Blog Posts tagged as: PocketDoors

Antique door plate with doorknob with LIHS monogram. Doorplate has details of swirls, flowers, and oil lamp, and an owl

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Who Goes There?

Katherine

[Antique LIHS doorplate and knob], 2000. Renovation photographs, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC. 288. Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.
There are so many details in the décor and architecture throughout 128 Pierrepont Street. Some of the more noticeable ones immediately pop out to visitors, like the stained glass laylight and windows or the busts on the façade. But some of the intricate details are so small that you would easily miss them if you didn’t know where to look. A Center for…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Into the Othmer

Katherine

[Othmer Library, Long Island Historical Society], circa 1938. Long Island Historical Society photographs, v1974.031.65. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Welcome to the Othmer Library!  The room you see pictured here is today known as the Othmer Library. It is original to the building when it was constructed for the Long Island Historical Society from 1878-81. The library was only open to members, where they could casually read and browse the stacks. Once the lecture hall was converted into a…

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…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors – Welcome to the Brooklyn Historical Society!

Katherine

[Denise Joseph (left) and Robert Kolinski (right) at the welcome desk], 1990, arc.202_box16_065. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection, ARC 202. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
This week’s photo of the week shows Denise Joseph and Robert Kolinski greeting visitors to the Brooklyn Historical Society. I recently came across an interview, which features this photo, in the January-March 1990 issue of the Brooklyn Historical Society’s newsletter. In the interview, Kolinski, the first Visitor Services…

white man leaning over a table where two white women are sitting; they are all reading a piece of paper

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: To the Library!

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
The academic year is approaching (or, for some of you, has already begun). Which means it’s time to hit the books and start researching! This picture shows staff members of the Brooklyn Historical Society doing some research, although on what we cannot say. It could range from putting together a program to creating a new exhibit to writing an article. Our staff members at…

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…

woman sitting at computer has her hands up on her head

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Everybody Has Those Days

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.Have you ever felt like this at work? The real question is, what exactly is the person in the photograph feeling and expressing? Why was this photograph taken? To me, this photograph evokes extreme frustration, possibly having to do with their work or with their computer. But to different people, the picture could evoke different emotions, such as exhaustion or perhaps even pain from a headache. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more…

Child wearing headphones while holding a green teddy bear.

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Here’s to Baseball!

Nicole

[Child wearing headphones], October 1995. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers' victory over the Yankees in the 1955 World Series, the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) curated PLAY BALL! – an exhibit that told the story of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. Today’s Photo of the Week captures a moment from the exhibition's opening day festivities, where attendees were invited to participate…

woman with short hair and a plaid shirt opening drawer of a card catalog

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Enthusiastic Catalogers Department

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff, circa 1994. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.Did your favorite singer release an album recently and use an image of a card catalog to promote said album? Are you not entirely sure what a card catalog actually is? Not to worry, we are here to explain!  Let’s first look at the word catalog: for the purpose of libraries at its most basic level, it is an organized list of books held by a specific library. Prior to cards, library catalogs were recorded in books. But as…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Voices of Brooklyn

Nicole

[Voices of Brooklyn performance], 1998. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
 On January 1, 1898, the city of Brooklyn officially became a borough and joined Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx to form New York City. To mark the centennial of this event, the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) created an original theatrical production titled Voices of Brooklyn. Voices of Brooklyn is a 40-minute dramatic performance that tells the…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Adopt-A-Block

Nicole

[Daphney Desir (left) and Uchenna Agbim (right) rehousing land conveyances], ca. 1989. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
In the 1990s, the librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) dedicated significant efforts to implementing measures aimed at preserving and enhancing access to the Society’s collections. Several of these initiatives took the form of cataloging projects, many of which spanned multiple years and were funded by state and government agencies. By the…

Opening the Pocket Doors: A History of Education at the Brooklyn Historical Society

Nicole

[Kids in Museum], ca. 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Education departments play a pivotal role in museum settings. Through teacher workshops, student and adult programs, guided tours, and more, museum educators are tasked with creating accessible educational opportunities, facilitating open conversations, reducing barriers to participation, and ultimately ensuring that the museum experience is meaningful for all patrons. One of the record groups that I was most…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Say Cheese!

Katherine

Brooklyn Historical Society Staff Party, circa 1990. Brooklyn photograph and illustration collection. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Is it even a holiday if you didn't all get together for a big, awkward group photo? While we don’t have all the details behind this particular group photo of a staff party for the Brooklyn Historical Society, we know that director, David Kahn, is pictured on the far right with fellow staff members around 1990. And we can definitely relate to everyone being told to “squeeze together!” or the classic, “say…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: What Could Have Been

Katherine

Plan of Elevation on Clinton St for Long Island Historical Society Building competition, circa 1878. 128 Pierrepont Street building architectural drawings, M1980.8.7. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Looking up at the looming and detailed façade of 128 Pierrepont, it’s difficult to imagine anything else in its place. The classic Queen Anne style seems to fit right in with the surrounding brownstones, completing the historic feel of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. But in 1868, when the former Long Island Historical Society (LIHS)…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Stained Glass Mystery

Nicole

[Stained glass lunette in the Othmer Library], circa 1990s. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
If you've visited the Othmer Library, you might have noticed the large stained glass lunettes (arched windows) on the gallery level. These are original to the space, but did you know there used to be more stained glass features throughout the building? Similar lunettes, faintly visible in the photo below, once adorned the Great Hall. More obscure is the stained glass screen at the rear…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Room of (Our) Own

Katherine

Long Island Historical Society, the Directors' Room, 1938. Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
  If you were to go up to the third floor of 128 Pierrepont and walk to the doors that read “Gina Ingoglia Weiner Gallery” and peer through the windows, you would see a room that currently holds a portion of the Center for Brooklyn History’s collections in neat rows of archival boxes. But this room was not always utilized for storage; prior to a storage room, it was used as an exhibit…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Get Out Your Camera!

