The Center for Brooklyn History

Preserving Brooklyn's History—For the Future

Welcome to the Center for Brooklyn History (CBH). CBH is a research library and community hub dedicated to public history.

Formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society, CBH became part of Brooklyn Public Library in 2020 and is now free and accessible to all for research, education, culture and more. Our freshly renovated landmark building—home to the Othmer Library's magnificent reading room—is a trove of special collections, archives, ephemera, art exhibits and programs that bring our borough's rich history to Brooklynites of all ages.

 

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Brooklyn Is ...

The Center for Brooklyn History reopened on September 14th with an exhibition that celebrates the people and neighborhoods of our diverse, richly textured borough. What captures Brooklyn for you?

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Search our collections

The Center for Brooklyn History makes its collections available to all researchers. Browse our books, photographs, oral histories, maps collections and more.

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Upcoming Public Programs

CBH hosts a wide range of free weekly programs to delight and engage our many audiences. See what's happening next, both virtual and in person. 

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Visit the Othmer Library

Located on CBH’s second floor, the Othmer Library and its reading room are home to special collections and archives for public use. Researchers are encouraged to make appointments in advance. 

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CBH Education Programs

The Center for Brooklyn History education department connects students, educators, and archivists in New York City and beyond to unique collections, programs, and events that bring the history of Brooklyn to life.

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Brooklynology

Fascinating Brooklyn stories from our local history archivists, featuring our popular Photo of the Week posts.

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A Wedding Party in the Othmer Library
Private Event Rentals

The Center for Brooklyn History is a perfect blend of a national historic landmark featuring timeless architectural details and state-of-the-art modern facilities to meet all your event needs.

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Our History

The story of the Center for Brooklyn History began in 1863 with the founding of the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS) during a time of tumultuous change. In only a few decades, Brooklyn had grown from a tiny agricultural backwater to the third largest city in the country. Civic pride was at an all-time high. Many of Brooklyn’s citizens believed they needed to commemorate their city’s rural past before it quickly faded from memory. Founders also envisioned the LIHS as a center for dialogue about history. In the nineteenth century, the society’s roster of speakers included newspaper editor and reformer Horace Greeley, writer Arthur Conan Doyle and abolitionist and women’s rights activist Julia Ward Howe. 

Over the next century, the fortune of LIHS mirrored that of Brooklyn: it navigated the consolidation into the City of Greater New York, played a part in historic conflicts such as its use as a Red Cross headquarters during World War I, and faced its own struggles as the city grappled with deindustrialization, economic decline and social change.

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Upcoming Events

CBH Talk | Elaine Weiss and Rashawn Davis Discuss “Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil RIghts Movement”

Thu, Mar 20 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, join us for a look at an under-recognized program that laid the foundation for the voting activism of the mid-1960s. In the summer of 1954, just weeks after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Ed decision, four courageous…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Mar 21 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Sat, Mar 22 2:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

Screening and Discussion of “The Cost of Inheritance”

Mon, Mar 24 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

Emmy nominee and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen shares and discusses her one-hour documentary, “The Cost of Inheritance,” which follows the long journey of individuals and communities seeking to make reparations a reality on the personal, local, and national levels.…

CBH Talk | Noliwe Rooks and Sonya Douglass Discuss “Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children”

Tue, Mar 25 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

Noliwe Rooks is one of the most admired scholars in education today. In her new book, Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children,” she traces four generations of her own family’s educational journey to challenge the idea that integration was a boon for Black children.…

CBH Talk | Elie Mystal and Christina Greer Discuss “Bad Law”

Thu, Mar 27 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

In Bad Law, Elie Mystal, author of the New York Times bestseller Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, brings his legal acumen and signature snark to take down ten of what he considers the most awful laws on the books today. Join us as he explains how laws…

Trace/s Exhibition Tour

Fri, Mar 28 3:00pm
Center for Brooklyn History

brooklyn history Center for Brooklyn History exhibitions

Come for a free curator-guided tour of the exhibition Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn.

Visitors will get an in-depth tour of the artwork and archival documents that make up the heart of this exhibition, and will get to explore the historical…

CBH Talk | Discussing “Waterworks,” Stanley Greenberg’s Photographs of New York’s Hidden Water System

Tue, Apr 1 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History conversations

This program is offered in partnership with Open House New York. 

 

We take our water for granted; turn on the tap and it’s there. Yet New York City’s faucets are endpoints in a journey through a vast, sophisticated, and visually humbling infrastructure of aqueducts,…

CBH Talk | Russell Shorto and Andrea Mosterman Discuss “Taking Manhattan”

Tue, Apr 8 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks book discussion BPL Presents

Join us for an evening with master storyteller and historian Russell Shorto as he discusses his latest book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America. Building on his acclaimed The Island at the Center of the World, Shorto delves into the…

CBH Talk | Jeanne Theoharis and Eddie Glaude Discuss “King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life Struggle Outside the South”

Wed, Apr 16 6:30pm
Center for Brooklyn History

author talks BPL Presents Center for Brooklyn History

Just when you thought you knew everything about Martin Luther King Jr., historian Jeanne Theoharis proves you wrong. In a radical reframing of King’s life and work, Theoharis’ new book King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outside the South redirects our…

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Whether through membership or a one-time gift, your support helps connect the past to the present and makes Brooklyn's vibrant history tangible, relevant, and meaningful for today's diverse communities—and generations to come.

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Contact Us

For general inquiries regarding the Center for Brooklyn History, you can call or email us, or submit a research request.

718.222.4111

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