Though converted to the Brooklyn Borough Hall upon the consolidation of New York City and Brooklyn in 1898, the Brooklyn Borough Hall first opened as the city hall of Brooklyn in 1848. The plans were set in motion in 1835 after the city received its charter, however it took some time for the actual building to materialize. The architect Calvin Pollard won the design competition for a Greek Revival building on the site, but though construction began in 1836, it was stalled by the panic of 1837. Thus it was only in 1845, after a bond issue was approved by New York State, that Gamaliel King, another Brooklyn architect, was called upon to finish the building. King provided a simplified version of Pollard's design to be built on the hall's foundation. It is this version (following a couple of renovations) that stands today.

Andrew Menard's 1988 sculpture, titled "With or Without Reason" inverses the relationship between a sculpted figure and its pedestal. Acting as a quotation of nearby sculptures in Central Park, the work consists of three amorphic figures balancing atop identical poles. The figures and their pedestals, made of epoxy resin and styrofoam, were meant to gradually yellow with exposure to the sun. Their truncated limbs and unsteady stances provide a contrast to their stable compatriots in the park. Andrew Menard's sculpture was on view from May 1st, 1988 until April 1st, 1990. It was funded by the Public Art Fund.

While one New York tree gets all the glory, we thought we put together a collection of some other archival Christmas Trees.

Sidewalk and Fulton Street El outside 391-393 Fulton Street, the Empire State Surety Company, opposite Borough Hall, September 19, 1915.

Joe’s Restaurant, Fulton Street, April 4, 1958. Joe’s Restaurant opened on Fulton Street in 1909 as the second branch of a popular Coney Island restaurant owned by Joseph Balzarini and Joseph Sartori, both Italian immigrants (the former via Argentina). The duo would open a third location on Nevins Street. The Fulton Street Joe’s, which featured a large dining room and extensive menu, quickly became a favorite haunt of Brooklyn’s power brokers — both official and under-the-table — due to its proximity to the borough’s civic center. Ironically, this advantageous location would lead to its demise: the restaurant was shuttered in late 1958 and subsequently razed as part of the development of Cadman Plaza and an expanded civic center.

In its history, New York City has seen its fair share of accidents, disasters, and catastrophes. Some have been man-made, while others were the work of Mother Nature. These events have, over time, altered and shaped the city and its citizens.

Brooklyn Borough Hall The Greek Revival usually found its best expression in public buildings, as is the case here. At an earlier date, a low Federal-style building was proposed to fill the outer perimeter of the entire triangular block; but that plan was abandoned in favor of this higher, more compact building, now dwarfed by an array of surrounding giants.

Since the founding of the city, Brooklyn has had many civic groups dedicated to encouraging education. In the mid-19th century, a number of libraries emerged that would form the basis of the Brooklyn Library today. This is the story of how it came to be.

Founded in 1841 by Isaac Van Anden and Henry Cruse Murphy, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published as a daily newspaper for 114 consecutive years without missing a single edition. The newspaper, originally conceived as a temporary political forum for the 1842 election, ironically lived the longest and absorbed all other Brooklyn daily papers except the Brooklyn Citizen.

Since arriving on these shores, dogs have made New York City their home. Here are some of our favorite photos from our partners' collections of New York dogs in their natural habitat!

353-355 Fulton Street, April 12, 1916.

Brooklyn Eagle Building, ca. 1905. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the newspaper of record for the 19th century City of Brooklyn, was founded in 1841. For the first 50 years of operation — including Walt Whitman’s tenure as editor — the paper was produced in present-day DUMBO, near Fulton Landing. In 1890, architect George L. Morse was enlisted to design a new headquarters for the growing publication, across Johnson Street from the new Brooklyn Post Office. Morse would later keep a personal office on the building’s upper floors. The Brooklyn Eagle (which had since dropped the “Daily”) ceased publication in 1955, succumbing to financial pressure exacerbated by the Newspaper Guild reporters’ strike. The building was razed, as part of the Robert Moses-led scheme to create Cadman Plaza, the civic center park space designated alongside the construction of the New York Supreme Court.

🍰🍪🍰🍪 In 1898 George and Catherine Ebinger opened their Ebinger's Bakery on Flatbush Avenue near Cortelyou Street. Specializing in German sweets and pastries, their best-known confection was the Brooklyn Blackout Cake, a chocolate layer cake with chocolate fudge layers, and chocolate frosting covered with chocolate cake crumbs. Though likely produced in the early 20th century, the cake got its famous name during World War II when the city experienced blackout drills. Brooklyn became obsessed with Ebinger's Bakery, and the business expanded to more than 50 outlets in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County. The business thrived through the early mid-century but came under fire for discriminatory hiring practices in the 1960s, and in the same decade, many of their longtime customers moved out of the city. The company declared bankruptcy and closed in 1972, though rumor has it that Entenmann's purchased their recipes.

