Brooklyn Historical Society

Wonderful space. The library is absolutely gorgeous and relaxing. Nice Brooklyn items in the gift shop.

We had our wedding here in October 2015 and it was an absolute pleasure. We could not have asked for a more perfect day.
Daisy, who managed our event for BHS, was professional and helpful from start to finish. She answered all of our questions with detail and care (even the ones I’m sure we asked a few times!) and was quick to reply whenever we needed anything.
The upstairs library space is absolutely gorgeous and sold us on the venue from the moment we saw it. Remember the scene in Beauty and the Beast when Belle sees the castle library for the first time? It’s basically that. We barely needed any decoration or adornment – the space itself is beautiful enough!
We had our ceremony and dinner in the library and the reception in the Great Hall. Everything went smoothly – special shoutout to Christian who worked the sound system for us and made sure our playlists worked without any problems. Blake, who was staffing our event, remembered to pull us aside for a few ‘sneaky’ photography shots in the library stacks, which was a particular dream of mine and I’m so glad we were able to make it happen.
We chose to work with Bartleby and Sage from the list of approved caterers and we are thrilled with that decision. It was clear that BHS and Bartleby and Sage had a great working relationship – everything went so smoothly behind the scenes and our pre-​event walkthrough was expertly done. BHS was also able to accommodate a fairly last-​minute addition of Ample Hills Ice Cream delivery to our reception, which was incredibly fun and I thank them for their flexibility.
Thank you to Daisy and the BHS team for helping us craft a perfect, unforgettable day!

We were married at BHS in October 2014. This was the perfect place for us to get married. The building is beautiful, the staff is great, and the location is perfect. We rented the downstairs and upstairs, and had about 120 attendees. We used the library upstairs for the ceremony and the downstairs for the reception. Daisy really went above and beyond in assisting us with the setup and execution. Even better, the affordable fees to rent the building go to a non-​profit with a good cause. The pictures came out amazing with the historic interior. We received many complements on the location from our guests as it is uniquely Brooklyn. We highly recommend using BHS as a wedding and/​or reception location.

I recently attended a wedding at BHS and not only is the venue charming, but every aspect of the event proceeded flawlessly and all of the staff were welcoming, pleasant, and helpful. My particular thanks go to Daisy — upon learning from the groom that I had lost a necklace that night, she immediately emailed to let me know that the necklace had been found, and she had it in the mail to me within an hour. You couldn’t ask for better service than that!

Unfortunately, we had our Brooklyn Historical Society wedding here in May of 2015 and I could not have had a more difficult or unpleasant experience. I had booked the venue 15 months in advance because I was planning it from out of town and the last month I encountered so many ridiculous arguments and last-​minute changes of plan I actually considered switching the venue two weeks beforehand because of all the headache their uninformed staff put us through.
The venue is absolutely beautiful, we fell in love with the library, but the entire staff associated with the planning, with the one exception of the building maintenance manager, was unreasonable, unprofessional, and gave us conflicting information each time we toured the building, especially the last two weeks when they finally sat down and looked through the details of what we had planned the past year and a half.
–ONE WEEK before our wedding, after signing a contract detailing what rooms we could use starting at 3pm, I get a call that we are not allowed to set up the side library room until 5pm, I check the contract, and it explicitly states use of the side library room starting at 3pm. I call them back and inform them about the contract. They acquiesce, but make it seem as though they are doing me a favor. I have never experienced vendors that tell me I could not do something when it was EXPLICITLY stated in my contract.
–We were told the giftshop would remain open. We told them it was a deal breaker, that it could NOT stay open during non-​museum hours, and they agreed. At the end of my wedding, one of my friends hands me a gift she had bought from the gift shop that night — as they obviously kept the gift shop open throughout my wedding.
–I had stated I wanted pictures in front of the stained glass windows of the library (I had seen it on pinterest!). They say OK, just us and the photographer. Two weeks beforehand, touring one last time, we were told that NO, only the photographer was allowed on the rafters.
–Two weeks before our wedding, we were told that we would have to get wedding insurance AS WELL as our caterer. I asked why and Daisy said that they require it of all of their weddings. Except that I had emailed some people who had left reviews on Unilocal that had been married at this museum and EVERYONE said that no one was required to get wedding insurance separately from their caterer.
–Two weeks before our wedding, they said that the head of building maintenance was going away the weekend of our wedding, therefore would not be available to use the forklift to set up any of our high decorations. I asked what our alternatives were and they said we could set everything up Friday for the Sunday wedding, with the caveat that if they booked another function on Saturday night, that would limit what decorations we could put up, but we would not have confirmation until Friday, the day we were supposed to put up decorations. Luckily, they did not book anything that Saturday, so I was able to put up everything I wanted, but it caused unnecessary stress and headache, especially so close to the wedding.
–During the wedding, it got extremely hot as the air conditioning was clearly not functioning. We kept waiting for an imaginary maintenance worker to come and fix it — he never came — until my husband suggested to them they open the doors to let in some air in. I can’t imaging what would have happened in July.
Bottom line: DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE. The cost of the venue was not worth Tte staff who were uninformed as I was told several conflicting things that even CONFLICTED OUR CONTRACT!!! If you do, beware of this fraudulent practice and get EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

