Brooklyn Historical Society Review

Letitica James is a candidate for NY Attorney General!

Lovely space in Brooklyn Heights. Has public programs and workshops for educators.

Attended a Free event for First Friday which is a new thing they are doing. Loved it! Meditation with a monk and a talk about the new DUMBO location. They also had magic shows and live music. Beer was allowed! Right now there is a must see Ellen exhibit about the history of African American people in Brooklyn. It really opened my mind. Excellent resources for looking up historical facts in the city. Meaning to do some research on my family history here. There is so thing so nostalgic and Victorian about this building that I really love. Lots of amazing, informative workshops coming up about the history as well as gentrification of the neighborhoods. Free movie events for the family. Something for everyone and this is a not to be missed tourist attraction, but a must see for all Brooklyn residents as well.

Accessible, and informative, the quality of the presentation of history was interesting and aesthetically pleasing.

The Brooklyn Waterfront exhibit at the DUMBO branch is extremely well done. It's good to see that the Brooklyn Historical Society is following the lead of other New York museums by promoting itself and its considerable treasures more.

They bring consistently good speakers in for only $5 a ticket and lend their space to a children's theater camp in the summer, and their building is beautiful. Nice people and a fine cause. Local treasure.

One of the Jewels of New York City cannot recommend too much. A must see, must visit!!

Pretty cool. We went as a part of a scavenger hunt.

Went to a Memorial service for a dear departed friend here... location is handicap accessible, has elevators...staff was very helpful and invisible. Lovely atmosphere.

They run wonderful programs, bring in great panelists on relevant topics.

Great place to visit. Christmas fair going on right now with great stuff to buy.

They have a Sickness and health exhibit which is quite informative; stop by..

Great source for historical information on Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Historical Society's "In Pursuit of Freedom" exhibit takes a retrospective and introspective look at black lives starting from the end of the American Revolution in 1783, through the Civil War in 1861 and Reconstruction era. The exhibit plots how Brooklyn transformed from a small agricultural town, to a mecca for business, which heavily relied on the labor of enslaved black people, while simultaneously eradicating their basic human rights, and preventing blacks from obtaining a proper education, housing, employment, and voting privileges. The theme of the exhibit focuses on the Brooklyn abolitionist movement, and centers around the lives of the first influential yet less prominent fore runners of said movement which included but were not limited to William J Wilson, Frederick Douglass, Maritcha Lyons and William and Willis Hodges, who demanded both political and legal equality for all African Americans, as well as cultural diversity. Part of the exhibit explores how one group of people were systematically "kept down" because they did not own property, and therefore could not vote, or even avoid being drafted for a war in a country that did not even consider them fully human. Yet several awe inspiring people broke barriers, and refused to be classified by these terms, laying the ground work for future generations.

Really nice and firm historical institution. I had a really nice time there. We can learn a lot by going there and we also get a lot of knowledge about our past history.Highly recommended for people who crave for knowledge and students.

Really nice building. In this summer the library and the one gallery on the second floor are closed. The hall is perfect and the gift store is good as well. It's a good place to support Brooklyn Historical Society. However, you don't need to schedule your time to visit it in the summer.

This Is A Beautiful Building (School) Meant To Cherish, Teach, Study, And Research The 400 Year History Of Brooklyn. In 1898, The Greater City of New York (Aka New York City) Was Established With The Five Boroughs Of Manhattan, Kings, Queens, Richmond, And The Bronx.

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Beautiful building. Could only look inside through the window. Wosh or was open. Woll re visit.

Found myself thinking a lot about this place today. One of the first places I'll go as soon as I get my second shot and it's open for visitors. Very good programming that reminds us of how historically rich our borough is.

It was calm and quiet and informative. A small museum with interesting exhibits. A cool way to plug into a Brooklinite mindset and gather history on the cultures that make up Long Island.

Love the local events and historical talks, along with exhibits.

Beautiful area area stuck in time. Love the fact that some are just rare to see

Beautiful building inside and out. There are various interesting exhibits spread across three floors and a small library.

When I visited, there was an exhibit on Brooklyn's humble beginnings and its history of slavery, stories on the sewers of the borough and the challenges of maintaining them, and recovered photographs showing a day in the life of Truman Capote.

The museum staff are extremely pleasant and helpful. Admission is pay-as-you-wish.

I went here a few years ago when the exhibit was about the slave trade in Brooklyn. It was excellent. This time I just needed the bathroom. The staff was gracious and let me use it. Then I went to the Transit museum but when I got there it was closing.

