The Center for Brooklyn History is open for business

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

The former Brooklyn Historical Society building is back open for business for the first time in three years — and it has a new name.

On Thursday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for The Center for Brooklyn History, the result of a 2020 merger between the Brooklyn Public Library with the Brooklyn Historical Society, at the former Historical Society’s Brooklyn Heights headquarters on Pierrepont Street.

Visitors can now experience a newly redone first floor with a free exhibit called “Brooklyn Is…” which “celebrates the people and neighborhoods of our diverse, richly textured borough.”

Also reopening is the two-story Othmer Library, which contains 36,000 books, 325,000 photographs and 5,700 artifacts that “that document the commercial, residential, community, and civic development of the borough.” The center (and its new gift shop) is open six days a week, with the exception of Sundays, with hours varying depending on the day.

The hope of the CBH is to “further democratize the study and experience of Brooklyn’s history to meet the needs of the borough’s many diverse communities,” the BPL said in a release. The collaboration between the library and the former historical society “preserves and makes accessible the most comprehensive collection of materials related to Brooklyn’s history and culture in the world.”

We’re so happy to announce the Center for Brooklyn History is open to the public! Stop by to explore the space and view the new Brooklyn Is exhibition. See you soon! https://t.co/19SxmDNVDp pic.twitter.com/s0e2Odv1nu

— Center for Brooklyn History (@brooklynhistory) September 14, 2023