Center for Brooklyn History

Last updated

Brooklyn Historical Society Building
(Long Island Historical Society Building)
Brooklyn Historical Society building.jpg
USA New York City location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn Heights, New York City
Coordinates 40°41′41.5″N73°59′34″W / 40.694861°N 73.99278°W / 40.694861; -73.99278
Built1878–1881 [1]
Built by David H. King, Jr.
Architect George B. Post
Architectural style Renaissance revival [1]
NRHP reference No. 91002054 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 17, 1991 [3]
Designated NHLJuly 17, 1991 [4]

The Center for Brooklyn History (CBH, formerly known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque Revival building, located at Pierrepont and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights, was designed by George B. Post and built in 1878–1881 by David H. King Jr., [5] is a National Historic Landmark and part of New York City's Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The CBH houses materials relating to the history of Brooklyn and its people, and hosts exhibitions which draw over 9,000 members a year. In addition to general programming, the CBH serves over 70,000 public school students and teachers annually by providing exhibit tours, educational programs and curricula, and making its professional staff available for instruction and consultation.

Contents

History

Entrance in 2008 Brooklyn Historical Society entrance The Squirrels 0026.jpg
Entrance in 2008

The Center for Brooklyn History was founded in 1863 by Henry Pierrepont (1808–1888) [6] as the Long Island Historical Society, with a charter from the New England Historical Society in Boston. [7] In 1985, the society changed its name to the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS). [8]

In 2005, the BHS was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [9] [10]

In December 2007, BHS opened the first gallery in the United States devoted to oral history.[ citation needed ] The first exhibition installed in the gallery was an installation of oral histories, photographs, documents, and artifacts called "In Our Own Words: Portraits of Brooklyn's Vietnam Veterans".

In 2010 while cataloging the map collection, BHS staff discovered a previously uncatalogued, and rare copy of a c. 1770 map by Bernard Ratzer that has been restored and is now accessible to the public. [11]

As part of the construction of Empire Stores at Brooklyn Bridge Park, BHS was selected to operate a 3,200-square-foot (300 m2) museum to celebrate Brooklyn's industrial history. [12] [13] The BHS Dumbo exhibition space, as it was called, opened in May 2017. [14]

In 2020, the BHS made an agreement to merge with the Brooklyn Public Library. [15] As of October 2020, the organization is now part of Brooklyn Public Library and is known as the Center for Brooklyn History. [16] [17]

Building

The center's headquarters building, on the corner of Pierrepoint and Clinton Streets, was built in 1878–81 and was designed by George B. Post in the Renaissance revival style. Post was selected as a result of a competition between 14 architects. The building's design utilizes terra cotta ornamentation made by the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, [1] and has architectural sculptures by Olin Levi Warner, [18] including busts of Michelangelo, Beethoven, Gutenberg, Shakespeare, Columbus, Benjamin Franklin, a Viking and a Native American. [7]

The building has been described as "one of the City's great architectural treasures", [18] and the interior as "one of New York's great 19th-century interiors." [1] It is part of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission's Brooklyn Heights Historic District, designated in 1966, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1991. [4] [19] [20] In October 1999, BHS began a full-scale restoration of the building, supervised by architect Jan Hird Pokorny, [18] and reopened in 2003. [21]

Programs

In 2014, BHS created a series of signs marking points of historic significance throughout Brooklyn Bridge Park. Fulton Ferry Landing sign with historical information.jpg
In 2014, BHS created a series of signs marking points of historic significance throughout Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Principal activities of the CBH include education programs, which are organized around a central educational concept of encouraging students to understand that history is connected to their lives.[ citation needed ] CBH programs link the study of American history to events and sites in the students’ own communities by introducing the investigation of primary source documents and neighborhood histories. CBH's education programs largely focus on the ability of students to “read” primary source documents, including works of art, maps, photographs, and other artifacts.

Each year exhibitions are presented by the CBH, ranging from retrospectives and historical surveys to more focused presentations that explore specific themes and topics. Installations from the collection have included a gallery of family portraits and another of landscape paintings. These installations rotate over time, providing visitors with greater access to CBH's fine arts collections.

