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Join us for part two of our conversation with archivist Dennis Riley of the New York State Archive. Dennis will share his research into the treasure trove of materials related to Puerto Rico held at the National Archives at New York, focusing on the role of the US military on the island from the Spanish-American War onward.
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Join the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP) every weekday at 10am for Adventures in Brooklyn. Virtually visit many different cultural partners as we explore art, science, reading, and more across Brooklyn from home! From July 6 to 10, we will be hosting special programs all about the Brooklyn Navy Yard, including learning about ships and how they are built and repaired, looking at many of the products that are made in the Yard today, and exploring stories of people, ships, and even animals from the Yard’s long history.
This program is designed for children ages 5 to 10 and their families.
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Vermont is known for its natural beauty, but the National Park Service has only one property in the state, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park. Established in 1992, the park tells the story of three men who occupied the same piece of land over time in the small town of Woodstock, and each had a unique impact on preserving the restoring the natural landscape: diplomat and writer George Perkins Marsh, railroad tycoon Frederick Billings, and scion Laurance Rockefeller. This virtual program will look at the history of conservation as told through this site, and explore some of the features of the park in and around Woodstock.
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Bowne & Co., Stationers opened their doors at the South Street Seaport Museum in 1975, 200 years after Robert Bowne founded his shop across the street on Queen Lane. Today Bowne & Co., continues the tradition of 19th-century letterpress printing. This virtual program with Art Director Rob Wilson – co-hosted with Stefan Dreisbach Williams from the home of Robert Bowne’s ancestors, the 1661 Bowne House in Flushing, Queens – investigates the changing role that stationery and printing offices played in New York City, and the ways in which Bowne & Co., uses its collection of 34 printing presses, and more than 2400 cases of movable type in contemporary ways today.
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We are pleased to welcome back food photographer and writer Dave Cook of Eating In Translation to discuss a family of fascinating cuisines. Many of us might not have had the opportunity to enjoy the food of Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, or Ghana; these and many more can be found throughout New York City. Dave will share his mouthwatering photos, walk us through different dishes, and let us know where we can try them in all five boroughs.
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Join our conversation with Sara Carr, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Urbanism, and Landscape at Northeastern University, who will discuss Frederick Law Olmsted’s origins in public health, and how his background in the US Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, and his journalistic advocacy inspired his designs of Central Park and Prospect Park. Olmsted’s prolific writings give us an insight into how he thought about the intersection of human, ecological, and societal health, which resonate strongly in our pandemic era. But as his living legacies face unprecedented urban challenges, we must also think about how they can sustain and at times even transform for a just and sustainable future. This program is presented in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance.
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Prospect Park has been an indispensable oasis throughout the pandemic. As more Brooklynites venture outdoors, we will visit one of the more secluded areas of the park, the Rose Garden and Vale of Cashmere. This program will explore the history of this area in the park’s northeast corner; its past uses as a playground, wedding venue, and tropical garden; and the Prospect Park Alliance’s future plans for the area and the park’s Flatbush Avenue perimeter.
PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs
When the Brooklyn Navy Yard was founded in 1801, more than a quarter of the inhabitants of Kings County were enslaved, and 60% of households included an enslaved person. This program will look at how the institution of slavery was intricately linked to the operations of the Yard, even after New York enacted emancipation in 1827. From timber, rope, and nails produced by enslaved labor in the South, to the enslaved people living and working at the Yard itself, the institution of slavery was embedded in the life of the Navy. This program will be hosted by our Brooklyn Navy Yard historian Andrew Gustafson.
PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs
Manhattan’s Chinatown has been a destination for visitors from around the world seeking exotic food and curiosities for more than 100 years. Think!Chinatown works to demystify this neighborhood, while connecting people and resources to Chinatown businesses and organizations. Co-founder Yin Kong will share some of Think!Chinatown’s most recent projects, discuss their work with the community, and talk about how the neighborhood is working through this difficult time. We’ll explore how the organization uses design, community, and civic engagement as a way to connect visitors and locals alike with a sense of place in one of NYC’s most dynamic and vibrant immigrant neighborhoods. Chinatown is so much more than a culinary destination!
PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs
On June 25, 1966, the Brooklyn Navy Yard closed its doors after 165 years of “Service to the Fleet.” This virtual program with Navy Yard historian Andrew Gustafson will look at the rationale for the Yard’s closure, its sale to the City of New York and reopening as a private shipyard building crude oil supertankers, and the ups and downs of redevelopment over the past 50 years. Today the Brooklyn Navy Yard is a thriving city-owned industrial park that is home to over 500 companies at 12,000 jobs.