Center for Brooklyn History

The Center for Brooklyn History is closed in observance of Juneteenth. "Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It's a celebration of progress. It's an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible — and there is still so much work to do." — Barack Obama



Deborah Tint, Stencil of Black Power fist on top of pedestrian signal on traffic light, 2020, BRCP_0032; Brooklyn Resists community photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History

Discover how the disability rights movement continues to pave the way for equality and access for all. ♿ 🪧

Join us for an illuminating panel on the history and ongoing efforts to bring equal access to all
📆 Thursday, July 9, 2026
🕞 6:30–8 PM
📍 Center for Brooklyn History

Learn More
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/4eabaNY

The Fulton Street Elevated train opened on April 24, 1888, running from Fulton Ferry to Nostrand Avenue. After a half-century of love, hate, frustration, and fighting, the El took its last ride on May 30, 1940. Passengers included Mayor La Guardia and Grandma & Grandpa, who "took a strap to hang on."



[Last trip on the Fulton St. "El."], 1940, FULT_0073; Fulton Street Trade Card collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History

The Frank J. Trezza Seatrain Shipbuilding Collection documents shipbuilding activities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard from its closing by the Department of Defense in the mid-1960s through its rebirth and eventual demise under the management of the Seatrain Shipbuilding Corp. The collection includes newspaper clippings, union publications, pamphlets and newspapers published by Seatrain, a Seatrain employee orientation kit, photographs, slides and negatives. Click here for the full collection guide: https://bklynlib.org/4xGBCaX



Frank J. Trezza, [Ship fitters], 1977, Color slide, v1988.21.120; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History

Two weeks ago we wished you Happy Pride Month and last week we wished you a Happy National Accordion Awareness Month. Now this week we’re wishing you a Happy National Zoo and Aquarium month! Here in Brooklyn we have the Prospect Park Zoo which began as a 19th century menagerie. Click here to learn more: https://bklynlib.org/4vT8sn6



Anteater in Prospect Park Zoo, 1951, PARK_0330; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Tomorrow! Check out our program on Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap—At a time when both queerness and artistic experimentation were met with resistance, Anderson and Heap created a magazine that embraced risk, provoked controversy, and championed groundbreaking work 🌈✍️

Discover their story!
📆 Tuesday, June 16 2026,
🕒 6:30 pm – 8 pm
📍 Center for Brooklyn History

Learn More
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/4tGGgCf

On June 15, 1904, the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church chartered the General Slocum to carry church members to an annual outing on Long Island. Shortly after setting sail, a fire broke out below deck. Crew members found the ship's fire hose rotten, lifeboats chained to the deck, and life vests that reportedly fell apart in the hands of panicked passengers. The boat breached on North Brother Island before drifting to Hunts Point where it sank. An estimated 1,021 people were killed, mostly women and children. Click here to follow the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's coverage, including this four o'clock edition, released only hours after the disaster: https://bklynlib.org/49Ofe56



Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 15, 1904

Mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding! Using the essay “The Souls of White Folk” by W. E. B. Du Bois as a springboard, join us as renowned historian Khalil Gibran Muhammad leads a guided conversation on race, democracy, and the ongoing pursuit of freedom in America 📚 💫

Don’t miss this powerful kickoff to our series
📆 Tuesday, June 30, 2026
🕒 6:30-8 PM
📍 Center for Brooklyn History

Learn more
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/4uZAXzv

This program takes place in CBH’s Othmer Reading Room. Space is limited. Future programs in the series feature historians Elizabeth Hinton and Kellie Carter Jackson.

🧡 💙 IMMACULATE VIBES; KNICKS IN FIVE 🧡 💙



[Kings County Historical Society flag], 1911-1941, M1989.240.1

[1976 reprint of World's Fair (1939 : New York, N.Y.) travel guide, in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park], 1976, OSOS_0163; Our Streets, Our Stories collection, Donated for capture by Jacqueline Urove

[Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church commemorative plate] 1914, M1997.481.1.

[Bob Steingut campaign pin], M1988.59.147