Nicole

Ruth Johnson, [Long Island Roadside Eating Stand], 1938. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Clams, anyone? In celebration of the 75th anniversary of its founding, the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) sponsored a photo contest geared toward Long Island’s students. Dozens of private and public high schools from all four counties in Long Island (Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk) were invited to participate. LIHS specifically requested student involvement because the board…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Save the Clock Tower!

Katherine

Systems Upgrade and History Discovery Center, Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street. Jan Hird Pokorny, Architects and Planners, circa 1996. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
What time is it? Unfortunately, if you were to take a look at the clock tower at the top of 128 Pierrepont, you would not get a reliable answer. Part of the original design by George B. Post, the clock tower has been a part of the building since its construction between the years of 1878 and 1881.…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Peek Inside the Vault

Nicole

[Vault Door Closed, Historic Structure Report], 1993. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
This week’s photo of the week takes us on a journey into the depths of the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) building. In the cellar, nestled opposite the crawl space and underneath the stairs, is where one would find the LIHS vault. The safe door, pictured here, was installed after the introduction of the elevator in 1937. The room was lit by a single lighting fixture in the center of…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Humble Beginnings at the Hamilton

Katherine

[Interior of Hamilton Building, Long Island Historial Society, Court and Joralemon Streets], circa 1872, V1974.031.70. Long Island Historical Society photographs, V1974.031. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
When the Long Island Historical Society was founded in 1863, its founding members had grand ideas to house a library and host lectures but did not yet have their own building. The society’s permanent residence did not begin construction until 1878, eventually being completed in 1881.   So where was the Long…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Trails and Trials of Miss Edna Huntington

Nicole

[Edna Huntington in a canoe], 1935. Edna Huntington papers and photographs, ARC.044. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
I recently finished processing the library correspondence sub-series of the Brooklyn Historical Society’s (BHS) Institutional archive, which contains almost all the mail library staff received from 1863 to the mid-1990s. There are reference questions, membership acceptances and resignations, correspondence to and from other institutions, RSVPs, and much more. Looking at these records provides insight into the activities…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Underneath the Floorboards

Katherine

[Basement View from the Great Hall during Renovation], circa 2000. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
It’s not every day you get the chance to see what lies underneath the floors of an old building. And while we don’t have any beating hearts underneath our floorboards, this photograph offers us a rare glimpse of the foundation of 128 Pierrepont Street.   As was mentioned in our first Opening the Pocket Doors post written by my colleague, Nicole Font, our building at 128…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: The Women’s Committee of the Long Island Historical Society

Nicole

[Women’s Committee Fashion Show], 1968. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
To celebrate Women's History Month, this week's photo takes us back to 1968 for a fashion show presented by the Women's Committee of the Long Island History Society (LIHS). The Women’s Committee formed in 1959 to further the objectives of LIHS through fundraising and planning social events. Its creation was spearheaded by Maud E. Dillard, who served as its president from 1959 to 1964. Following her term,…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Celebrating Presidents' Day with President Susan Mullin

Katherine

Susan Mullin, undated, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Happy Presidents’ Day! This week, we are sharing an image of former Brooklyn Historical Society President, Susan Mullin, who both enacted and embodied change within the Historical Society.   Susan Mullin, originally from Virginia, moved to Brooklyn Heights with her husband soon after marrying. She immediately took to Brooklyn’s charm and diversity. While Mullin initially ran an antique shop on Pineapple Street, she…

Opening the Pocket Doors: What Past Exhibitions Reveal

Nicole

"Long Island Treasures Preserved in Brooklyn," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 27, 1900. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Throughout its 157-year history, the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) executed over 150 exhibitions. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working to process the Exhibits and Special Projects portion of BHS’s institutional archive. To wrap up this part of the project, this blog post highlights the exhibits that stand out as significant in BHS history, particularly those that demonstrate how the society's values…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Ba Da Dao/Sunset Park Chinatown History Project

Nicole

[New Neighbors Exhibit Opening], June 1996. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
Today’s photo of the week shows a moment from the opening of New Neighbors: Sunset Park's Chinese Community in June 1996. The event featured lion dancers, shadow puppets, food, games, and calligraphy workshops. In this photo, taken in the Othmer library, lions stand beside a shadow puppet theater as an excited audience (not pictured) waits for the play to begin. In 1992, The Brooklyn Historical…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: A Look at Executive Director, David Kahn

Katherine

[Former Brooklyn Historical Society Executive Director, David Kahn]. undated, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Welcome to our second installment of Opening the Pocket Doors, our ongoing series looking into the processing of the Institutional Records of the Brooklyn Historical Society.   In our previous post in this series, we delved into a brief history of our institution, formerly known as both the Long Island Historical Society and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Today, we…

POTW: Opening the Pocket Doors: Processing Brooklyn Historical Society’s Institutional Records

Nicole

[Man outside of the Long Island Historical Society], undated. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History. 
The week’s photo of the week shows an unidentified man standing in front of our landmark building located at 128 Pierrepont Street. Designed by architect George B. Post and built in 1878-81, the four-story Queen Anne-style building features ornamentation made from locally produced terra cotta. For over 150 years, staff in this building have worked to preserve, provide access to, and…