The philosopher George Santayana once famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I do not know if Santayana ever visited our area, but Santayana’s […]
Tag: Williamsburg History
‘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 […]
Groundbreaking Williamsburg Female Physician: Mary Crawford
Today female physicians are the norm, but in 1908 when Mary Crawford became Brooklyn’s first female ambulance surgeon at Williamsburg Hospital people were shocked and her male colleagues were outraged. […]
A History of Greenpoint Piers
There is no more important geographical feature of Greenpoint than our waterfront defined by piers, wharves and docks, so let us take a moment and examine in more detail the […]
Maria Stewart: America’s ‘First Black Woman Political Writer’ Who Taught in Williamsburg
As we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month its time to recall that one of the early giants of both the Abolitionist movement and the women’s movement lived […]
The Unlikley Story Behind Williamsburg’s Washington Statue
These last bone-chilling, frigid days have been hard to bear, but these freezing days have reminded me of the horrible cold the Continental Army endured during the darkest moments of […]
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, […]
North Brooklyn Is Home to One of America’s Oldest Mosques
I had often walked by the inconspicuous former church at 104 Powers St. near the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, yet I never noticed the sole sign that this was […]
Ben Shahn: Williamsburg’s Greatest Artist Ever?
Ben Shahn’s name today is obscure, but Shahn was perhaps one of the greatest artists ever to come out of Williamsburg. Born in Lithuania, Shahn grew up in the Southside […]
Williamsburgs’ Enchanted Fillmore Place and the Author Who Immortalized the Street
Thanks in large part to the writings of celebrated author Henry Miller and the stately Italianate houses on the street, Fillmore Place were landmarked in 2009 and will forever […]