Sunday, January 14th is a day of pride for the Puerto Rican community in North Brooklyn. It is the celebration of the feast of the Three Kings and there is […]
Posts by Author Archives: Geoff Cobb
Geoffrey Cobb is a Brooklyn high school history teacher and writer of the blog historicgreenpoint.wordpress.com. He has lived in Greenpoint for over 20years and is the author of a book on the history of the area, "Greenpoint Brooklyn's Forgotten Past."
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Amazing Philanthropist Who Founded Williamsburg’s First Public Schools
So many of the wealthy in today’s world are both so selfish and self-interested that it’s easy to believe that rich people do not think of those who have nothing. […]
Posted inUncategorized
January 9th: The Anniversary of the Great Fire that Destroyed the Domino Refinery in 1882
January 9th marks the one hundred thirty-sixth anniversary of one of the most destructive fires in North Brooklyn. On a frigid January night, the Havemeyer and Elder Refinery, which would […]
Posted inUncategorized
A 1910 Greenpoint Love Triangle: The Bride and Her Two Grooms
I am a high school teacher and historian—an expert in love and romance, I certainly am not, but I have heard from some local women looking to start a family […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A Short History of Noble Street
Noble Street is one of the shorter streets in Greenpoint, but though just two blocks long it still is one of the prettiest streets in our area. The folks on […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Williamsburg Bridge Celebrates its Hundred and Fourteenth Birthday Today! (Dec 19th)
Today (Tuesday, December 19th) marks the anniversary of the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903. The Bridge was opened on a Saturday and was one of the greatest celebrations […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
How a Local Bartender Stunned the Political World and Defeated The Corrupt “Sugar Senator”
In 1893, one of the greatest upsets in New York State electoral history occurred locally when a bartender defeated one of the most powerful men in Albany. I have written […]
Posted inCommunity
Marina Aris: Building a Writing Community in Greenpoint
I first met Marina Aris two years ago when she invited me to take part in Indie Writers Day at the Greenpoint Library. Marina immediately impressed me not only with […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Love in Greenpoint in Wartime: How an Italian Prisoner-of-War Won a Brooklyn Girl’s Heart
About a year ago, I wrote a story for Greenpointers about a Brooklyn Italian-American girl who fell in love with a captured Italian soldier during World War II while he […]
Posted inCommunity, News
Landmark Commission Approves Design for Domino Sugar Refinery
The architectural firm Practice for Architecture and Urbanism has finally succeeded in winning approval for the redesign of the Domino Sugar refinery on Kent Avenue. An earlier redesign proposal was […]