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See and learn about Prospect Park’s little-known corners and hidden treasures, including the Rose Garden, Lookout Hill, and the park’s historic archways. Led by two engaging guides, this virtual experience will use photos of the park today and from the archives of the Prospect Park Alliance to illuminate the layers of history still visible in the landscape.
One of the most iconic spaces in New York City, the atrium of the Brooklyn Army Terminal was once a hive of activity for moving military supplies from World War I to the Cold War. This engineering marvel is a mystery to most visitors, and this presentation by our resident expert will explain how the space was designed, built, and operated, and how technologies like the forklift and shipping container impacted operations over time.
Virtual Programs
How do you know if the olive oil in your kitchen is what it says on the bottle? What are the differences between olive oils from different parts of the world? Become an olive oil connoisseur with Saad Bourkadi, owner of Essex Olive & Spice in the Lower East Side’s Essex Market, whose family has been growing olives and producing oil in Morocco for four generations. Register here.
Virtual Programs
Starting Thursday, March 19, Turnstile Tours will be offering virtual programs every day at 11am. Click here for the complete listing of sessions, or use the calendar below to find a session related to this tour program.
Celebrate International Women’s Day by exploring the past and present of women’s labor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Learn about the history from the early nineteenth century, when women sewed flags and uniforms, to World War II, when women had the opportunity for the first time to work in the shipbuilding professions, as welders, shipfitters, and machinists. As we explore the Yard, we will visit the studios of two female metal artists who have worked in the Yard for a combined 60+ years, and see how Susan Woods and Michelle Greene welding in the Yard today, carrying on the traditions of the “Rosies” that came before them.
Inside Industry: Women Welders, Past and Present at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Get ready for Valentine’s Day on this special Sunday Inside Industry program at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We will first delve into the archives of the Yard to share stores of sailors, seamstresses, shipworkers, and entrepreneurs that have fallen in love at the Yard as we visit some of the most iconic sites of the shipyard. We will then head over to Woodside Press, a traditional letterpress printing studio, where participants will get a tour of their equipment and process, and then get to use these methods to print their very own valentine to take home.
Inside Industry: Love Stories and Letterpress at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Many of the businesses in the Brooklyn Navy Yard bring together traditional handcrafts and advanced manufacturing techniques to create unique, high-quality products. On this tour, we will go “inside industry” with designers and fabricators that use both digital tools and traditional handcrafts to make everything from furniture to tech hardware, and we will learn how companies are integrating 3D printing, digital imaging, CNC machining, and other techniques and tools in order to survive in competitive (and expensive) New York City.
Inside Industry: Digital Fabrication at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
World War II came to a close in 1945, and looking back 75 years, it is hard to believe that Americans on the cusp of war in 1940 were as removed from the Civil War as we are from World War II today. Imagine veterans of that war, fought with horses and muskets, still alive to share their memories in the Atomic Age.
Today, we have a dwindling number of World War II veterans, all now well north of 90 years old (unlike the Civil War, there were no 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old drummer boys or powder monkeys). So throughout 2020, we are offering special content on our World War II Tours of the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the first Sunday of each month that will focus on different aspects of the human story of the war, utilizing our vast archive or oral histories and other personal stories of life on the home front and on the front lines.>> Continue reading
Take a special World War II history tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard co-led by Jennifer Egan, author of the award-winning novel Manhattan Beach, and our own resident historian, Andrew Gustafson. As we explore the Yard, visiting many sites mentioned in the book, we will delve into the Jennifer’s research process, discuss the materials she used to bring the Yard of the 1940’s to life, and listen to selections of oral histories of real women war workers that inspired many of the characters and incidents in the book. Jennifer will also reach excerpts from her book and answer questions about her remarkable work.
Brooklyn Navy Yard Tour with Jennifer Egan
This Chancellor’s Day, explore the history, architecture, and people of the Brooklyn Army Terminal with Turnstile Tours and Brooklyn Connections of the Brooklyn Public Library. Located on Sunset Park’s waterfront, we’ll tour this awe-inspiring complex with the history experts from Turnstile Tours to unearth the stories of the Terminal’s vital role during World War II and its transformation into a 21st century industrial park. Take home primary sources and lesson ideas that help students create fascinating connections between major historical themes and local history through the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Brooklyn Connections workshops are intended for educators and school administrators, and priority will be given to K-12 classroom teachers. All others will be accommodated pending availability. Brooklyn Connections is an approved NYSED Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) sponsor. This special accreditation enables educators to utilize Brooklyn Connections professional learning workshops toward fulfilling their mandated 100 hours of approved CTLE credits.
Chancellor’s Day at Brooklyn Army Terminal