The Wythe Hotel at North 11th Street and Wythe Avenue is a symbol of cool in trendy Williamsburg. The building is a combination of old and new, with a three […]
Tag: History
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Story Behind Brooklyn’s Iconic Water Tanks
PARIS has its world famous Eiffel Tower. Pisa, of course has its leaning tower and London has its ancient tower. What about New York? We have towers, too, but here, […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Greenpointer Who Led a Prison Break from Sing-Sing
For years his wanted poster had hung in the Meserole Avenue Police station, but there was not a trace of Charles Bergstrom to be found. Bergstrom was wanted for being […]
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 inArt
Amazing Photos of the Domino Sugar Refinery on Display Until January 14th
There’s been a lot of activity and news lately about the iconic Domino Sugar Factory on the Williamsburg waterfront. Our own historical writer Geoff Cobb recently published a new book […]
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
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 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 […]