Perhaps not surprisingly, Henry Ward Beecher and his associate Theodore Tilton were early and prominent feminists. Their principal goal after the Civil War was obtaining the vote for women, but some also advocated full legal equality and what would become the feminist agenda of the 1970s. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the […]
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Brooklyn Heights History: Clubs Part 2
Dances were a way for young people to meet, and included outdoor events in gardens and taverns, called “germans” or cotillions, when held in private homes. In the 1880s organized dances called Junior Assemblies, Cinderella Balls and Bachelors Balls were held. Clubs often sponsored these events, and Dr. Charles Shephard’s Turkish Bath, America’s first, on Cranberry and […]
BHS Features Death Tonight, Beer Tomorrow
This evening (Wednesday, June 22), starting at 6:30, the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton), will present a panel discussion on “Brooklyn Cemeteries: Past and Present”, featuring the presidents of Green-Wood and Evergreens cemeteries and the authors of books about the histories of these two significant burial grounds. Admission is free with […]
Brooklyn Heights History: Baseball 1840-1958
As part of urban renewal, the Mechanics Bank Building on the northwest corner of Fulton and Montague Streets, which had housed the Brooklyn Dodgers’ front office, was razed in 1958. History was made in that building with the signing of Jackie Robinson by General Manager Branch Rickey in 1947. The bank itself had been absorbed […]
Mr. J’s Tribute to Nabeguy
Karl takes his cam to the residence of Phillip Wilentz, known to all of us as “nabeguy” (and to Homer as our uber-poster) who, with his wife and daughter, will soon be moving to the further reaches of Long Island. Along with nabeguy’s reflections on his 54 years of life in Brooklyn Heights, and some […]
Brooklyn Heights History: Slavery and Abolition
The Heights was farms until the early nineteenth century, and the Dutch and British owners used slave labor there, as they did throughout Kings County. This is indicated by the fact that of the county’s population of 4,500 in the first U.S. census of 1790, one-third, or 1,500, were slaves. Bondage ended in Brooklyn in 1825, two […]
27 Cranberry McBrownstone and the LPC – Official Account
The LPC sent us this run down of what happened at yesterday’s LPC hearing regarding the proposed “McBrownstone” at 27 Cranberry Street:
27 Cranberry McBrownstone Plans Denied by LPC
Hick Street resident/guest blogger Jeremy Lechtzin writes us, “This afternoon the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously denied the application [for new construction at 27 Cranberry Street].” He adds that one LPC member suggested to the 27 Cranberry applicants “it’s time for a major rethinking” of their proposal. Lechtzin adds that, “LPC objected to the size (both height […]
Seaport Museum in Danger
For many years, the masts and spars of the tall ships Peking and Wavertree, docked at piers 15 and 16 on the Manhattan waterfront, have been a familiar sight from the Promenade, as have the schooner Pioneer and the doughty little tug W.O. Decker sailing on the East River. Unfortunately, all of these ships are […]
Brooklyn Heights History: Clubs
Another feature of wealthy nineteenth century areas was club life. It was de rigueur for men to join at least one as a home away from home. Most are now gone. The only one surviving in the Heights, the Heights Casino, still functions because it is a sports club. The first was the Long Island […]
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