Greenpoint became home to five industrial “black arts” in the 19th century, and one of those black arts was glass production. (Printing, pottery making, oil refining, and cast iron manufacturing are the […]
Category: Historical Greenpoint
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Greenpoint’s Long, But Forgotten African-American History
It’s Black History Month when we celebrate African-American contributions to our country, but many born and raised Greenpointers who pride themselves on knowing local history would be shocked to learn […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A History of Greenpoint in 25 Buildings: St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
Perhaps no local building defines Polish Greenpoint than St. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 607 Humboldt Street. St Stanislaus Kostka is home to the largest Polish Catholic congregation in Brooklyn. Each […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Day Greenpoint Wrote a Chapter in American History
On January 30, 1862 the most important event that ever happened locally occurred. Greenpoint wrote its name in the history book when a ship was launched here that not only […]
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Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Pristine Beauty of Greenpoint? Or How Our Area Looked Before Industrialization
Today Greenpoint is a densely populated urban neighborhood, whose remaining factory buildings bear silent witness to its past as one of the largest centers of industrialization in America. However, Greenpoint […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Native American Greenpoint
Looking around Greenpoint today, it’s hard to imagine that this area of high rises and former factories was ever different, but three hundred and fifty years ago Greenpoint was the […]
Posted inNews
Greenpoint Loses a Legend: Hugh Reid (1927-2017)
Hugh Reid, who helped bury the dead of Greenpoint for generations, himself finally succumbed to death himself last Thursday, just short of his ninetieth year. I was lucky enough to […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A Greenpointer who Survived Pearl Harbor
Last year on December 7th marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of one of the most momentous days in American history—the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, in which more than two thousand four hundred […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
North Brooklyn History: Creating McCarren Park
We take the green space that today is McCarren Park for granted, but it was not always a park. Once the ground that the park now occupies had its own […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Bad Boys of the Past: The Notorious Gangs of North Brooklyn History
Think that North Brooklyn was a safer place back in the good old days? Think again! In the second half of the 19th century, North Brooklyn had many notorious gangs […]