Blog Posts tagged as: Brooklynology

Beisbol and Boricuas in Brooklyn

Wendy Jimenez

Down Mexico Way, 1946, DODG_0848, Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
In the present day, thirty percent of the Major League Baseball players are of Latino and Hispanic descent. Though it’s undeniable that the Latin invasion in baseball changed the way the sport has been played in the United States, this was not always the case. As baseball season is underway (Go Mets!), I wanted to examine the legacy of Luis Olmo, the first Puerto Rican player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the second…

Photograph of a woman walking past a large wall with 20 artworks hung in double rows

Old Friends and New Faces: CBH's Salon Wall

Michelle

Photo credit: Gregg Richards, Brooklyn Public Library
There are three things you'll see immediately when you walk through the front doors of CBH: our friendly Visitor Services team; the Shop with its Brooklyn-inspired gifts; and the wall above the access ramp leading to the Othmer Library.It's a large wall that's undergone a big revamp as it's now home to 20 framed works from the collection. We call it the Salon Wall since it's hung salon-style, with the pieces tightly packed and having a variety of subjects, sizes, and frame styles. The idea…

What Happened to Concert Grove?

Liza

[View of Concert Grove from Cleft Ridge Span], 1874-1915, photographic postcard, V1973.4.1136; Postcard collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 One of Prospect Park’s many great features is its free summer concerts. Today, these concerts are held at the Lena Horne Bandshell, which has hosted musical performances annually since 1979. In fact, free musical performances were part of the park’s original plans. All the way back in 1866, when Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux took over the park's design, they…

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…

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 the event.…

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 staff at CBH can usually give…

Opening the Pocket Doors: Highlights from the Audiovisual Recordings

Katherine

A little over two years ago, my colleague Katherine Sorresso and I began processing the institutional records of the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS), now the Center for Brooklyn History at the Brooklyn Public Library. These records document the Society's activities from its founding as the Long Island Historical Society in 1863 until its merger with the Brooklyn Collection in 2020. The collection includes materials produced by various departments and records from individuals in leadership roles within BHS. The earlier materials consist of analog formats – ledgers, scrapbooks, correspondence…

World War One nurses pictured in an office setting

Opening the Pocket Doors: One Building, Many Uses

Katherine

When visiting the Center for Brooklyn History today, you enter a vast space that today has been split into various sections. Upon entering, you are immediately greeted by our wonderful Welcome Services team at the front desk, behind which is a segmented wall that showcases upcoming programs. To the left, we have a quaint gift shop. But if you continue into the space, you will see a large room with chairs, tables, and couches. Occasionally, this space will be rearranged for lectures with a small stage and an array of seats. This lecture set up is reminiscent of this room’s original, intended…

Group of schoolchildren gathered in front of libary under a banner reading: Make it a library summer.

POTW: Is Your Summer Booked?

Deborah

Library festival, BPL_0440. 1968. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs
Summer is here, bringing long lazy days with time for relaxed reading at the beach and parks. This photo shows a group of youngsters attending a library festival at the Bushwick Branch of Brooklyn Public Library in 1968. Every year the library hosts free programs and resources to enrich your summer with reading and cultural activities. See what we have on offer this year on our Summer at the Library page.Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our…

Array of noted literary talent of Brooklyn gathers around folk singer Oscar Brand at the National Library Week Luncheon in the Hotel St. George on Tuesday, April 5. Seated, left, is Marianne Moore, the famous poetess of Cumberland Street. Standing, left to right, are Chief Librarian Francis R. St. John of Brooklyn Public Library; Brooklyn Heights humorist Ira Wallach; Paule Marshall, guest speaker, and Norman Rosten, Remsen Street poet and playwright who wrote a special poem for the occasion.

From the Vault: An Ode to Brooklyn Poets

Kevina, Center for Brooklyn History

 

Array of noted literary talent, 1960s, gelatin silver print, CBPL_1062. Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I am reviving, from the vaults, this photo of a major gathering of Brooklyn "literary talent", first featured in this blog about Brooklyn poetry. The original Brooklyn Daily Eagle captions read:"Array of noted literary talent of Brooklyn gathers around folk singer Oscar Brand at the National Library Week Luncheon in the Hotel St. George on Tuesday, April 5. Seated, left, is Marianne…