Brooklyn Historical Society (Center for Brooklyn History)
128 Pierrepont Street | Brooklyn Heights | built 1878
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1881
George B. Post's terra cotta headquarters for the Long Island Historical Society is finished
The Long Island Historical Society, founded in 1863 by Henry Pierrepont, chose George B. Post to design its building at Pierrepont and Clinton Streets from a competition among 14 architects. David H. King Jr. built it in 1878-81. Its terra cotta came from the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, and Olin Levi Warner carved sculptures including busts of Michelangelo, Beethoven, Shakespeare and Benjamin Franklin.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1991
The Historical Society building is named a National Historic Landmark
The Brooklyn Historical Society's headquarters became a National Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1991. It also lies in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, designated by the city in 1966. Wikipedia quotes a description of the inside as among the great 19th-century interiors of New York.
“…added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1991.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1999
The Historical Society begins a restoration of its Pierrepont Street building
In October 1999 the Brooklyn Historical Society started a full-scale restoration of its headquarters, overseen by the architect Jan Hird Pokorny. The building reopened in 2003.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2007
An oral history gallery opens with an exhibition on Brooklyn's Vietnam veterans
In December 2007 the Brooklyn Historical Society opened an oral history gallery. Its first show, "In Our Own Words," was a set of portraits of Brooklyn's Vietnam veterans that combined oral histories, photographs, documents and artifacts. The society's oral history collections now include interviews with more than 300 narrators.
“In December 2007, BHS opened an oral history gallery. The first exhibition installed there was an installation of oral histories, photographs, documents, and artifacts…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2010
Staff cataloguing the map collection find a rare c. 1770 Ratzer map
In 2010, while cataloguing the map collection, Brooklyn Historical Society staff found a rare, previously uncatalogued copy of a map by Bernard Ratzer from about 1770. The map was restored and opened to the public. The society's holdings of maps now span the years from about 1562 to 2011.
“In 2010 while cataloging the map collection, BHS staff discovered a previously uncatalogued, and rare copy of a c. 1770 map by Bernard Ratzer…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2020
The Historical Society merges with Brooklyn Public Library as the Center for Brooklyn History
In October 2020 the private Brooklyn Historical Society merged with the Brooklyn Public Library to form the Center for Brooklyn History. The center is based at the society's 1881 headquarters at 128 Pierrepont Street. Staff from both organizations were to move into the building for a planned 2021 reopening, with virtual programs and digital resources starting that fall.
Source: brownstoner.com
Further reading
- Brooklyn Historical Society BuildingWikipedia
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