“PEACE” COMES TO STUYVESANT EAST (1921)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** In 2014, The Brownstone Detectives partnered with the New York City Parks Department to help celebrate the lives of the servicemembers of Bedford-Stuyvesant Heights who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War. We researched these heroes to locate pictures, stories, and their descendants to be brought together for a ceremony that dedicated a new “Victory and Peace” war memorial at Saratoga Park. ******************************************************************************************************************************** After nearly three years of mourning, Stuyvesant East was ready to remember its dead in a very public way. On 11 September 1921, after neighbors in the eastern section of Stuyvesant Heights had spent two years collecting the $6,000 necessary to defray the cost of a war memorial, the Victory and Peace statue was finally delivered to Saratoga Square. With great pomp and circumstance, amid a good deal of political speech-making and the delivery of grandiose eulogies and war veterans celebrating the war’s end, the 6-ton war memorial, sculpted by James Novelli, was unveiled at the Saratoga Avenue entrance to the Saratoga Square in front of more than 3,000 witnesses. “The eastern end of the park had been appropriately decorated with the monument draped in large American flags which at the presentation were dropped by two servicemembers presenting to view the ten-foot Milford granite memorial.” Revealed was […]
A PROHIBITION WRECK ON ORANGE ST (1922)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** “Tearing through Orange st. with the throttle wide open, in the early hours this morning, a big limousine of expensive make crashed into an electric light pole at the foot of the street, ricocheted against a fire hydrant which it completely demolished, continued on its course and crashed through an eight-foot picket fence.” A flirtation at a dance, a stolen vehicle, a crash, the removal of a set of license plates, and a hasty departure from the scene of the accident was further described in the 12 December 1922 newspaper article. “CRASH WAKENS HEIGHTS” “A blood-stained hand pushed open the door of the limousine. Two gory men stepped out,” wrote the reporter. The two men “then turned and assisted a woman out of the car. They climbed over the wall to the street and stood huddled in a little group as if debating what to do.” After a few minutes of dazed waiting, the three crash victims walked quickly up Orange Street. Then, a few minutes later, one of the men was observed returning and making “a vain effort to wrench the rear license plate from the car.” All that he succeeded in doing, though, was leaving “a number of bloody but well-defined fingerprints on the license number.” A WOMAN APPEARS […]
THE BOY WHO COULDN’T MEND (1914)
Some criminals just cannot reform. Young Raymond “Angel Face” Beck was a good example. 100 years ago today, the 14-year-old Brooklyn boy was pawning stolen silverware on Atlantic Avenue when the police happened into the pawn shop. NO JUVENILE ASYLUM BUILT COULD HOLD THE “ROBBER CHIEF” Known mostly for his escapes from “prison,” at the time, Raymond Beck, “son of well-to-do parents of 7 Cypress Avenue,” and a self-described “Robber Chief,” had broken out of the Dobbs Ferry Juvenile Asylum a total of four times by 1914. Each time young Beck, “blue-eyed, fair-haired and innocent-looking,” made a B-line directly for Brooklyn and the houses of new victims. Beck would make a career of illegal activity and escaping asylums and reform schools throughout his life. The newspapers are replete with his stories of burglaries and escapes at least through the mid-1920s, when he would finally disappear from the news. But, for the majority of this period, whenever the name Raymond Beck was mentioned in the papers, Brooklynites locked their doors and hid their valuables, as there was a good chance they’d end up in his possession. “ANGEL FACE” RETURNS TO BROOKYLN After the “boy burglar” had most recently been paroled in 1914, he ended up in Brooklyn once again – this time in the parlor of Edward A. Peterson of 567 Eighth Street in Park Slope. Now, Peterson did not know “Angel Face,” but that was not only because the two had never been introduced. Beck simply arrived at Peterson’s home […]
BANNING NEW YORK’S ASSAULT WEAPONS (1926)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Back during the Roaring ’20s, there was an assault weapon on every corner – or at least that was how it seemed. New York began to see the widespread use during these years of “Tommy” guns (machine guns), and sawed-off shotguns, which were freely available and useful in committing the crimes that joined the Mafia and Prohibition at the hip. A manager in the gun department of “one of the most conservative and long-established sporting goods stores” in New York City, Schoverling, Daly & Gales, noted that these types of weapons were sold without the necessity of a permit. “Although any well-established and reliable concern would take the same precautions that we do to see that these weapons do not get into the wrong hands, there are hundreds of fly-by-night small stores throughout the city where these things are sold without a permit and without any precaution except to get the price,” noted this gun salesman. Officials of the time were clearly aiming at protecting the public with their proposed weapons bans of the period, especially where it involved “inter-gang warring.” “The light Thompson sub-automatic…can be had in a number of stores on payment of the price – $500,” said the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “A citizen who wishes to have a […]
THE WILLIAMSBURG FIRE DEPT (1920)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** From about the early 1920s, comes this black & white Throwback Thursday photograph of the “Men of Hook and Ladder 104 with a hook and ladder, 161-163 South Second Street,” superimposed on the top of a Google Map (courtesy Department of Records and Google Maps). The second pic shows the same men in front of their engine house. The firehouse was established at this exact location in 1885 and exists to this day there. Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
A CARIBBEAN HISTORY OF BED-STUY (2014)
