Historical Documents From the BHS

Upon entering the Brooklyn Historical Society you receive a very historical feel. One of my peers stated, “It even smells old,” which was pretty hysterical mainly because it’s true.  When entering the archive I noticed two things almost immediately, high hat lights (due to construction to lower the ceiling in the 90’s) and it seemed as though the joist were being held up by the enormous wooden bookshelves and columns. Once we entered into the archive, signed in, and put our belongings away we separated into three groups and then the librarians presented several historical documents. The group that I was with viewed pictures that ranged from forty to a hundred years in age. These pictures expressed the different time periods and how Brooklyn made such a drastic transition over the years. We viewed the busy waterfront, the Brooklyn skyline, women welders working in the ship yard, different varieties of ships, and even immigrant workers who worked for the ship yard. Being able to actually view these historical documents is such an honor and I encourage anyone to visit the Brooklyn Historical Society located at 128 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights.