Prospect Park Waterways | Free Virtual Program | Episode 152

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Prospect Park Well House A one-story brick structure with windows and an ornamental portico painted in pastel colors and brown with trees in the background

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Join us for a virtual exploration of Prospect Park’s waterways. We will look closely at the ingenious drainage system and chain of manmade streams and ponds that terminate in Brooklyn’s largest lake, follow the park’s scenic watercourse, and go inside one of the most unique features of the park: the 1869 Wellhouse, the park’s last remaining building by park designer Calvert Vaux, which once housed the machinery that fueled the watercourse and was recently restored by the Prospect Park Alliance and converted into the first composting restrooms in a NYC park.

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Open House New York at Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Dry Dock 1 | Episode 151

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United States Coast Guard Cutter in a dry dock undergoing repairs in Dry Dock 1 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Celebrate Open House New York Weekend by joining us for a live virtual visit to the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s historic Dry Dock No. 1. Built in 1851, this New York City landmark is the third-oldest naval dry dock in the country, and it is still used for ship repair today. We will discuss its fascinating history, as well as learn about the Yard’s active working waterfront, which includes the largest ship repair facility in New York Harbor. This program is part of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s day-long series of live programs, including virtual visits to artists and manufacturers (see the full schedule), and check out pre-recorded virtual tours of other tenant businesses.

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Open House New York at Brooklyn Army Terminal | Episode 150

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View of the metal frames that span the two sides of Building B, a massive concrete industrial building with an atrium at the center that opens to the sky.

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

As Open House New York Weekend goes online this year, we are hosting a virtual visit to one of the most popular sites of the weekend, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, so join us for a live exploration of the site’s architecture, history, and industry. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert and built in 1918–1919, the Terminal is an architectural and engineering marvel that served as a major military installation for nearly 50 years. Today it is a city-owned industrial park that is home to over 100 businesses, and we will visit with some of the makers, manufacturers, and artists that occupy the buildings today, including FABSCRAP, SPark Workshop Brooklyn, and Uncommon Goods. This program is supported by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

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Lighting the Way: Staten Island’s National Lighthouse Museum | Episode 129

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

From the Civil War through the 1960’s, a site next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal served as the central depot supplying America’s lighthouses and Aids to Navigation. Join us for a virtual visit with historian Wade Goria to the National Lighthouse Museum, which tells the story of this essential service and the people, equipment, and structures that have kept America’s shipping channels safe.

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Lighter Life with David Sharps of the Waterfront Museum | Episode 102

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

The Lehigh Valley No. 79 covered barge shuttled cargo around New York Harbor from 1914 until sometime around the mid-1970s. David Sharps rescued this wooden barge in 1985, digging it out the mud, floating it, and renovating into a museum, performance space, and the home where he and his wife raised their daughters. We take an inside look inside this remarkable vessel and the remarkable institution that is The Waterfront Museum.

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Rocking The Boat: Changing Lives on the Bronx River | Episode 93

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

The Whitehall skiff, a style of boat developed in New York 200 years ago, has been changing the lives of teens in the Bronx for the last 20 years at a program called Rocking the Boat. Founder and Executive Director Adam Green joins us to discuss the Whitehall and the impact of youth development based on teaching with small boats that combines engineering, craft, rowing and sailing, and marine ecology.

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A Rose in Spanish Harlem: Gardening with Urban Garden Center | Episode 86

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Join us for a gardening demonstration and conversation with Dimitri Gatanas of the Urban Garden Center at La Marqueta, a third generation family-owned business in East Harlem. We’ll hear the story of his family’s business, which dates back to 1957, discuss generations of gardeners in the local community, learn some gardening tips, and virtually explore the Urban Garden Center’s 20,000-square-foot space.

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Virtual Visit to the 1661 Bowne House in Flushing, Queens | Episode 53

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Join us on a virtual exploration of the Bowne House (ca. 1661), the oldest building in Queens and second-oldest in New York State. Built by John Bowne, a Quaker who emigrated from England and eventually settled in Flushing, his fight for religious freedom was an important moment in American history that laid down principles later codified in the Bill of Rights. Now a museum, we will explore the house with a docent and its live-in caretaker, who will share stories of the house and its occupants from 1661 to 1945, when ownership of the private home transitioned from John Bowne’s descendants to the Bowne House Historical Society.

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