Awesome, beautiful library. Free admission for students!

If in NY go here! Small but very interesting museum with local history linked to national history. Civil war buffs and those looking at slavery, abolition and unions should go. Often small museums have more to offer than big ones.

Loved this museum during one of my many visits to NYC. It's exhibits are very well done and interesting as well.as educational. A worthy visit for anyone.

Currently offering holds pickup service only. Please check bklynlibrary.org for up to date information.

Small museum, but always interesting rotating exhibits and events. Highly recommend a visit.

Went there fir a workshop
It was great

Terrific historical facts and stories about the racial past of Brooklyn.

I always enjoy reliving the beautt of history gone by

Excellent exhibits, library, specialty shop and staff: a true tribute to historic and contemporary Brooklyn.

The building is a gem of a gem of a street. The museum is small in size, which is a good thing because it doesn't overwhelm. The exhbit that I saw about slavery in Brooklyn was creatively put together. The displays and commentary were excellent. I have a bone to pick about the Library upstairs. While the space is comfortable, it doesn't have enough outlets for computers. My experience is that the librarians don't answer their emails in a timely fashion, if indeed they answer them. And their archival collections have been unavailable for quite some time. So researchers--be warned!!!

Interesting interactive exhibits. Don't miss the Prospect Park History section in the basement. Great, diverse artist's market on Saturday.

Educational Museum that provides patrons with the History of Brooklyn.

Very educational, cozy and grand at the same time. Warm staff, cool new exhibition on display the day we visited on health and sickness in Brooklyn, and on Muslims in Brooklyn; but it is a small museum and so not much to see, but I definitely recommend a visit. There is a suggested fee, which we paid, but it's donation based.

Interesting and educational exhibits. Friendly and helpful staff.

I spent four hours poring through old photos of Brooklyn and, to be honest, I plan to go back soon. Staff is attentive and helpful and the library is GORGEOUS. Go spend an afternoon so you can see for yourself!

Great exhibits. Beautiful architecture and make sure you see the library

Such a hidden treasure. The Brooklyn historical society does an amazing job with the space that they have to work with. Will definitely return.
Must see: the library

This is a very small museum with a lot of history about Prospect Park starting with George Washington fighting the British, slavery, and ending up with the present. Well worth the visit. They have suggested admission. It is an excellent museum for teachers to see with their students.

Beautiful museum that shows the history of Brooklyn.

Beautiful! The Library is outstanding. They don't make 'em like that anymore...!

Great museum and lots of programs for all different interests. Good podcasts also.

I had a wonderful experience looking at all of the historical this that were in Brooklyn.

fresh, relevant, vibrant organization, representing both our roots and our futures.
now 2 locations!

Always plenty to see, learn, & plenty of intriguing people. Nicest staff

This place is absolutely one of my favorite places in New York City. Whether it's the massive library of non-digitized old Brooklyn documents, the running and permanent exhibits of Brooklyn history, the hip little gift shop or the free nights of beer and talks you get when you sign up as a member! We can't all come here but we should! Wife and I are very proud members and will remain so for as long as possible!

This was a nice, unexpected, find while meandering around Brooklyn.

The space is a bit hidden but if you happen to glance and see the signs, definitely pop in for a walk through

The museum is donation based (aka free), so that's always a plus. It appears to be an old home rehabilitated as a exhibition area. Each floor has a specific focus, there are four floors in all but the last level is basically administration offices.

The exhibitions were nice enough, but not very interactive or expansive. The main idea is to just walk around and read the blurbs on different artifacts. The main draw was the library on the second floor but unfortunately it has limited hours and it was closed when we went (major bummer!)

Overall, It's worth a gander if you happen upon it, but I wouldn't go out of the way to get here. If I find myself in the area again, I'll try to get in and peer through the library, again only if convenient.

My friends and I were there to very happy is a nice place and the concert was fantastic I don't know about you but I love the opera

Always provocative, well designed exhibitions. Great staff. A Brooklyn gem

We enjoyed both exhibitions on the Brooklyn waterfront, at DUMBO and at Pierrepont.

I've always liked this place. Part archive, part lecture hall, part museum, with just a touch of Hogwarts about it. A great place to learn the history of Brooklyn, and the surrounding city, in an environment that's a bit less distant than a pure museum.

Great exhibit for Black History Month! No general brooklyn history exhibit, but worth a visit!

Interesting and absorbing, but would be nice if it had more of the oddball and less of the excessively curated.