I was interested in heading over there with a class trip, I went with my daughter I went with a lot of students and teachers we were asked to be split up so we can be shown around I felt uneasy because they made us go in groups it’s odd it’s a museum we can go where we please so I went to the library but the door was locked from the inside out and people were inside I was waiting for someone to open up it took while I was standing there with some parents and some of the kids so then a person came and let us in but gave instructions to leave book bags purses at the door? I couldn’t believe it and I looked at the parents and asked why at the door? I figured out why but I asked someone in the library why? No answer the women walked away with no answer. I’m guessing the women was implying that we the kids or parents would steal? I never ever had such a n experience like this in a museum I guess it’s Brooklyn, I think I’ll just keep myself going to museums in Manhattan.

I was recently married at the Brooklyn Historical Society in October. This was an absolutely fantastic choice for our wedding of 130 people and I could not be happier we chose this as our venue.
We unfortunately originally had our wedding booked at ReBar, the Dumbo venue which shut down in May leaving us in a total lurch. BHS was one of the first places I heard of offering to help displaced couples and after seeing the space I wished we just originally booked them as it is really gorgeous!
Daisy who handles all the details of renting the space is really lovely and was really awesome answering all of our questions and concerns in the months leading up to our wedding. BHS hosts some great public events which we chose to attend during the summer to get a feel for the space with people in it, this was really helpful while planning!
You do have to choose from a list of their approved caterers since its a historic building but they offer a really great range of options price wise. I worked with Eventfull and they were fantastic! Another big plus is they have tables and chairs so we did not have to bring in furniture rentals. Their location was really important to us as well. Our guests, many from out of town, were staying in a hotel in the financial district. We wanted a venue convenient to get to that also would provide a great backdrop for our pre ceremony wedding photos, Brooklyn Heights was perfect for both!
We did our ceremony and reception both in the Great Hall and rented the tile lobby and outside space for cocktails. Everything went smoothly and all of the staff working during the event were friendly and professional, especially Christian, the AV tech who we had to hire in order for our band to be able to use the sound system.
If you are looking for a beautiful venue in a gorgeous historic neighborhood, definitely check out BHS!

It blends so well in a residential neighborhood that it’s easy to overlook it. Beautiful space, great for intimate parties.

We had our wedding reception in the Othmer Library and the cocktail hour in the lobby. Our photos are gorgeous and everyone really enjoyed their time.

A big, stately building in beautiful Brooklyn Heights that’s nice to fit into a day visit to the neighborhood.
The Brooklyn history this place is interested in is mainly the old, old history, so expect to see lots of paintings and artifacts from the early, Dutch days. So much Brooklyn history and nostalgia centers on the 20^th century, so this gives a different perspective, though sometimes that perspective feels somewhat distant and cold.
They also host more contemporary-​minded endeavors such as the Brooklyn Book Festival and the Brooklyn Zine Festival.

This place is hidden in the corners of Brooklyn (5 min walk from the Borough Hall station) and is a good find. I saw Professor Eric Foner speak here last night about the Emancipation Proclamation, and the original document was on display too, which was cool. I learned a lot and liked the building too, which is beautiful and «ancient-​looking» on the outside and very nice on the inside.

Amazing, gorgeous site. Very sincere and thoughtful staff. The reading room smells like wood, sunshine, and caramel. I am going to make up research projects so I can return and spend hours in their collections.