“There is more serendipity in heaven and earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in your philosophy.” Although that is not an exact quote from Shakespeare, it is close enough for my purposes. It very adequately lends a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to a chance experience I had a few years ago here in Bedford-Stuyvesant. FINDING AUNT CAR It was 2014, I found a posting on a genealogical site by a woman searching for information about a relative of hers named Caroline Gill. Since, at that time, I had been researching the lineage of my home – a 120-year-old brownstone in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn – I knew that one of the previous owners of my house went by that name, so my interest was piqued. I responded to the APB-like message and gave what information I had, hoping for an exchange. As it turned out, that poster, Stacey Maupin Torres, had more information about Caroline than I had ever found. This she began to share with me in what can only be described as pages of beautifully descriptive prose. I could tell that there was love in her words and I consumed them with an avid interest. In one of her emails, though, she casually mentioned some information that I was sure that she didn’t know I already possessed. She told me that her “Aunt Car” had lived in a beautiful old brownstone at 738 Macon Street in Brooklyn – the house my husband and I had been living in for […]
A BROOKLYN CHRISTMAS TREE PROJECT (1927)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** What did Brooklyn boys and girls do on Christmas morning in 1927? Well, they probably opened a present or two, played with their toys, frowned at their new underwear, and such. But later on when the kids had played their toys out – or, in poorer families, if there weren’t many toys to give out to children, the ever-diligent Brooklyn Daily Eagle‘s Junior Eagle section had a cut-out project with which such children could amuse themselves. No, it was not a Red Ryder BB gun, (those wouldn’t be introduced for another ten years), but it was something, and it must have worked as such projects were often included in the pages of this newspaper throughout the year. And it is amazing what occupied childrens’ minds back then. So, try it – if you like – this Christmas. Click on the picture and follow the directions. You never know. “Cut out the trees. Crease on dotted lines and paste the four together, each at right angles to the other, as shown in the sketches.” Follow @BrownstoneDetec Share ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books […]
WHERE WAS THIS PICTURE TAKEN? PT. II (1924)
Junior Brownstone Detectives! In last week’s episode, “Where Was This Picture Taken, Pt. I,” we challenged you to a task of monumental proportions: “Study an historic photograph and determine where in Brooklyn it was taken.” As you’ll recall, while the photograph had some distinguishing elements in it, the location of the subject was not immediately discernible. Each of the elements therein could have been found within any of the sections of the borough. We decided, though, that studying the elements of the picture itself, along with just a bit of information about the individual within the picture, we might determine, with great specificity, exactly where the photograph was taken. Today, we are going to review some sources that the Brownstone Detectives use on a daily basis to solve everyday dilemmas such as this one. AN HISTORICAL DETECTIVE’S TOOLKIT Where do we begin when attempting to determine the Brooklyn location of an old photograph? There are a number of resources that can be of use in any mystery such as this. For the particular one we’ve presented you with, though, we will list the resources that we often use and show you how to use them in attempting to find a solution: Ancestry.com – If you have a name connected with the subject in the photo, as we did, this is always a good place to begin your search. At Ancestry.com, using the search function, place any names that you have into the engine, and then see what pops up. With […]
WHERE WAS THIS PICTURE TAKEN? (1924)
Calling all junior Brownstone Detectives! Today we have a mystery for you to solve! We invite you to come along with us as we grapple with another enigma – discerning the exact source and location of a common celluloid snapshot! EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE Have you ever come across an old family photograph and wondered when and where it was taken? You study the dog-eared snapshot and a few things immediately stand out: • A woman leans against an iron fence. • Behind her is a distinct-looking row of buildings. • A streetcar whizzes by in the background. Not much to go on, you decide, and so you think, “There must be thousands of places where this could have been taken!” And there are. But there are also many ways of whittling that list of places down and possibly even finding the exact spot where your family member (and the photographer) stood when that picture was taken. And all it really takes is a little deductive reasoning, my dear Watson! So, put on your junior Brownstone Detectives caps, set your brains to “quizzical,” and let’s go on an adventure together – through Brooklyn of the “Roaring ’20s”! ANALYZING THE CLUES First of all, we must analyze the clues we’ve listed above. Since this is a family member, we already have some background information about the woman in the picture. The woman is your great-grandmother, Sarah Bilson, and she was married to Harris Bilson. They had two kids, one of which was […]
THE NAMING OF A CLINTON HILL HOUSE (1850)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** When a house becomes commonly referred to by the owning family’s name, it can be expected that this family 1) built the house, 2) had lived there for some time, or 3) were well-known in the city. Robert Jackson (R.J.) Kimball embodied two of these indicators (No.’s 2 & 3). The Kimballs lived at No. 436 Clinton Avenue since the mid 1880s, and R.J., himself, was very well known. He was an active socialite who rose to build his fortune through banking and real estate. A senior member of the firm, R.J. Kimball & Co., a member of the stock exchange since 1866, and a trustee of the Pratt Institute, his name was very well-known throughout New York City and Brooklyn. Although Kimball passed in 1903, his wife continued to own the house until she sold it in 1921. 436 CLINTON ENTERS A NEW ERA In 1921, after the house had been vacant for a few years, a man by the name of Alfred H. Bromell of No. 59 Livingston Street, noticed the abandoned structure. Probably recognizing it for its value and status as a residence, he purchased the house and large lot. The plot was described as “60X200, which extended back to Vanderbilt av., where there is a garage,” and […]
