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Raise your hand if you think social halls should be brought back 🙋🏼‍♀️. Here are some lesser known social halls that were located in Park Slope. The social hall heyday seems to have been the 1890s but by the 1910s they were already fizzling out. Photos 1-3: Columbia Hall located at 725 Union Street (this is allegedly where Al Capone was dancing the night he got his scars circa 1918). The side of the building still houses the name, although it must have been buried under layers of paint because in the 1940s (photo 3) there was a different sign painted over it. Photo 4-6: Arvena Hall located at 9th Street and 6th Avenue. This was started by Edward P. Day and built around 1892 (Source: Save the Slope blogspot). Cool fact: someone commented in the Save the Slope that the G atop the cornice is a freemason symbol (typically a G found in the center of a square and compasses represents “Geometry and God” to highlight the connection of science and divinity… ah, science remember that?). Photos 7-9: The Carlton/Carleton Club existed on St. Marks and 6th Avenue and operated from 1881-1907. It opened before the the Montauk Club (which was founded in 1889) and was apparently started by members of the Carlton Club, who split off, partially because they were’t thrilled with the lack of alcohol served at the Carlton Club. Comment below if you know of other Park Slope social halls!

Al Capone spent formative years on Garfield Place between 4th and 5th Avenue in Park Slope. He attended P.S. 133 down on Butler Street and his family lived in several houses on the block. According to census records, they first rented an apartment at 21 Garfield Place (1907-1915) photo 3/8, then 46 Garfield Place (1915-1917) photo 5/8 and finally 38 Garfield Place (1918-1920) photo 4/8. A photo that drives me nuts is 6/8, supposedly taken on Garfield Place in front of a pool hall Al used to go to. According to author Troy Taylor, the address for this was 20 Garfield Place (directly across from their first apartment). Now there are condos there but even in the 1940s, this address does not match the photo of the pool hall (photo 7/8). There are a few buildings on the block that could potentially be it based on their facade, but I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure where it was. If you want to be a detective go to my bio and search the block for old photos from the 1940s. Also, the famous scar that Al got? Legend has it that he got the scar in Coney Island at the Harvard Inn when Al complimented Frank Galuccio’s sister’s derriere. The truth? Much less exciting. It seems he was knifed in the neighborhood outside 725 Union Street (8/10). The source of this misconception is unknown - who knows, maybe Al concocted it himself as a bar fight is more exciting than getting jumped. #alcapone #oldbrooklyn #oldnyc #nychistory #themob #italianmafia #brooklyn #parkslope #brooklynhistory #brooklynrealestate #mafia #nyc #history

Garfield Place in Park Slope has an awesome vestige of the past on its sidewalk. I found these family members listed as living at 65 Garfield Place in the 1930 census as the 10 children of John Guadagno (spelling?). In the 1930 census, Olga was the youngest and listed as 2 years old. Gloria was 5, Mary was 6, Philip was 7, Angelina was 12, Antoinette was 13, Michael 15, Pasquale 18, Joseph 19 and Anthony 22. There are some other names in the cement (Sal, Frank, Fay and Marie who were likely neighbors or friends). The father John Guadagno is listed as owning the home (one of the few who did on this strip of the block) and immigrating to America in 1902. He is listed as being a veteran and working in the trucking industry. I love that when the sidewalk got replaced they made sure to transfer names that were on the old cement to the new blocks (photo 8). The entire black is listed as either being born in New York or Italy. This happens to be the same block that Al Capone and his family lived on in three separate locations in the early 1900s. In city records, I found them living at 21 Garfield Place from 1907-1915, 46 Garfield Place from 1915-1917 and 38 Garfield Place 1918-1920. I’ll do a more in depth post about Al soon! #brooklyn #brooklynhistory #alcapone #parkslope #parkslopebrooklyn #sidewalk #nychistory #walking #lookdown #1930

