The headlines said: “The Palace Café in Greenpoint is closing its doors on Saturday September 3rd after eighty-three years,” but whoever wrote those headlines was certainly no Greenpointer. Although a […]
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 inEnvironmental
Raccoons Invade Greenpoint
Last week my pleasant stroll down Franklin Street was interrupted by a horrible sight—a dead raccoon lay just in front of me on the sidewalk. The raccoon, who measured about […]
Posted inUncategorized
A History of Greenpoint in 25 Buildings: The Capri Social Club
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 […]
Posted inUncategorized
When Franklin Roosevelt Campaigned in Greenpoint
In 1932 New York State Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt was running for president as the nominee of the Democratic Party. The country had been in the throes of the Great […]
Posted inUncategorized
Wikipedia’s Errors about Famous Greenpoint Residents
I was recently looking at the Wikipedia entry on Greenpoint and it incorrectly lists two famous people as Greenpointers: the notorious bank robber Willie Sutton and the great twentieth century […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint, Uncategorized
100 Years Ago: Greenpoint’s Greatest Art Exhibit Ever?
A fascinating story in the December 12, 1917 Brooklyn Daily Eagle explained that almost a century ago our local library hosted a blockbuster art show of Greenpoint artists. It is too […]
Posted inUncategorized
The ABC’s of Greenpoint Street Names: How Your Street Got Its Name
You might wonder about the origins of the name of the street you live on. Neziah Bliss, the patriarch of Greenpoint, had the streets surveyed in the 1840’s. He named the […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint, Reading, Uncategorized
Top 10 Summer Reads About Greenpoint
Want some Summer reading about our neighborhood? Here’s a list of books related to Greenpoint. People ask me how I researched my account of local history Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
A History of Greenpoint in 25 Buildings: The Huron Street Public Bath
It’s hard to imagine today, but in 1903 when the Huron Street Bath was opened to the public the vast majority of Greenpoint tenement apartments did not have showers or […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint, Culture, Historical Greenpoint, Uncategorized
You Gotta See It Once! The Amazing Giglio Feast!
If you have lived in North Brooklyn for any amount of time and have never seen the Giglio—you don’t know what you are missing. This celebration of Italian culture is […]