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A 9-YEAR-OLD HABITUAL DRUNKARD (1900)
A year ago today, the internet was abuzz with the story of a 9-year-old boy who drank, smoke pot, and was abusive to everyone. Bklyn Daily Eagle, 11 April 1885. Maybe scandalous in today’s world, but...
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HE SLAUGHTERED CATS (1896)
Haasen-pfeffer is a German dish best served hot. A traditional German rabbit stew, it was brought over to the US by immigrants. (Hase is German for “hare,” and pfeffer is German for “black pepper.”)...
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THE WILLIAMSBURG FIRE DEPT (1920)
From about the early 1920s, comes this black & white Throwback Thursday photograph of the “Men of Hook and Ladder 104 with a hook and ladder, 161-163 South Second Street,” superimposed on the top...
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THE FLIGHT OF MOSES MAY’S MAD COW (1865)
To celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, we have dug up an old story – one that ends with an Irishman. But don’t they always, you may ask, end up with an Irishman, in ainm Dé? Aye, they do. Now settle back, grab...
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A CHILD SNATCHING ON CLASSON (1875)
He was “large.” He was “repulsive looking.” And he wanted to steal a child. And so, when Michael Kelly, of No. 22 Franklin Avenue, heard the joyous amusements of a number of young children upon a stoop...
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FIRE, FUN & FIASCOES ON THE 4th (1887)
A lot of accidents happen on the 4th of July. While it has been a day of celebration for Americans since its inception, certain citizens have tended to go a bit too far with their fireworks and other...
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TRAPPED IN A BILLYBURG FREEZER (1902)
If you stepped into a walk-in freezer and the door slammed shut on you – how long do you think you could hold out? In this day and age, such a scenario certainly plays itself out on the mental movie...
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THREE MEN AND A PIG (1892)
(The setting of our story: The Eastern District of Brooklyn back in 1892 was a far more rural place that it is today. Comprised primarily of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and, parts of Stuyvesant Heights,...
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WONG SING BOW’S WHITE WIFE MINNIE (1877)
In 1886, the life that Wong Sing Bow had been building up for years began to crumble before his eyes. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Wong Sing had been born “a subject of the emperor of China.” But he had...
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BROOKLYN’S VANISHING STREET ART (2000)
Whether you liked the murals or not, they certainly bore witness to another time in our history, and existed, then, as an integral component of the neighborhood’s fabric. There were memorials to...
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REDEMPTION COMES FOR A BOY FIREBUG (1913)
(Ed.’s Note: A few weeks ago we received a letter from out of the blue. The writer claimed something fantastic – something astounding. It was a coincidence that spawned a story which gave life to an...
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THE DIRTY, JERKY, FOUL “L” TRAIN (1892)
In 1892, the “L” Train was killing Brooklynites. At least if you were to read Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World in the early 1890s, that’s the impression you would have gotten. The campaign that the...
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THE GHOST OF STUYVESANT HEIGHTS (1901)
“At last Stuyvesant Heights revels in the proud possession of a genuine haunted house.” This was back in 1901, when Stuy Heights was relatively young, the houses newish, and the ghosts scarce. But...
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A 9-YEAR-OLD HABITUAL DRUNKARD (1900)
A few years ago today, the internet was abuzz with the story of a 9-year-old boy who drank, smoke pot, and was abusive to everyone. Bklyn Daily Eagle, 11 April 1885. Maybe scandalous in today’s world,...
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THE “BRIDGE & TUNNEL” CROWD (1903)
In 1896, the “Bridge & Tunnel” hipster crowd took a giant leap forward. With the success of the Brooklyn Bridge – and its affect on the borough’s progress – long ago assured, construction on the...
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A CHILD SNATCHING ON CLASSON (1875)
He was “large.” He was “repulsive looking.” And he wanted to steal a child. And so, when Michael Kelly, of No. 22 Franklin Avenue, heard the joyous amusements of a number of young children upon a stoop...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FIRE, FUN & FIASCOES ON THE 4th (1887)
A lot of accidents happen on the 4th of July. While it has been a day of celebration for Americans since its inception, certain citizens have tended to go a bit too far with their fireworks and other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
THREE MEN AND A PIG (1892)
(The setting of our story: The Eastern District of Brooklyn back in 1892 was a far more rural place that it is today. Comprised primarily of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and, parts of Stuyvesant Heights,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
THE FLIGHT OF MOSES MAY’S MAD COW (1865)
To celebrate the cow loose in Prospect Park yesterday, we have dug up an old story about cows getting loose outside of their normal environs – which, back in old Brooklyn, were quite often our city...
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SUNSETTING ON A BED-STUY BOULEVARD (1909)
In 1909, a landmark was about to be destroyed. It was quite common, though, at the time for owners to tear down the antiquated wood-frame mansions that dotted Brooklyn’s skyline. Since the new...
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