Let’s talk about windows! The first picture shows a diagram of some basic window parts. The next photos show you how to name windows based on the number of panes per sash and some helpful diagrams. Very generally speaking, the fewer the panes, the newer the house would be (as technology improved, larger and larger pieces of glass were able to be used). For example, in the 1700s, 12 over 12 would have been common but by the early 1800s, 6 over 6 were common and by the mid-1800s, 4 over 4 were common. That being said, this method of dating a window/home doesn’t really work. Many homes in Brooklyn have redone their windows since the home was built so the sashes are not original. Also, when replacing the sashes some homeowners have opted for multi-paned windows when there was originally only a single pane because they like the older look. As if that doesn’t make it hard enough, Colonial style homes from the early 1900s would have smaller panes though they were no longer needed to match the colonial style of the 1700s. So more panes does not necessarily mean older. You can spot a cheaper replica of the multi-paned style by noticing if the muntins are on the inside of the window (in between two panes) like in photo 6. I’d love to know if there are companies that make multi-paned windows where there are still multiple panes of glass. Please comment below if you have the answer! (Photo credits: 7 is from WarrenWindows.com and 8 is from TheSpruce.com) #nycarchitecture #brooklynbrownstone #townhouse #nychomes #brooklynhomes #brooklynheights #windows #brooklyn #brooklynhistory #nyc #nychistory #oldnyc #oldny #architecture

Because words are fun to know! Here are some terms that can help you describe the beautiful townhouses you see in Brooklyn, like this cheery one spotted in Carroll Gardens. And stay tuned for my next post about window terminology. Yes, these are things we get excited about in our 30s and beyond! #brooklyn #townhouse #nycarchitecture #nychomes #architecture #nychistory #brooklynhistory #nycphotography #oldhomes #oldnyc #carrollgardens #carrollgardensbrooklyn

I believe 324 5th Ave where the @stoneparkcafe is housed is one of the older buildings in Park Slope. Though the city tax records say it was built in 1925, I believe it was built sometime just before 1869 (these tax record dates for Brooklyn are often wrong). Why do I think this? First off, the Dripps map from 1869 (photo 3) shows a building on this site as well as several of the plots next to it on 5th Ave. Secondly, there is a photograph from the 1870s (photo 4) that I believe shows this same building in the background. The photo is of the original old stone house, whose location was closer to where the baby swings are today and at a 90 degree different angle. The original old stone house was built in 1699 and demolished around 1897. In this photo you can see the Stone Park Cafe building with the same cornice and original windows (some of which are now boarded up). The buildings to the right of the old stone house are showing the backs of buildings that no longer exist (beyond them would be where @TheGate is located, which wouldn’t have been built yet). Photo 5 shows 324 5th Ave in 1940 when the elevated train went over 5th Ave. Photo 6 is the building in the 1980s. #oldnyc #oldbrooklyn #brooklyn #nychistory #oldstonehouse #oldmap #oldmaps #oldphoto #oldphotos #nycthenandnow #throwback #nycphotographer #nycparks

Visiting Woodstock, NY. Legend has it that around 1963 Bob Dylan would have spent time at the Café Espresso (opened in 1962) and above it on the 2nd floor (in “the White Room” that faced Tinker Street). He allegedly wrote songs like “It Ain’t Me Babe” from The Other Side of Bob Dylan (released in 1964) here. Cafe Espresso closed in the 1980s. A part of it was brought back to life in 2022 or 2023 but it seems it has closed as there is now a cupcake shop there. Dylan lived with his family in Woodstock from around 1966-1969. Ironically, they moved to NYC for more privacy in 1970 (hippies kept visiting his home) to 94 MacDougal Street. There someone kept going through his trash and eventually the family moved to Malibu. (Photo Credits: interior of Cafe Espresso from estate of Pierre Paturel, photo of Dylan is from Elliot Landry] #woodstock #woodstockny #rockandroll #bobdylan #acompleteunknown #legendary #nyhistory #cafeespresso #caféespresso

