by Geoff Cobb 
No one is sure when the bar that is now called the Capri Social Club (156 Calyer Street) actually opened, but it was sometime in the 1880’s. When you walk into the bar it’s not hard to imagine that you are back in the 1890’s because little has changed. The gorgeous dark woodwork, elegant old bar, the broken clock, dusty nicknacks and turn-of the-century large mirrors recall the…
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Thanks. That was very interesting.
On the same subject, do you have any information on the current Our Lady of the Snow Hall at 411 Graham Avenue. Was it once a Synagogue? Would appreciate any information.
Hi Sarah, I do not know if it was a synagogue. Usually, you can look at the architecture and get a sense if a building was once a house of worship. OUr Lady of the Snows has a hundred and twenty-five year history,
so it would have to be before then. Jews have had a congregation in Williamsburg since the 1850’s, but I cannot give you a definitive answer.
Yes, it was originally a synagogue. I am a member and have been told as much by the old-timers. I also did some research on it several years ago.
a friend and myself went to Murphy’s in the late sixties. As young women we were determined to be served at the bar. We were told many times that we would not be served. Is the picture of an older women over the bar still there? I believe it was Mrs. Murphy
Does anyone know anything about the Juanita club? My Grandfather lived in Greenpoint in the early 1900s and I have a picture of him in a group with that club sign. His name was Eugene Leon Pertin.
Sorry, never heard of it.
Donald……My understanding was that the Juanita Democratic Club was a political/social club that had a “clubhouse” at the intersection of DeKalb and Adelphi. The best source of information that I found on the subject was a story about club members that flocked to the North Fork for their summers ( https://www.academyprintingservices.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/PBSJuly2018_web_part_1.19064904.pdf ). I hope this link works. One of the persons mentioned was my grandfather, who was an early member of the group. I’ve been meaning to learn more about the club myself, and figured the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s archives would be the best source.
My great-great-grandfather, Peter Toy, was an officer of the Juanita Club, sometimes listed as the Juanida club or the Juanita Pleasure Club in the Brooklyn papers (Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Citizen, Standard Union, etc.). He was also a member of the Duffield Association, the Willoughby Association, and a founding member of the Coney Island Fishing Club.