The first Greenpointer was a woodworker: Norwegian immigrant, ship’s carpenter and master carpenter of the City of New Amsterdam, Dirck Volckertszen, built the first house here Near Franklin and Calyer […]
Tag: greenpoint history
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Heavy Metal: North Brooklyn’s Rich History of Casting Metals
There are few regions of New York City that can match North Brooklyn for its history of metal casting. Many of New York’s most iconic pieces of cast iron, steel […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Aaron Burr’s Scandalous Trysts in Greenpoint
With all of the praise surrounding Lin-Manuel Miranda’s extraordinary musical, “Hamilton,” it is not surprising that the man who killed him, the villain Aaron Burr, has also enjoyed something of […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A Stroll Down Historic Guernsey Street
Perhaps other blocks in Greenpoint have more elegant houses or more imposing churches, but no block has more beautiful trees than Guernsey Street, which runs parallel to the river between […]
Support Greenpointers
Greenpointers is free.
Members keep it that way.
Members keep it that way.
Your support funds local reporting on the issues shaping Greenpoint and Williamsburg. No paywall. Ever. Membership starts at $12/month.
Ad-free reading
Member newsletter
Community events
Store discounts
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
A Stroll Down Historic Calyer Street
Calyer Street has one of the most beautiful groups of landmark row houses in Greenpoint, where Calyer Street meets Clifford Place. These five Neo-Greek brick houses were built between 1879 […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
The History Behind Grand Republic: A Modern Bar With a Storied Name
One of the most atmospheric bars in Greenpoint is the quaint cocktail club Grand Republic (19 Greenpoint Ave.), and it’s a great place to enjoy a cocktail amongst nautically themed […]
Posted inNews
The Greenpoint Palaces’ Rebirth and Revitalization
When Greenpointers hear the word ‘change’ lately, they shudder. Many of the recent changes affecting local institutions have not been positive. Beloved stores have closed, landmarks have been demolished and […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Greenpoint’s Last Colonial Building: The Duryea House
The Duryea House, a 240-year-old Greenpoint landmark, was sadly destroyed in the days before New York awakened to its own history. The original colonial structure stood on the banks of […]
Posted inCulture
Mae West’s Gay Drama That Shocked 1920s America
Mae West was much more than a local-born movie star or even a sex symbol. She was a playwright, a woman decades ahead of her time in dramatizing questions of […]
Posted inNews
Sto Lat: 100 Years of Polish Independence and the End of World War I
“Sto lat” means 100 years in Polish and many Polish people will be celebrating the anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I this weekend. Sunday (11/11) marks the […]