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Brooklyn

Sterling Forest State Park Expands With Purchase of Historic Black Resort

March 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Blue Lake Sterling Forest Taken from Fire TowerSterling Forest State Park in Orange County, NY is growing by an additional 130 acres that includes a portion of the former Greenwood Forest Farms, the first resort in New York State incorporated by and for Black families.

Between its founding in 1919 and through the 1960s, a portion of this property was Greenwood Forest Farms, which was founded by a group of prominent Black families and civic leaders from New York City, the resort became a haven for cultural and civil rights leaders from Harlem and Brooklyn, including writer Langston Hughes. Some descendants of the original pioneers now live in the neighborhood year-round. [Read more…] about Sterling Forest State Park Expands With Purchase of Historic Black Resort

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Black History, Brooklyn, Catskills, Cultural History, Harlem, Hudson Valley, nature, Orange County, Social History, State Parks, Sterling Forest State Park

A History of Kindergarten: From Spa to Tenement

March 1, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

Froebel’s kindergarten in Bad BlankenburgMigration is more than the mere movement of people and populations. It implies a transmission of ideas, customs, and practices. The arrival in the mid-nineteenth century of large numbers of political refugees in the United States from German-speaking territories would transform economic and cultural life in the locations of settlement. It had a major impact on the philosophy of education in Boston, New York, and elsewhere. [Read more…] about A History of Kindergarten: From Spa to Tenement

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Brooklyn, Cultural History, Education, German-American History, Immigration, Manhattan, New York City, Pratt Institute, Religious History, womens history

A Dog’s Tale: Dachshunds, Hot Dogs, Coney Island & Greenwood Cemetery

January 31, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

The Feltman mausoleumExploding urban populations during the nineteenth century demanded new solutions towards burying the dead. Traditional congregational graveyards were either full or overcrowded. A combination of practical thinking and the wish to commune with nature (inspired by Romantic poetry) led to the development of serene burial grounds outside the city boundaries.

Founded as a “rural” or “garden” cemetery in 1838, Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery is famous for its picturesque landscape features with evocative names such as Camellia Path, Halcyon Lake, Oaken Bluff, or Vista Hill. Elaborate monuments and mausoleums, designed in an array of architectural styles, honor the Lispenard dynasty (Norman), William Niblo (Gothic), the Steinway family (Classical), and others.

And then there is the Feltman mausoleum, the columns of which feature Corinthian capitals. On each side of the doorway stands a trio of mourning figures. Those on the left hold symbols of faith (cross and doves); those on the right show grief and sorrow. The pediment features two cherubs holding a wreath with the initial F in the center. On top of the temple is a cupola with the Archangel Michael standing guard, sword at the ready. The building serves to celebrate the memory of just one man. Who was this person? A Founding Father maybe? A respected politician (if that is not a contradiction in terms)? A celebrated artist? [Read more…] about A Dog’s Tale: Dachshunds, Hot Dogs, Coney Island & Greenwood Cemetery

Filed Under: Food, History, New York City Tagged With: American Kennel Club, Brooklyn, Cemeteries, Coney Island, Culinary History, dogs, FDR, Food, German-American History, Green-Wood Cemetery, Immigration, Manhattan, World War One, World War Two

Brooklyn Museum Announces Nearly 500 Recent Acquisitions and Gifts

December 21, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Commons by Paul Ramírez JonasThe Brooklyn Museum has announced nearly five hundred new acquisitions that span from the sixth century to today and include Korean objects, Italian Renaissance portraiture, and contemporary works by John Edmonds, Jeffrey Gibson, KAWS, Rick Lowe, Amy Sillman, and Kara Walker, as well as forty significant, rare objects and masterworks that expand the Arts of Korea collection. [Read more…] about Brooklyn Museum Announces Nearly 500 Recent Acquisitions and Gifts

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Black History, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum, Film History, Indigenous History

Green-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Chapel Wins Preservation Award

November 21, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Green-Wood’s historic chapel seen from the northwest after restoration courtesy Walter B. Melvin ArchitectsGreen-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Chapel has won a 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the Preservation League of NYS.

The Historic Chapel, located just down the hill from the Cemetery’s main entrance in Brooklyn, is an icon of Green-Wood’s landscape. Designed in 1911 by the architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore, the Neo-Gothic design features 41 carved window openings, filled with figurative stained glass. [Read more…] about Green-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Chapel Wins Preservation Award

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, Brooklyn, Cemeteries, Green-Wood Cemetery, Historic Preservation, New York City, Preservation League of New York State

Parish Lifeblood: Italian-Americans In Williamsburg (Podcast)

June 5, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lifeblood of the ParishIn the latest episode of Empire State Engagements Dr. Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada talks about her ethnographic study of Italian-American men’s Catholic devotion, Lifeblood of the Parish; Men and Catholic Devotion in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NYU Press, 2020). She discussed her experiences over six years of work engaging the parish community; reading tattoos as devotional texts; playfulness and devotion in masculine spaces; the rich history of Italian-American Catholicism in Williamsburg; and the endurance of this parish, tradition, and community – despite decades of challenges ranging from reactionary clergymen to Robert Moses to gentrifying hipsters. [Read more…] about Parish Lifeblood: Italian-Americans In Williamsburg (Podcast)

Filed Under: Books, History, New York City Tagged With: Books, Brooklyn, Cultural History, Gender History, Italian History, New York City, Podcasts, Religion, Religious History, Social History, Williamsburg

Innovative Bike Library at Shirley Chisholm State Park

June 2, 2021 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Bike LibraryThanks to a new public-private partnership between State Parks and the Natural Heritage Trust, a “bike library” that provides free loaner gear to visitors at Shirley Chisholm State Park is open for its third season. [Read more…] about Innovative Bike Library at Shirley Chisholm State Park

Filed Under: New York City, Recreation Tagged With: bicycling, Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm State Park

Atlantic Yacht Club: A Brief History

April 12, 2021 by Judith Berdy Leave a Comment

The Atlantic Yacht Club, located on the shores of Gravesend Bay in south Brooklyn, is perhaps best known for its contributions to New York sailing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many years, it was one of the largest and most prestigious yacht clubs in New York City. [Read more…] about Atlantic Yacht Club: A Brief History

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Brooklyn, Maritime History, New York City

Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Skills of A Brooklyn Bookbinder

April 11, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

Bible Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum GodIn early America, Boston was the main centre of the book trade (including bookbinding), followed by Philadelphia and, by a distance, New York. As most early bookbinders worked anonymously, it is difficult to put a timeline to developments. [Read more…] about Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Skills of A Brooklyn Bookbinder

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Book History, Books, Brooklyn

Huguenot Pirates on the Barbary Coast and the Mapping of New Amsterdam

October 5, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Johannes Vingboons View of New AmsterdamHuguenots were followers of Jean Calvin’s teachings for which they were persecuted in Catholic France. Many were forced to leave the country and settled in the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, and South Africa.

Nicolas Martiau was one of a number of refugees who made their way to America (Virginia) via England. A surveyor and engineer in the service of Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntington, he was an ancestor of George Washington. [Read more…] about Huguenot Pirates on the Barbary Coast and the Mapping of New Amsterdam

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Brooklyn, Dutch History, Geography, Huguenots, Mapmakers, Maps, New Amsterdam, New Netherland, surveying

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