The Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn
Jan Hird Pokorny Associates

A century’s accumulation of unflattering alterations are removed

© Robert Motzkin

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Designed in 1878 by architect George Post, the Brooklyn Historical Society is a historic landmark and an important cultural resource that houses the world’s largest collection of historical materials relating to Brooklyn. The five-story building blends elements of the Queen Anne and Italian Renaissance styles. Its façade is brick and terra cotta; its roof is slate tile with zinc ornamentation. The building’s original interior layout contained a ramped 600-seat auditorium on the first floor, a two-story library, and fourth floor gallery space. An attic level contained storage and a caretaker’s apartment.

The layout was significantly altered during the 20th century, which saw other unflattering changes. The sloping auditorium, for instance, was converted into a flat floor with two tenant spaces. Electric fixtures replaced the original gasolier fixtures. The ceilings became cluttered with an ungainly exposed sprinkler system. An open, laylight-capped stairwell was filled in to make space for an elevator. And interior woodwork and finishes were splintered.

In 1984, the Historical Society’s board of trustees began pushing to restore the building. Their design objectives included restoring the building’s masonry façade and replacing the windows with energy-efficient, glare-reducing units. They also wanted to remove the elevator and bring back the interior stairwell, repair damaged woodwork, and restore the building’s original paint schemes and lighting fixtures. Additional work to bring the building up to code included constructing an ADA-compliant entrance and installing new HVAC, plumbing, electrical and life safety systems. In the building’s basement level and first floor, a new conservation-grade gallery, library and storage spaces were also added.

Formal name of Project:
The Brooklyn Historical Society

Location:
Brooklyn

Gross square footage:
35,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$23 million

Owner:
The Brooklyn Historical Society
www.brooklynhistory.org

Architect:
Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, Inc.
New York, NY 10018
(212)759-6462
(212)759-6540 fax
www.jhpokorny.com

Bud Motzkin, left, Director of Architecture
Jan Hird Pokorny, center, Chairman
Michael Devonshire, right, Director of Conservation
Richard Pieper, Director of Preservation missing from photo