In the 1950s and early 1960s, Civil Defense officials designated hundreds of thousands of Fallout Shelter sites throughout the U.S. in the event of a nuclear attack. The familiar yellow and black metal signs became standard fare during the Cold War in basement areas of public buildings, schools and other sturdy fortresses. The feds’ network […]
Archive | History RSS feed for this section
Reminder: BHA Annual Meeting Wednesday, Featuring Sam Sifton
As we previously announced, the Brooklyn Heights Association will hold its annual meeting this Wednesday evening, February 22, starting at 7:30, at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, between Clinton and Court. The guest speaker will be Sam Sifton (photo), Heights native and Brooklyn resident who is now the national editor of the New York […]
Heights History: November 1903, The Day BAM Burned To The Ground
As stagehands at the Brooklyn Academy of Music began preparing the opera hall for a banquet honoring Sen. Patrick Henry McCarren the morning of November 30, 1903, no one could have been prepared for the horrifying event about to take place at 176-194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. The week before, during Thanksgiving, BAM had […]
Brooklyn Women’s Exchange Presents Henrik Krogius on Promenade History
On Thursday evening, March 1, from 6:00 to 7:00, the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, 55 Pierrepont Street (between Henry and Hicks and now, unfortunately under scaffolding that obscures the view of Wendy’s windows) will present Brooklyn Heights Press editor and local historian Henrik Krogius discussing his new book, The Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which tells the story […]
BHS Presents “Fading Ads” Wednesday Evening
No doubt you’ve seen this “fading ad” on the east wall of a building on Middagh Street, facing towards Henry. The word “flats” dates it. It once meant roughly what “apartment” means now, but there is some dispute over possible distinctions. This sign is an example of a “fading ad”, one of many painted on […]
BHS Hosts “I Heart BK/BX” On Valentine’s Day
As a reminder, the Brooklyn Historical Society, in conjunction with the Bronx Historical Society, is hosting “I Heart BK/BX” from 7-10 p.m. Tuesday, Valentine’s Day at 128 Pierrepont Street, featuring love stories from storytellers, poets and baseball historians from Brooklyn and the Bronx exploring legendary rivalries. Tumbador chocolates and Brooklyn Brewery beer will be served.
I Want Candy? 20 Henry Condos At Last Hit The Market
The condo project at 20 Henry Street is at last hitting the marketplace after years of delays. Final polishes are taking place at the former Peaks Mason Mints building, known as the Candy Factory, with asking prices between $450,000 and $2.56 million for studios up to 4 bedrooms. The building includes 24 lofts (six of […]
Downtown Skyscraper District: He Said/He Said On Landmarks Approval
Despite City Council approval February 1 of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, which designated 21 buildings along Court Street as a new landmark district, the debate continues in an Op-Ed He Said/He Said piece in the Brooklyn Courier. Commentary is offered from supporter Philip Magnuson, chair of the Brooklyn Heights Assn. Landmark Preservation Committee; […]
Downtown BK’s Historic Offerman Building At Last Gets New Life Via TJ Maxx
The beautifully historic but long-suffering Romanesque revival Offerman Building along Fulton Street Mall is at last getting the facelift it so deserves. As H&M continues its new-construction two-story glass modernist build-out next door, TJ Maxx will open a downtown Brooklyn store at 505 Fulton Street, according to signage that appeared within the last week. Imagine […]
March On: CFAF Offers Heights “Family Walking Tour”
Until the next Homer Fink Hidden Brooklyn Heights tour, New York’s Center for Architecture Foundation (CFAF), in collaboration with the Brooklyn Historical Society, is offering a “Family Walking Tour of Historic Brooklyn Heights.” The excursion, which takes place Saturday, March 17 (rain date on the 18th) from 2-4 p.m., will “explore the architecture of this […]
Nabe Chatter