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Pennsylvania Avenue |
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Pennsylvania Ave and Atlantic Ave. Two great early shots from the Brian Merlis collection. The first is a view north up Pennsylvania, with the Jamaica El visible in the distance running along Fulton. The second view is south. Both are from 1900. The building on the left is the East New York Savings Bank. The building on the right would become the Metropolitan Life Insurance building. I left the images large so you could enjoy the detail. A sharp eye can see the turret of St. Clements in the distance. |
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Atlantic Ave.,Looking East from Pennsylvania Ave Undated circa 1910 Maker:Unk Status:Need Great postcard view, complemented by a 1938 tax photo shot of the East New York Savings Bank. The entrance to the bank building had been enhanced though we have not pinpointed the date. The new entrance was there as early as 1917. 
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Atlantic and Pennsylvania Neil Sullivan provided the updated view of the bank, and I inserted an undated aerial view of the intersection, circa 1940, to show the entire intersection of this photo series. |
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Cor.Pennsylvania and Atlantic Avenues Dated: 1912 Maker:Wm. Fick Status:Own(BG) The southwest corner was the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. You can see it in the right of the Shinske card above. Its the same building in the 1900 photo; the clock tower must have been added later. I'm not sure what the label "P.O. Station E" means.Neil Sullivan provided the 2006 view, which shows the clock tower has been removed. |
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Pennsylvania and Atlantic This is the northeast corner in this 1930 photo. On the corner stood Joseph Schluchnter's Apollo Hall, a meeting hall and recreation area in the 1870s. Schluchnter owned the entire north side of Atlantic Avenue from Pennsylvania to New Jersey Avenue. Another thanks to Neil for the 2005 photo, showing the U.S. Post Office on the corner today. |
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A few folks have now identified this 1944 photo as Pennsylvania and Atlantic; Neil supplies the 2006 view. It looks like the tower on the Metlife building is still there but cropped off in the 1944 photo. |
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On the north side of Atlantic near Pennsylvania stands a building visible not only in the picture above but in the 1900 photo at the top of the page. I grabbed the tax photo simply because the image was clear and investigated it after the fact. It is 2631 Atlantic, it appears to have been built by Herbst and Wiesenbach in 1879. If you look at Neil's 2006 photo above you can see the building is still standing on the right, but the fancy peak is now gone. | |
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I'm cheating a bit as this is north of Atlantic; at 68 Pennsylvania sat the "Tyrian Temple". At the turn of the century, membership in clubs was not only a major pastime, but defined social status. This was a significant meeting hall. The Tyrian Lodge #618 was formed in 1867. This structure was built between 1905 and 1907. This building was sold by the surviving trustees in 1971 to the Prince Hall Second District Association, a division of an African American Masonic Lodge. Now it is the Atlantic Senior Center. Thanks to Monica for the update. | |
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This 1929 shot from the NYPLD archives shows part of the Tyrian Temple and 74 Pennsylvania, which for some time served as the local post office. You can see in the 2006 aerial view from Local Live that both are still standing. |
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St. Clement's Protestant Episcopal Church Maker:Souvenir Post Card Co. Dated: 1907 Status: Own (BG) From 'Old Days'.."St. Clement's Church, corner of Pennsylvania and Liberty Avenues, was dedicated on September 21st, 1890, but it was demolished in 1920. Since then a courthouse has been erected on this site by the City of New York". I believe the 1920 date was an error, the church is seen in pictures throughout the 1920s. The couthouse was built in 1929 which is when I believe the church was removed. |
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26th Ward Branch YMCA,corner Liberty and Pennsylvania Dated:1907 Maker: Souvenir Post Card Co. Status: Own(RG) This was the original YMCA for the 26th Ward. Neil Sullivan's sharp eye spotted the roofline in the postcard below and pinpointed the location as the southwest corner, which I have verified on the 1912 Plat maps. It opened Nov. 6, 1893. It was still standing in a 1928 aerial image. By that time the new YMCA on Jamaica Ave. was under construction and this became the headquarters of the Polish Democratic Club of the 22nd Assembly, Brooklyn. Rod Maggio recalls the structure lasted into the 1950s as the Polish Falcon Club, often acting as a catering hall. Rod recalls a fire in the 1950s leading to its demolition, replaced by the "Burger Flame" restaurant. |
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Pennsylvania Avenue, mid 1950s Rod's memory proves to be quite sharp. Judy (Rothstein) Zimmer sent in this photo looking across Pennsylvania Avenue from P.S. 173 in 1953. You can see the old YMCA in the background, then the Polish Falcon Nest. To the right in the background is the National City Bank. That's Judy with her parents by their 1949 Plymouth. On the right is an image from Judy circa 1956 showing the courthouse on the northeast corner of Pennsylvania and Liberty Avenues. |
