Blog posts by Leah

11,713 Photos of the Week: Brooklyn Visual Heritage has Launched!

Leah

We are happy to announce the Brooklyn Visual Heritage (BVH) website, http://www.brooklynvisualheritage.org. The website was created through Project CHART, a 3-year collaborative project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that began in 2010 between the Pratt School of Information and Library Science (Pratt-SILS), Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS), Brooklyn Museum (BM), and Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). Project CHART supports a diverse group of Pratt-SILS students who take series of courses focusing on digital libraries and work with the staff of these distinguished…

POTW: Spring Training

Leah

Boys Club, ca. 1910, V1981.284.51; Emmanuel House lantern slides, V1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Here are a group of young boys from the Emmanuel House, circa 1910.  This image titled “Boys Club” comes from the Emmanuel House lantern slides collection. The Emmanuel House was located at 131 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. As a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men's League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Emmanuel House offered Sunday school, Kindergarten, and…

POTW: Old Woodpoint Road

Leah

Where the Old Woodpoint Boulevard stops, ca. 1905, V1981.15.115; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, V1981.15; Brooklyn Historical Society.
This photograph depicts the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn around 1905.  The photographer titled it “Where the Old Woodpoint Boulevard stops.” But in researching more, I realize it is actually Woodpoint Road!  The photographer, Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd, mistakenly labeled it Boulevard, but in fact it has been referred to as “Old Woodpoint Road” or simply Woodpoint Road in several places (…

POTW: Food Trucks

Leah

Workers Buying Lunch From a Food Truck, ca. 1965, v1988.37.39; The Anthony M. Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard collection, ARC.023; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Today gourmet food trucks can be found in every major U.S. city, but the initial concept of the food truck and “mobile kitchens” have been around since the 1860s. It came as a part of the westward migration which helped in defining the U.S. as a pioneering country. The first transportable meals came from the American West and chuck wagons. The invention of the chuck wagon…

POTW: A Kennedy at the Navy Yard!

Leah

In  October of 1964 Robert F. Kennedy visited  Brooklyn Navy Yard. Earlier that year Kennedy had resigned from his position as U.S. Attorney General to pursue a seat in the Senate. During this time, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara proposed to cut $1 billion from the Navy yards system nationwide, stating before the Appropriations Committee that he was…

Tragedy at Sea: The Sea Witch and Esso Brussels crash in 1973

Leah

While going through the Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding collection, I got intrigued by one of the images of a very damaged container ship named the Sea Witch.  This led me to find out more about the ship and what happened. On June 2, 1973, just after midnight, the SS C.V. Sea Witch, built by Bath Iron Works was leaving New York harbor when the ship lost steering control and collided into the fully loaded tanker SS Esso Brussels, right under the Verrazano Bridge.  The 31,000 barrels of crude oil released from three ruptured tanks ignited and the resulting fire engulfed both ships.  A…

The Mystery of Dennet Place in Carroll Gardens

Leah

When I first walked down Dennet Place to visit a friend, I immediately felt like I was in a magical place.  This hidden alley street in Carroll Gardens is a rare gem, made more distinguished by the basement level apartments with half-size doors which give it an almost fairy-tale like quality.   Lucky for me I managed to find and rent one of these basement apartments!  My friends jokingly call my place the "hobbit home."  After moving in I've become more and more interested in the history of the little street, and also perplexed by the name of the street itself. …

Happy New Year!

Leah

As the year comes to an end the staff at Brooklyn Historical Society would like to wish you a very Happy New Year!  In honor of New Year’s celebrations this weekend, here is a sample of festive images from Brooklyn’s past.

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Happy New Year from BHS!

Leah

In honor of upcoming New Year's celebrations, here is a sample of "celebratory" images from Brooklyn's past.  Happy New Year everyone!   

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