[Stanley’s Lunch], 1958, v1974.4.914; John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections include more than 30,000 photographs—7,500 of which can be searched in our online image gallery. You can also view BHS’s photographic collections in a few other locations online: the Digital Public Library of America is a rich resource of over 18,000,000 materials gathered from institutions throughout the country; and the newly released Urban Archive app is a location-based…
[Building 77], 1948, v1973.6.365; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Navy Yard have a thriving partnership leading student, teacher, and after school programs at BLDG 92 in Social Studies and STEM topics, including labor and industry, sustainability, and innovation. Since 2001, the BNY has undergone major upgrades, expansion and growth that has yielded significant growth in employment and industry. Part of that expansion is the…
The Last Night at Ebbets Field, 1957, 2011.007, Schaefer Brewing Company scrapbook on Ebbets Field, 2011.007; Brooklyn Historical Society.Tonight is Game Seven of the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros. The Dodgers have appeared in 19 World Series—9 in Brooklyn and 10 in Los Angeles. In 1957, fueled by financial and political circumstances, the Dodgers’ team owners made a controversial decision to leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles. The photo of the week depicts three Dodgers pitchers (…
[Children in horror costumes], 1984, v1992.48.55, Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1992.48; Brooklyn Historical Society.With Halloween just around the corner, we wanted to bring you one of the spookier photographs from our collections. The photo of the week is a portrait of two kids wearing Halloween costumes in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1984.This photograph comes from the Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island collection comprised of 68 black-and-white photographs of Coney Island in…
[Soldiers and Sailors Arch, 1894], 1894, V1986.250.1.18, William Schroeder, Sr. scrapbook collection, ARC.121; Brooklyn Historical Society.The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza was unveiled 125 years ago on October 21, 1892 to commemorate those who fought with the Union troops during The Civil War. John H. Duncan won a $1,000 prize for the design of the arch and construction began in 1889. While the war ended over 30 years earlier, the 1880s and the 1890s were at the heart of a period historians call “…
[Woman in front of a damaged home caused by Hurricane Sandy], 10/29/2012, 2014.010.8, Michael Claro Hurricane Sandy Photographs, 2010.010; Brooklyn Historical Society.It’s hard to believe five years have passed since Hurricane Sandy hit the New York City region. The city is still recovering from the devastation caused to homes, businesses, public transportation, and lives since the 2012 superstorm. We are heartbroken to hear of the devastation caused by storms in the Caribbean, Florida, and Texas. If you feel inclined, we…
[Yard worker in a telephone booth], circa 1965, v1988.37.36, Anthony Costanzo Brooklyn Navy Yard Collection, v1988.37; Brooklyn Historical SocietyIn the not-so-distant past, telephone booths could be seen on nearly every street in New York City. Today, there are only four remaining old-style, glass, enclosed, functioning sidewalk phone booths along West End Avenue in Manhattan. The photo of the week depicts a yard worker making a phone call in a telephone booth at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around 1965.This photograph comes…
[Hicks Street], 1974, v1974.9.477, John D. Morrell photographs, ARC.005; Brooklyn Historical Society.The photo of the week depicts Hicks Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1974. I love the variety of retro cars visible along the street in this photograph. How many can you name? If you’re looking to be transported to 1960s and 1970s Brooklyn streets, look no further than the John D. Morrell photographs collection. This collection is comprised of over 2,000 photographs that include buildings and…
[Kindergarten class at Fort Greene Park], circa 1910, V1981.284.32, Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.No matter the decade or time period, it sure is challenging to keep kindergarteners still for a group photograph! The photo of the week depicts a kindergarten class in Fort Greene Park around 1910. I love how every kid has a different expression on their face and no one seems interested in the photograph.This photograph was exposed on a glass plate negative. There are two…
[Portrait of man posing on a boardwalk in Coney Island], 1898, v1974.022.4.068, Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks, ARC.199; Brooklyn Historical Society.Did you catch the Tales from the Vault program at BHS Pierrepont on Monday? If not, we have some exciting project news to share. In 2015, BHS received a generous grant from Gerry Charitable Trust to digitize and catalog seven scrapbooks from the Eugene L. Armbruster photographs and scrapbooks collection. We are pleased to announce that the scrapbook pages are…
