Center for Brooklyn History

10/13/2026

Today’s Photo of the Week looks at the Boughton House, which stood at 31 and 33 Cumberland Street near Flushing Avenue for nearly 200 years. It’s unknown who originally built the house, but following the Revolutionary War, it was occupied by dairy farmer Samuel Boughton, who maintained an adjoining orchard and farm. The exact date of construction is also unknown, but in 1915, workmen uncovered a shingle with the inscription “Erected 1727.” Click here to learn more: https://bklynlib.org/4y2Rd3f
Washington House, circa 1910, V1981.15.62; Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History

10/12/2026

The Center for Brooklyn History is closed in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Click here for a booklist highlighting titles in our collection that relate to Indigenous history of Long Island and New York: https://bklynlib.org/46MEDJW
[untitled], circa 1870, glass plate negatives, V1974.15.15, V1974.15.16; Photography Collection, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

10/12/2026

For decades, UFOs lived on the fringes—conspiracy theories, blurry photographs, late-night radio.🛸 🌌 But after all this time, we still have no conclusive evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. So why do we want to believe?

Join us for a conversation with poet and literary critic Adam Kirsc on his new book led in conversation by Christopher Beha.

📆 Monday, October 19, 2026
🕦 6:30–8 PM
📌 Center for Brooklyn History

Save a seat!
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/3UxYfPJ

10/09/2026

On October 14th our archivists will be on hand to answer YOUR burning questions. Use the hashtag on Instagram, Facebook, and X to find out what we do all day, why it's important, our favorite collections, and more. If you can ask it we can answer it!

10/09/2026

What does it mean to rebuild democracy from the inside out? 🇺🇸 ⚖️ Legal scholar and former White House official K. Sabeel Rahman believes the answer lies not just in elections or policy debates—but in reimagining the institutions of government themselves.

Join us for a vital conversation about power, inequality, and what it takes to remake the machinery of American democracy.

New York Times economics reporter Talmon Joseph Smith leads the discussion.👈
📆 Monday, November 9, 2026
🕒 6:30–8 PM
📍 Center for Brooklyn History

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

10/08/2026

Pierogi, the scent so good it should be bottled and sold at perfume counters. Whether you prefer a filling of cabbage, potato, meat, or mushroom, we can all unite on National Pierogi Day.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 4, 1948, page 45

10/07/2026

The Crown Heights History Project was a collaborative effort by Brooklyn cultural institutions to explore the lives, religious and cultural practices, and everyday experiences of residents of Crown Heights following the riots in 1991. In addition to oral histories that capture perspectives on tensions and reconciliation efforts before and after the violence, the collection includes exhibition materials and over 700 photographs that document the rich cultural and religious communities of the neighborhood. Click here for the full collection guide! https://bklynlib.org/4hObtj2

Images donated by: Miriam Rubinoff, Rodney Hurly, Jill Vexler

10/07/2026

How well do you really know Brooklyn? 🗽 🤔 Join us for an unforgettable trivia evening with The Trivia Masters—Chris Kelley and Stuart Post—at the Center for Brooklyn History.

Get ready for tough questions, lateral-thinking games, and multimedia excitement, all drawn from the history of the world's best borough.

Assemble your own team, or come solo and we'll place you with one! 👈

Whether you're a hardcore Brooklyn history wonk or just playing for fun, a good time is guaranteed
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
6:30–8:30 PM
Center for Brooklyn History

See you there! 🎯 Learn More
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/4hePYHZ

10/06/2026

Weapons in museums—objects of craftsmanship, violence, and memory. What responsibilities do we carry when we preserve and display them? 📜 🔍

Join historians and scholars as they explore the complicated place weaponry hold in material culture. 👈

Inspired by a r***e on view in The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered, this conversation digs into beauty and violence, and how museums have documented these objects over time.

📆 Wednesday, November 4,2026
🕒 6:30–8 PM
📍 Center for Brooklyn History

Learn More!
🔗 https://bklynlib.org/4jIMGPX

Weapons have long occupied a complicated place in material culture. Fi****ms, swords, powder horns, and similar objects are often examples of extraordinary craftsmanship and personal expression, displaying elaborate engravings and ornamentation, even as they are instruments of violence.

10/06/2026

🍺 Did you know that yesterday was the last day of Oktoberfest? The annual b**r-soaked celebration is a massive undertaking where millions of liters of b**r is specifically brewed by Munich’s major breweries, ensuring that the b**r never runs out for residents and tourists alike. B**r manufactured within the boundaries of the city of Munich are designated with the “Oktoberfestbier” label and are the only types of b**r offered at the festival.

This week’s POTW highlights the 1948 b**r strike of New York City, where 3,000 laborers from twelve of the city’s 14 breweries orchestrated a walkout in protest of the United Brewery Worker’s dismissal of 21 drivers who were unable to comply with their overburdened delivery schedules. As a result, the taverns across the city, like the Left Field Bar and Grill at 945 Franklin Avenue, had run out of b**r: https://bklynlib.org/46WjWf6
No b**r today, boys, 1948, WORK_0837; Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.