Collection

A corner of the library Secret corner.jpg
A corner of the library

The Othmer Library has a collection that includes historic maps and atlases of Brooklyn and New York City, individual family histories in the genealogy collection, a microfilm collection of Brooklyn and Long Island newspapers from the 19th and early 20th century, a collection of microfiche pamphlets on slavery and abolition, the papers of abolitionist clergyman Henry Ward Beecher, the Pierrepont Papers, the Brooklyn Firefighting Collection, and the Brooklyn Council of Churches.

CfBH libary (2) 2023 jeh.jpg

The Center for Brooklyn History possesses a collection of historical maps spanning the years ca. 1562–2011. The geographic coverage of the collection includes the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, New York State, New Jersey, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Eastern United States.

The Oral History Collections contain interviews with over 300 narrators. [23] A 2013 Oral History Project is called Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations. It is a public programming series and oral history project about mixed-heritage families, with historical perspective. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cass Gilbert</span> American architect (1859–1934)

Cass Gilbert was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas, and West Virginia, the Detroit Public Library, the Saint Louis Art Museum and Public Library. His public buildings in the Beaux Arts style reflect the optimistic American sense that the nation was heir to Greek democracy, Roman law and Renaissance humanism. Gilbert's achievements were recognized in his lifetime; he served as president of the American Institute of Architects in 1908–09.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-Wood Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Green-Wood Cemetery is a 478-acre (193 ha) cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blocks southwest of Prospect Park. Its boundaries include, among other streets, 20th Street to the northeast, Fifth Avenue to the northwest, 36th and 37th Streets to the southwest, Fort Hamilton Parkway to the south, and McDonald Avenue to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Public Library</span> Public library system in New York City

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress and the fourth-largest public library in the world. It is a private, non-governmental, independently managed, nonprofit corporation operating with both private and public financing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New-York Historical Society</span> Museum and library in New York City

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It presents exhibitions, public programs, and research that explore the history of New York and the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dumbo, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood in New York City

Dumbo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another that continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. The neighborhood is bounded by Brooklyn Bridge Park to the north, the Brooklyn Bridge to the west, Brooklyn Heights to the south and Vinegar Hill to the east. Dumbo is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings County Savings Bank</span> Historic commercial building in Brooklyn, New York

Kings County Savings Bank is a former bank building at 135 Broadway in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is an example of French Second Empire-style architecture. Construction of the building began in 1860, to designs of William H. Willcox of Brooklyn, in partnership with prominent New York architect Gamaliel King, working as King & Willcox. The structure was continuously occupied by banks until the 1990s. The Williamsburg Art & Historical Center has operated the building since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park</span> Place in California listed on National Register of Historic Places

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. Formerly referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum, the collections were acquired by the National Park Service in 1978. The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was authorized in 1988; the maritime museum is among the park's many cultural resources. The park also incorporates the Aquatic Park Historic District, bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Polk Street, and Hyde Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Jackson Davis</span> American architect

Alexander Jackson Davis was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Market Library</span> United States historic place

The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas, on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, on a triangular plot formed by Greenwich Avenue and West 10th Street. It was originally built as the Third Judicial District Courthouse from 1874 to 1877, and was designed by architect Frederick Clarke Withers of the firm of Vaux and Withers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Tubby</span> American architect

William Bunker Tubby was an American architect who was particularly notable for his work in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Borough Hall</span> Building in Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn Borough Hall is a building in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was designed by architects Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King in the Greek Revival style, and constructed of Tuckahoe marble under the supervision of superintendent Stephen Haynes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Historical Society</span> Agency of Kentucky government

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) was originally established in 1836 as a private organization. It is an agency of the Kentucky state government that records and preserves important historical documents, buildings, and artifacts of Kentucky's past. The KHS history campus, located in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky, includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol, and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the State Arsenal. KHS is a part of the Kentucky Tourism-Arts and Heritage Cabinet, is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian affiliate, and endorses the History Relevance statement. The mission of the KHS is to educate and engage the public through Kentucky's history in order to confront the challenges of the future. The KHS allows the public access to their resources through the online Library catalog along with the in-person Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York School of Applied Design for Women</span> Art and design school in Manhattan, New York

The New York School of Applied Design for Women, established in 1892 by Ellen Dunlap Hopkins, was an early design school for women in New York City. The 1908 New York School of Applied Design building was designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and is now landmarked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho State Historical Society</span>

The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Idaho that preserves and promotes the state's cultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo History Museum</span> United States historic place

The Buffalo History Museum is located at 1 Museum Court in Buffalo, New York, just east of Elmwood Avenue and off of Nottingham Terrace, north of the Scajaquada Expressway, in the northwest corner of Delaware Park.

Historic preservation in New York is activity undertaken to conserve forests, buildings, ships, sacred burial grounds, water purity and other objects of cultural importance in New York in ways that allow them to communicate meaningfully about past practices, events, and people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hosmer Library</span> United States historic place

Hosmer Library, originally known as the Thirty-Sixth Street Branch Library, is a branch library of the Hennepin County Library system serving the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was named the Hosmer Library in honor of James Kendall Hosmer and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Brunswick Historical Society (BHS) is the local historical society serving the town of Brunswick, New York, United States. It was organized in 1974 and officially chartered in 1981. It moved into its first and current home, the Garfield School in Eagle Mills, in 1988. After sharing the Garfield School with the Brunswick Community Library for more than twenty years, the Library moved to a different location in 2009 and in 2010, BHS expanded into both halves of the former two-room schoolhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southington Public Library</span> United States historic place

The Southington Public Library is the public library serving Southington, Connecticut. It is located at 255 Main Street in a modern facility erected in 1974. Its first building, constructed in 1902 and located at 239 Main Street, now houses the Southington Historical Center. That building, a fine local example of Classical Revival architecture, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 234. ISBN   978-0-470-28963-1.
  2. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Brooklyn Historical Society Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012.
  5. ↑ "The New Building for Long Island Historical Society". Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. 24 (606): 848. October 25, 1879.
  6. ↑ Benardo, Leonard (2006). Brooklyn by Name . New York and London: New York University Press. pp.  42. ISBN   978-0-8147-9945-1.
  7. 1 2 Nevius, Michelle & Nevius, James (2009), Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, New York: Free Press, ISBN   141658997X pp. 145–146.
  8. ↑ "Historic Change for Historical Name". The New York Times. October 29, 1985.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Sam (July 6, 2005). "City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  10. ↑ Carnegie Corporation – News
  11. ↑ Wilson, Michael (January 17, 2011). "Cunning, Care and Sheer Luck Save Rare Map". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Mayor Bloomberg Breaks Ground on New Home for St. Ann's Warehouse at BBP". brooklynbridgepark.org (Press release). October 31, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ Venugopal, Nikhita (December 21, 2015). "Empire Stores New Museum Space Awarded $300K for 'Waterfront' Exhibit". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  14. ↑ Plitt, Amy (May 19, 2017). "Brooklyn Historical Society embraces Dumbo's maritime past at Empire Stores". Curbed NY. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  15. ↑ Schuessler, Jennifer (February 27, 2020). "Brooklyn Public Library and Brooklyn Historical Society to Merge". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Announcing the new Center for Brooklyn History". Center for Brooklyn History. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Brooklyn Public Library Announces Launch of Center for Brooklyn History". www.bklynlibrary.org. October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 605–606. ISBN   978-0-19538-386-7.
  19. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Registration" (pdf). National Park Service. 1991.
  20. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination" (pdf). National Park Service. 1983.
  21. ↑ Overview of History of the Brooklyn Historical Society Archived May 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ "Press Releases Archives".
  23. ↑ About the Oral History Collections Archived December 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , brooklynhistory.org.
  24. ↑ , brooklynhistory.org.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.