I never even knew this museum existed after living in Brooklyn for 5 years. After going to the Amsterdam Historical Museum, I realized I didn’t know much about the city that I live in.
So, I decided to take a trek to Brooklyn Heights. The museum is housed in a gorgeous old building. I stopped at the front desk hoping they offered tours, but no such luck. On the first floor, I saw an exhibit on the Brooklyn Dodgers. The rest of the floor was taken over by a holiday market, so I headed up the grand staircase. They had a few paintings lining the walls. The second floor was mostly taken up by the library. I didn’t go in, but it was all dark wood and important looking. I will have to go in next time. On the 3^rd floor, they had an exhibit that consisted of literally 5 artifacts. They also had an exhibit curated by students.
I really wanted to like this place, but it just left me underwhelmed. As Tom K. mentioned the size and scope fall short. I’m sure Brooklyn has had a long and storied history, but the museum shows only a small portion of that. Brooklyn deserves more.

Just went to a wedding here. They had it in the library, really wonderful event!

They
Keep the
Exhibits
Accessible
And is a good resource for researching.

We went there yesterday after not having visited for many years. My vague memories are that they used to exhibit more «old» stuff. Nevertheless, they always have interesting temporary exhibits (not large, but still very worthwhile). This visit was specifically due to their two current exhibits: «Painting Brooklyn: Stories of Immigration & Survival» (which ends on August 14) and «Home Base: Memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field» (the latter has just been extended until December 31). Both exhibits were wonderful and very heartwarming. Also, the staff members at the BHS are very pleasant.
(Update on 2÷20÷14): The BHS also has many interesting lectures, of which I attended one 23 months ago (four people spoke about Coney Island, including the photographer Harvey Stein [I own his wonderful photo book about Coney Island & recommend it]) and another one tonight (Jamel Shabazz, a photographer whose four books I own and I’ve long been a huge fan of his work). As always, all of the staff members of the BHS were quite friendly and helpful.

Before there was Brooklyn, there was Breukelen, a land of Dutch colonists, farmland and Lenape locales.
«Pages of the Past, The Adventures of Jasper Danckaerts» is a current exhibition at the BHS that brings diary entries to life with original sketches from the 1670’s along with maps. It was a fascinating look into pre-​English, pre-​American Brooklyn and offered historical nuggets such as Brooklyn remaining Dutch for about 10 years after Manhattan.
The BHS building dates back to the 1870’s and is itself an impressive structure to study. Three floors of exhibits can be visited by elevator or staircase. Walls along the staircase are decorated with paintings, including one of George Washington (Battle of Brooklyn and all) along with other historical personalities who lent their name to various parts of the borough.
Where BHS falls short, however, is in the size and scope of the exhibits. I was disappointed that more artifacts from archaeological digs or personal collections were not on display. Case in point– there was a single room dedicated to various eras of BK history: dutch/​native american, colonial, civil war, ww II. The stories presented were definitely broad, very broad, strokes of history. There were a few items (A Singer sewing machine) but compared to other such institutions I’d thought there would simply be more «stuff».
There is ample use of sound bites to bring to life voices of the past. In a section dedicated to Vietnam Vets, you can hear their stories by placing your feet on the imprints of steps on the floor. The lobby level also included a photo exhibition on the current residents of Tivoli Towers, adding a dash of the contemporary to a historical society.
You’ll find various brochures in the lobby dealing with other local attractions. I recommend picking up the walking tour of Brooklyn Heights which highlights the various buildings of note in the immediate area. As for the BHS, it’s a comfortable space to visit and learn a bit of borough history. Some of that space just seems underutilized at the moment.

This refers to the library section of BHS: We dropped by to look up info about our house. BHS’s library has info you can’t find anywhere else (the Dept of Buildings had next to no info we could use). But the library has atlases dating back to the mid 1800’s, deed info, resident directories, old articles and such.
Technically you’re supposed to make an appointment to visit the library, but it apparently wasn’t a busy day when we were there, so they said to come on up. The library itself is gorgeous, all old wood and big tables. The librarians were really helpful, digging up stuff about the neighborhood and finding stuff we never would have thought to look up. We found out a lot of interesting stuff out about our house, although we’ll need to return to really get a complete picture.
That’s my only complaint about the place, accessibility. It’s only open til 5 from Wednesday to Saturday, and it’s a $ 6 charge. Obviously this means most regular folk will never be able to get in there without making special plans for it (which is what we did). But otherwise it’s a wonderful resource which I plan to mine further.