Greenpoint Open Studios is the weekend of June 8th and 9th and is a special time in the area as about 400 artists open their studios to thousands of art […]
Tag: not forgotten greenpoint
Posted inUncategorized
Are We Ready to Celebrate Walt Whitman as Brooklyn’s Gay Poet?
This week all over Brooklyn, there will be celebrations honoring Walt Whitman. With the 200th anniversary of the birth of Brooklyn’s greatest poet, one has to ask the question: Was […]
Posted inCulture
Hollywood Legend Mickey Rooney’s Greenpoint Roots
Few people today might recognize him by his real name, Joe Yule Jr., but the boy born in 1920 at 696 Leonard Street would become an Academy Award winner […]
Posted inCulture
A History of Gardens in Brooklyn’s “Garden Spot”
Greenpoint has a nickname, “The Garden Spot,” which was given at a time when our area was truly a bucolic haven. Although it later became one of the most industrial […]
Posted inNews
Getting Local History Right and Correcting Egregious Errors
Being a local historian, I acknowledge that all of us make mistakes. The problem is when mistakes in local history become fossilized over years and people accept these errors as […]
Posted inCulture
How Local Musicians Became Part of Baseball Folklore
When you speak to anyone who was a Dodger fan you feel their love for the team and the wound they felt when the team left for Los Angeles. The […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
How McGuinness Boulevard Was Created
Maybe it is just me, but I find McGuinness Boulevard ugly. Huge trucks and streams of traffic wiz by the four-laned, soulless traffic artery. The newer apartment buildings lack […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
‘Smiling’ Mickey Welch: The Hall of Fame Baseball Pitcher from Williamsburg
Tens of thousands of men have played professional baseball, but only a few have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. One of those rare individuals is pitcher […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
The First Professional Baseball Player Began in Williamsburg
Today Al Reach is largely a forgotten figure here in North Brooklyn where he began his baseball career, But Reach not only became the first openly professional baseball player in […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint
Where Do The Names of Williamsburg Streets Come From?
The longest street in Brooklyn and the road that runs through the heart of Williamsburg is Bedford Avenue. The 10.19 mile-long street got its name from the village of Bedford, […]