the Young Men’s Christian Association was more evangelical than anything – but they did have a swimming pool and other such facilities. The Bedford Avenue branch opened in 1888 at its original location of 420 Gates Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. As the population of the area expanded in size, so did the need for an even larger…
2009.004Manhattan Furrier, 2006, 2009.004.15; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society. This photograph shows the exterior of Manhattan Furrier, once located at 685 Manhattan Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.A family owned and operated business since 1916, it unfortunately shuttered its doors in 2011, much to the dismay of their long-time customers. In NYC, the furrier trade reached its peak in the 1960s and 70s as fur coats were quite fashionable and all the craze. The 1990s gave way to a slow…