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The bank in the background of Judy's shot sits on the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and Liberty, seen here in a crummy 1941 tax photo. I don't have a build date, it was bought by Jehovah's Witness in 1977 and is currently used as a church. On the right, Empire Title as seen in the 1941 tax photo, was located on the east side of Pennsylvania between Liberty and Atlantic and is no longer standing. |
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Aerial view, 1928 From the back of the "Good Old East New York" publication, the bank itself is circled to orient the viewer to the Penn/Atlantic intersection. The view is south-southeast. One block behind the bank, to the right, you can see the dormers of the YMCA building. You can also see catty corner from the Y the tower of St. Clements, still standing 1928. The large school in the background is P.S. 173, seen below. Pennsylvania Avenue from Liberty Street Maker: Wm Fick Date: 1910 Status: Own (BG) A better view of the corner, first time I have seen Liberty "Street" as opposed to Avenue. |
 
| Public School 173, Pennsylvania Ave. Dated:1910s Maker: Unk Status: Need Pennsylvania Ave. and Public School No. 173 Dated: 1915 Maker: P. Miller Status: Need We are still piecing together the history of this school bit by bit. Located on the east side of Penn. Ave., between Liberty and Glenmore, the school opens as a grade school in 1913, built on the location of a former church. In the 1940s, while still serving as a grade school, it also housed 900 students as an annex for the East New York Vocational School for Girls. The original ENY Vocational resided at 2416 Atlantic Avenue and as early as 1937 the city was trying to allocate funds for a separate girl's vocational facility. This building was gutted and extensive renovation done in 1997 and is now the William H Maxwell Vocational High School. According to their website it became an all girls vocational high school in 1950. Rod Maggio recalls 7 boys attended in 1952. Helen Mesa attended in the 1970's and confirmed it was still an all girls school then so we are investigating the story on that. My aunt has some recollections that shed light on the school
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Public School 173 documents A number of relatives attended 173. My aunt Mary Cornell explained to me in the 1930s my aunts and uncles attended P.S. 63 up to grade six, then attended 173 for two years prior to high school. That's my uncles's 1942 graduation certificate from 173 on the left. I assume 173 started life as a grade school but I have not verified that yet. By the mid 1940s P.S. 149 replaced 173 as the local "junior high". On the right is my grandfather's 1932 literacy certificate, based on an exam held at P.S. 173. I assume this was for voting registration. He was not an immigrant, but may not have been able to document his education. |
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This was the Congregational Church that sat on the location where Maxwell sits today. It did not appear on the 1873 maps. The church served the Lutheran Church of the Reformation before they built their permanent home on Barbey Street in 1909. | |
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William H. Maxwell Vocational, 1979 Nilda Ruiz sent in this shot of herself performing onstage at the school in 1979. On the right, the school today. The new addition on the right was done in 1997. |
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| Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Pennsylvania and Glenmore .Neil Sullivan supplied these photos. The building sits on the southeast corner and dates to 1935, though the congregation dates to 1909. Neil also snapped these houses on Glenmore near the church; note the ornamentation above the doorways. |
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Temple linas hatzedek v'esras achim Demetrius Pestun is tracking down all the synagogues for us. Built in 1929, between Sutter and Blake. Transferred over to the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in 1969. | |
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Thomas Jefferson High School Located at 400 Pennsylvania Avenue near Dumont Ave., I found the CO dated 1921. This photo is from a 1948 yearbook. I've shortchanged this school; it was a prominent High School with a number of famous alumnae. They have accumulated a decent following at "Classreport.com" which can be found here. Unfortunately the city has chosen to close it and the last graduating class was in the spring of 2007. Neil Sullivan provided the 2006 shot. |
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Thomas Jefferson High School In Danny Kaye's biography, the author claims Jefferson was built on a site being used as a gypsy encampment at the time. Danny attended Jefferson but did not graduate; legend has it he was asked to leave after he left a pile of manure in the lap of Jefferson's lap, pictured in the 1951 BPL image on the left. Other famous entertainer graduates included Steve Lawrence and Shelley Winters. |
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Thomas Jefferson High School, 1948 Some more interior shots from the 1948 yearbook. There were also some interesting tidbits; it was noted there was no football team during the war years; anyone remember why? The yearbook also celebrated the fact that the cafeteria went 'coed' that year! |
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Thomas Jefferson High School A couple of shots from a 1941 yearbook. I couldn't help but notice some of the clubs; the "mimeograph squad" and "towel squad" sure sound a bit lame to me. |
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New Lots Talmud Torah Demetrius Pestun sent over this 2007 shot of the former New Lots Talmud Torah, located on the southwest corner of New Lots Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. | |