746 East 9th Street. Service Builders Supply is visible.

The Eagle Pencil Company was one of the largest producers of No. 2 pencils in the early 20th century, employing thousands in New York City. In mid-1938 the company announced a 10% pay cut for all existing employees with an increased working schedule to 44 hours a week. On June 16th, 1938, 850 Eagle Pencil Workers walked out to demand a contract and restoration of the recent pay cut. The strike was recorded extensively by the Edwin Levick Studio, the leaders in the emerging spot news photography. The studio sold these photos to local newspapers around the city. The strike became well known and was even covered in the local Marxist paper, 'The Socialist Appeal,' arguing for public support for the union workers. The strike lasted seven weeks, ending on August 8th when the company agreed to welcome back all the striking employees and promised to reinstate their original pay.

Public School 36, 1920. Constructed in 1876 as Grammar School No. 36 and designed by David I. Stagg (whose career as a builder of schools lasted half a century), the school building on East 9th Street replaced a previous Board of Education school on the site (Ward School 21). The four-story structure with a five-story central entrance bay, Grammar School 36, later P.S. 36, remained in service to the neighborhood children until the 1970s. For three decades at the end of the 20th century it was the home of the Henry Street Settlement Day Care and Loisaida, a Latino neighborhood revitalization organization. In 2011 the former school underwent a massive interior and exterior renovation. The building had a a full fifth floor added on either side of the historic top floor bay. Today it functions as a residence for homeless young adults and youth that have aged out of the foster system, as well as a community center for the Loisaida organization.

Construction on the BMT Canarsie Line (L) at Avenue D, November 28, 1916.

Even pencil making can be a contentious business- On June 16th, 1938, the Eagle Pencil Workers went on strike!