I’ve always wondered what this building was on the corner of Governor’s Island. The other day I was driving through the Battery Tunnel and looking at the route and saw how close the tunnel got to Governor’s Island, which got me wondering if this building was connected to the tunnel… Sure enough, this is one of four ventilation buildings for the Hugh L. Carey (aka Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnel. This building (along with the three others - two located in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn) contains dozens of giant fans which pull vehicle emissions out and replace the tunnel’s air every ninety seconds (!). The Governors Island ventilation structure sits above the midpoint of the tunnel and at the tunnel’s lowest point. This building, along with the Battery Tunnel, was damaged by Hurricane Sandy and it now has a new flood wall around it. [photo credits: 1 is from Flickr, 2 is Googlemaps, 3 is from the website: pci.org]

Every time I go to @historicgreenwood Cemetery I fall in love with it all over again. Today I ended up by the Chapel, which was open (there’s even a lovely bathroom in there) and discovered this mysterious box in front of the main doors. The box said “Detex Watch Clock Station” and had an old key inside. When I searched this term some answers on reddit came up with a good explanation. It was likely a key that a nightwatchman or patrol person would use. The nightwatchmen who would patrol the cemetery could show that they were at a location at a certain time by inserting the numbered key into a clock mechanism - possibly like the one in picture 6 that had some sort of paper recording tape inside. Picture 3 shows a small #1 on one side of the key. That would prove they were at a certain location at a certain time - sort of like a punch card. Way to keep ‘em honest while they’re supposed to be doing their rounds! If this is true, my guess is these would have been at different locations throughout the cemetery. If anyone can confirm this or has seen other key stations like this in Greenwood Cemetery please comment below! [Photo credit: the picture of the watch clock was posted by reddit member civex]

The original Domino Sugar Factory was built from 1882-1884 and ran until 2004. It was one of the first buildings to use electricity in Brooklyn and after its 11 year renovation, it is now a net zero carbon emissions building - it’s run fully on electric. While the renovation is stunning IMO, the building’s history is less so. The Havemeyers profited of slave labor in the 1850s when they opened their first refinery in Williamsburg (most of their imported raw sugar came from the Caribbean and American South). They also committing tax fraud and were known for having terrible work conditions in their refinery. @greenpointers reported, “No one really knows how many workers died or were maimed inside the plant because the Havemeyer brothers who ran the plant allowed no outside visitors into the refinery, fearing that people would expose the horrors that went on inside. Men dropped dead because of the infernal heat and humidity by the score, while others were maimed without being paid a penny in compensation.” [Photo credits: Pictures 2 & 3 are from the Greenpointers article (courtesy of Jason Eppink/Flickr and Doug Letterman/Flickr respectively). Photo 4/4 is from @secret_nyc ]

Loved these light fixtures at @kegandlantern in Red Hook. If you’re wondering what the glass piece was it’s called a pin insulator. These sit on top of power or telephone poles. The wires are usually wrapped around them (see pic 5) and they prevent the wire from touching things it shouldn’t. The company that made this pin insulator was Whitall & Tatum. According to Wikipedia, the Whitall & Tatum company was one of the first glass factories in the United States operating from 1808-1938 (when it was purchased by another glass company). Whitall & Tatum company started producing pin insulators like the one seen in the light fixtures in 1922. [photo 5 was from @etsy and photo 6 is from @wikipedia ]

I’ve always loved these two firehouses on 11th Street in Park Slope. My dad was a captain for a few years in the 1990s at Ladder 122 and I once got to slide down the pole in the back. The one on the left was built from 1882-1883 and the one on the right was built in 1906. You can see how the architectural styles changed a lot throughout these periods (left is Gothic Collegiate style, right is Beaux-Arts according to Suzanne Spellen from @brownstoner .) You may have noticed that some fire houses say Engine and some say Ladder. Ladder companies are the ones whose truck has an expensive pull out ladder on top. They usually lead search and rescue missions, help with ventilation of smoke on the roof, and force open windows and doors. Engine companies are the ones with the big hoses that attach to the fire hydrant and they directly attack the fire. Sometimes you’ll see an Engine and Ladder company right next to each other like these two but not always. Engine 220 was almost shut down in 2011 due to budget cuts but the community fought against that and thankfully prevailed.