Henry Ward Beecher Statute in Columbus Park, ca. 1976.

This is an abbreviated version of Brooklynology blog post, the rest is available at this link. Walking the urban landscape of New York, one comes upon buildings of different styles and periods—one of the great joys of living in an older city. Even in this wildly varied landscape, the armories stand out. One can walk down a row of modest apartment houses and, turning the corner, confront one of these massive structures looming like an apparition from the middle ages. But how did they come to be here and how did their use change, particularly their transformation from military to civilian uses. What follows is not comprehensive documentation, but a selective jaunt through the evolution of our Brooklyn armories.

Brooklyn City Hall Tower Fire. 1895. This photo of the week depicts a roof level view of the 1895 fire at Brooklyn City Hall (today’s Borough Hall). If you look closely, you can see fire ladders propped against the building and firefighters on the roof using hoses to extinguish the fire. The fire started because of a lighted gas jet in a third floor closet. The fire left significant damage, destroying the clock and bell tower, as well as most of the top floor. This photograph was taken by Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd (1875-1969), a Brooklyn ophthalmologist and an avid amateur photographer. Throughout his life, Lloyd documented primarily historic 17th, 18th, and 19th century houses located in the New York City metropolitan area. The collection of his photographs includes roughly 400 lantern slides like the one pictured above. The lantern slide, popularized in the late 19th century, displayed a positive image on a glass plate. This could then be displayed for an audience to experience. This was significant because for the first time, photography became a shared medium, visible by a broad audience. Production of lantern slides ended over 40 years ago, so it’s a rare and unique experience to see one for yourself!

100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, a 24-year-old black New Yorker stood her ground on a streetcar. With courage and perseverance, she won the first recorded legal victory for equal rights on public transportation. This story appeared in its original format here.

Borough Hall, originally City Hall, is located in the heart of downtown Brooklyn and is one of the borough's oldest public buildings. It was also home to two highly contentious 900 square foot murals, whose final fate remains unknown today.

Statue of Henry Ward Beecher, ca. 1976. Henry Ward Beecher was the fiery, abolitionist preacher of nearby Plymouth Church. Beecher died in 1887 and a death mask was cast. Sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward (who also created the statue of Washington that sits in front of Federal Hall) was charged with creating a monument to the man. Using the death mask and photographs, Ward created the eight-foot-tall bronze statue. The female slave and children depicted surrounding the base represent Beecher's work in the anti-slavery movement and his commitment to children. The statue was unveiled in 1891 and, according to a historian of 19th century public sculpture, the monument was very well received by the public, though it was noted that Beecher's family was not thrilled with the (in)accuracy of the likeness. Originally located in a park next to the Brooklyn City Hall building, it was moved north in 1959 during the urban renewal of the civic center.

Reconstruction work on the Fulton Street roadway, beneath the Fulton Street El tracks, September 22, 1919. Both the BMT Fourth Avenue and IRT Eastern Parkway lines run beneath Fulton Street, now a pedestrian walkway in Columbus Park, adjacent to Brooklyn Borough Hall. The buildings at left — including the Baltimore Dairy Lunch counter, No. 389 Fulton — have since been razed.

Brooklyn Citizen Building, August 9, 1915. The Brooklyn Citizen was a daily newspaper published from 1886 to 1947. During the construction of subway tunnels in Downtown Brooklyn in the 1910s the plans originally included the demolition of the Citizen Building, as the tunnel was supposed to run directly under. After plans were altered and the path moved, the building was spared and only required shoring. The newspaper discontinued publishing in 1947. The Citizen Building had been purchased in 1945 by the city as part of the eventual Civic Center urban renewal project. The building was still standing and vacant in 1954 when a fire tore through the structure under suspicious circumstances, related to some accused shady dealings by fire officials. It was demolished fully soon after.

Fulton Street, at its intersection with Joralemon, Adams and Willoughby Streets, showing the Fulton Street Elevated line of the B.M.T. At center building is the City Hall (now Borough Hall), with the Brooklyn Citizen Building at right, ca. 1910.

Murphy's Hat Shop at the southeast corner of Myrtle Avenue and Fulton Street, October 19, 1915.

"Fulton Street at Joralemon Street Survey photograph during construction of the BMT Broadway line. Northwestward view of Brooklyn Borough Hall and the tracks of the BMT Fulton Street Elevated line. Multiple trolleys are visible on Fulton Street, and construction is visible along the side of the street, beneath the elevated tracks, September 19, 1915."