Opening the Pocket Doors: Adopt-A-Block

In the 1990s, the librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) dedicated significant efforts to implementing measures aimed at preserving and enhancing access to the Society’s collections. Several of these initiatives took the form of cataloging projects, many of which spanned multiple years and were funded by state and government agencies. By the decade's close, tens of thousands of Brooklyn-related images, atlases, books, and pamphlets had been cataloged,  making them more accessible to visitors of the Othmer Library. However, amidst these large-scale projects, one smaller initiative captured my attention.

The Brooklyn Land Conveyance Collection, compiled by the Kings County Clerk’s Office, documents land transfers in Brooklyn from 1699 to 1896. These records, organized by block, provide information about the specific lot involved and details about the seller (grantor) and buyer (grantee). Additionally, these abstracts are often the only surviving records of these early land transactions.

Given the valuable information they provide and the enduring interest in property research, the conveyances have always been heavily used, even since their integration into the Society’s holdings in the 1970s.  Despite this, they weren’t always stored in the best way. Until 1989, these documents were housed in open, deteriorating cardboard boxes.

Inspired by projects like the New Jersey Historical Society’s Adopt-A-Map project, which aimed to secure funds for the conservation of several maps and atlases, Head Librarian Irene Tichenor (1988-1996) launched the Adopt-A-Block Project. The objective was to raise $2,500 to acquire closed archival-quality boxes that could protect the land conveyances. For a $10 fee, individuals had the opportunity to symbolically adopt a block, contributing to the purchase of a new box for that set of records.

In the summer of 1989, the Society began transferring the conveyances from their open, brittle boxes to hinged-lid archival boxes with metal-reinforced corners.  Dedicated volunteers, including Daphney and Uchenna, played a crucial role in completing this work. Beyond enhancing the protection of the documents, the new enclosures resulted in a cleaner, better-organized storage space—an outcome that, in my opinion, is also quite aesthetically pleasing.

Within a few months, the Society raised the necessary funds to rehouse all the conveyances, making the project a success. These records remain among the most valuable resources for house and building research and are easily accessible in the Othmer Library (appointments encouraged, but not required!)

Sources

• "Adopt a Brooklyn Block." Brooklyn Historical Society Newsletter, April-June 1989. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
• "Adopt-A-Block In Full Swing." Brooklyn Historical Society Newsletter, January-March 1990. Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, ARC 288. Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

 

The Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Archive Project is generously funded by the Leon Levy Foundation.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.