Parties, Gossip and Too Much Brew: How 19th Century Brooklynites Celebrated the New Year
In the late 19th century, Brooklynites had many ways to celebrate the New Year but your ability to participate depended on your social class.
Welcome to the New Brownstoner
Over the last few months, we took the site down to the studs and built it back up, preserving the original details that make Brownstoner unique. We’ve incorporated all your must-haves and then some. In fact, you could say we’ve opened up the space to bring in more light.
Adorable Boerum Hill Brick Italianate With Original Details Asks $3.75 Million
This three-family brick Italianate at 173 Bergen Street has a surfeit of charming details and isn’t over-renovated. It’s in the Boerum Hill Landmark District, and the picture-perfect exterior includes the original arched double front door and stone-paved front yard.
Parties, Gossip and Too Much Brew: How 19th-Century Brooklynites Celebrated the New Year
1910 New Year’s Eve party in NYC. Photo via Ephemeral New York
For those following the Gregorian calendar, and that’s most of us, that magic moment when the old year ends in the last seconds of 11:59 on December 31, and the new begins at midnight on January 1, is celebrated with music, fireworks, noise makers, parties and a kiss.
And thus it has been for centuries, with Brooklyn being no exception.
The Insider: Brooklyn Heights “Brides’ Row” Gem Is Restored to Perfection
This classic 1850s brick row house — one of five identical structures on a North Heights block — was quite a gem even before its extensive renovation.
In the hands of the same family for 70 years, until it was bought by a couple of British ex-pats in the art business, it had suffered decades of benign neglect.
Beyond that, “it hadn’t been touched, it hadn’t been chopped up, and the details, although needing a lot of work, were somewhat intact,” said Brooklyn Heights–based architect Lorraine Bonaventura, who was hired to make the house sparkle again.
Gentrification, Mega-Projects and Bonkers Home Sales: Brownstoner’s Top Stories of 2015
In 2015, luxury-apartment renters got upset about “insane” ConEd bills, Michelle Williams bought a mega-mansion in Prospect Park South, and Brownstoner pondered whether Brooklyn’s real estate boom is coming to an end.
Here are the 11 most popular stories we published this year.
Your Most Burning Real Estate and Renovation Questions of the Year
Not sure whether you should put in an offer on a brownstone with un-permitted repairs? Don’t know how to explain to your 8-year-old why that couple next door is making those funny noises?
Chances are someone else in Brooklyn or beyond has been in a similar situation, and that’s what the Brownstoner Forum is here for. Every day our readers are answering one another’s questions. Read on for the issues that got the most attention in 2015.
5 Cozy Homes With Fabulous Fireplaces
Time to ward off that winter chill. With the weather finally getting more seasonally appropriate, we rounded up five gorgeous homes with working fireplaces.
Which would you rather cozy up in?
Top Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Strange Real Estate Happenings and Celebrity Homes
Mystery Deepens Around Murdered Landlord’s Unstable ‘Burg Building
Strange real estate happenings in Williamsburg: A contractor has discovered the Department of Buildings has no plans on file for the luxury rental at 120 South 4th Street that experienced an emergency vacate order last month because of structural problems. Or, to be more precise, the DOB does have plans on file — but they are for another building.
The Remarkable Rise of Philanthropist Lena Sittig and the Brooklyn Christmas Tree Society
1907 photo via Brooklyn Eagle
Beginning in the 1890s and for nearly 40 years after, the Brooklyn Christmas Tree Society brought holiday cheer to Brooklyn’s underprivileged children, treating them to a huge meal, gifts and musical performances.
The annual tradition was founded by a woman named Lena Wilson Sitting, whose legacy of generosity and holiday spirit deserves remembering around this time of year.
