Brooklyn History Center Reopens After Renovations

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — A "door" to Brooklyn's past reopened in Brooklyn Heights last week, with community space and thousands of archival photos, books and artifacts.

The Center for Brooklyn History, located at Pierrepont and Clinton streets, reopened Thursday after extensive renovations including a new open first floor and gift shop.

Collected over 157 years, the free space now holds a huge amount of Brooklyn history including: 36,000 books, 1,650 archival collections, 1,200 oral history interviews, 325,000 photographs, 2,000 maps, 5,700 artifacts and 300 paintings, according to a representative of Brooklyn Public Library.

"With the grand re-opening of the Center for Brooklyn History, we pledge to democratize history, to be radically inclusive, and to reflect the voices and experiences of Brooklynites from every generation and every walk of life,” said Heather Malin, Director, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library, in a statement.

In addition to the collections and a two-story reading room accented with stained-glass windows, the facility offer space for Brooklynites to study, work and hang out, according to a Brooklyn Public Library representative.

In honor of the re-opening, the center is creating a snapshot of Brooklyn's present-day with a participatory exhibit, "Brooklyn Is...".

Community members can contribute photos, memories, stories or just words to describe Brooklyn for the exhibit, which opened Thursday and will change continuously.

"It is our hope that through our extensive archives and connection to Brooklyn’s communities, we can use history to inspire change, further knowledge, and add richness to people’s daily lives," said Dominique Jean-Louis, Chief Historian, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library.