[Dr. Wade and his cousin Dr. L. N. Anderson in Prospect Park], circa 1881, v1974.11.12, Anderson and Nostrand families papers and photographs, ARC.199; Brooklyn Historical Society.The 2017 United States Open is underway, bringing some of the best tennis players in the world to New York City. This year marks 20 years at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. You can learn more about the US Open and get tickets here.The photo of the week depicts Dr. Wade and his cousin, Dr. L.N. Anderson, and two unidentified women, posing with…
[Performers at West Indian Carnival], 1994, 2010.019, West Indian Carnival Documentation Project records; Brooklyn Historical Society.Now in its 50th year, the West Indian Carnival in Brooklyn is one of the largest outdoor street festivals in North America. The West Indian Carnival tradition in New York City stems from private gatherings and parties held in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1920s, typically in February. In the 1940s, an outdoor street festival began taking place on 7th Avenue in Harlem,…
[Person reading on boardwalk], 1989, v1992.48.59; Anders Goldfarb photographs of Coney Island, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.Anders Goldfarb is a Brooklyn-born documentary photographer. After receiving his MFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1986, he moved to Greenpoint and turned his lens on his neighborhood. His work includes many scenes from the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, but also scenes from other Brooklyn neighborhoods. Brooklyn Historical Society has a collection of 68 black-…
[Collection Storage, Long Island Historical Society], circa 1980, v1974.031.60; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.Brooklyn Historical Society’s collections include books, photographs, archival materials, maps, oral histories, fine art, and artifacts. Many of these materials are stored on-site, however, because of the size and needs of such a large and diverse collection, BHS has two additional off-site storage locations. In order to responsibly care for collections, the…
Vasquez Grocery, 2004, 2009.004.3; James and Karla Murray Counter Culture exhibition photographs, 2009.004; Brooklyn Historical Society.James and Karla Murray are photographers who have spent years documenting storefronts throughout New York City. Their work is a unique and rich record of New York City infrastructure, documenting vanishing establishments and some that have stood the test of time. Brooklyn Historical Society is fortunate to have a small collection of photographs by James and Karla Murray that depict…
[Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album], circa 1912, 2015.010.1; Charles (Karl) Blieffert photograph album, 2015.010.1; Brooklyn Historical Society.We hope you’re having a fun and relaxing summer! The photo of the week is from Charles (Karl) Blieffert’s personal scrapbook, depicting some of his summer adventures in Brooklyn around 1912. The album includes 249 black-and-white photographs of Charles Blieffert’s young friends in the Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, and Brighton Beach neighborhoods of Brooklyn. He documented…
[Long Island Historical Society, Pierrepont Street and Clinton Street], 1961, V1974.031.30; Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031; Brooklyn Historical Society.Visitors to the Brooklyn Historical Society Pierrepont location sometimes ask if the building served another purpose before it was the historical society. The answer is—it was always the historical society! Built in 1881, the Queen Anne-style building was designed by architect George Browne Post. The Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn…
[Women and little girl in garden], circa 1900, v1985.4.38; William Koch glass plate negatives, v1985.4; Brooklyn Historical Society.One strength of Brooklyn Historical Society’s vast collections is the 19th Century Brooklyn photographs. The photo of the week is from one of those collections--the William Koch glass plate negatives collection-- and depicts a woman and little girl in a garden in Brooklyn, around the late 1890s. Glass plate negatives were a popular photography format during this time and required a light-…
[Tennis on the Long Meadow], circa 1915, v1973.5.3422; Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC.202; Brooklyn Historical Society.The photo of the week depicts lawn tennis on the Long Meadow in Prospect Park, around 1915. To celebrate the park’s 150th anniversary, Brooklyn Historical Society has partnered with Prospect Park Alliance to present a new exhibition titled The Means of a Ready Escape: Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The exhibition highlights the social history of the park and features over one hundred…
Sunset, Coney Island, 1965, V1988.12.112;Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides,v1988.12; Brooklyn Historical Society.We hope you had a festive and relaxing holiday weekend! Watching the annual fireworks is one of my favorite Fourth of July traditions. With that in mind, the photo of the week depicts a fireworks display at Coney Island in 1965.This photograph comes from the Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides collection comprised of 157 color slides taken by Dreschmeyer in Brooklyn from 1965 to 1968. Dreschmeyer was a lifelong…