A 21st Century Archive for a 21st Century Navy Yard

December 20, 2012 Editorial Staff
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BY MEREDITH WISNER

Like the Yard itself, the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s archive has deep roots in the past, some of which is on display at the recently opened BLDG 92 visitor’s center. This has led many to assume that the archive relates solely to the Yard’s 165 years as a Naval shipbuilding facility. However, our collections do much more than inform staff and visitors of the Yard’s history. They also play a significant role in shaping today’s Yard, and – we hope – the Yard of the future.

Since its opening, the center has received an outpouring of both donations and research requests concerning the Yard’s illustrious past. Documenting the Yard’s expansion is a selection of over 40,000 historic maps and plans covering construction projects from the mid 1800s to the present day.  Complementing this collection is a series of digitized early 20th century photographs that show the Yard’s development from WWI to WWII – part of an ongoing project with the National Archives and Records Administration to catalog the nearly 12,000 Brooklyn Navy Yard images in NARA’s physical collections.

Photo Credit: National Archives and Records Administration – Northeast Region, courtesy of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Also in our holdings is the full run of the Shipworker, the Yard’s newspaper from 1941 – 1966, which details the goings-on at the Navy Yard from its period of greatest expansion through to its decommissioning.  And finally, and to my mind most importantly, are the small collections and oral histories we’ve amassed throughout the years – often donated by Yard workers and their families – which illustrate the human story of the Navy Yard in a very tangible and evocative way.

Today the Yard is undergoing its most significant expansion since WWII.  With over 275 businesses, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is a thriving industrial park committed to adaptively reusing its historic structures to suit the needs of its 21st century tenants – always with an eye toward preservation and sustainable design.  The archive informs our staff of the historical background of these buildings, thereby enabling us to remain true to the Yard’s historic character, in some cases aiding in the modernization of structures to achieve LEED certification in design and construction.

A prime example of this is BLDG 92 itself, which earned LEED Platinum status; the highest designation the U.S. Green Buildings Council offers.  One of the elements that contributed to this achievement was the identification of an unused aqueduct on a 1945 subsurface plan, which we were able to reuse as a cistern for the museum’s grey water system.  On a more recent project, the refurbishment of the iconic Sands Street Gate, our contractors, ZHN, were able to recreate the original early 20th century façade through the use of photo documentation and architectural plans sourced from our collections.

You can also sample our collections, either through the Collections database available in BLDG 92’s Resource Room, or through the items on display in the exhibits. The current display celebrates the 40 female-owned businesses on the Yard today: Reflections on Rosie, an exhibit that explores women’s contributions on the Yard through contemporary works inspired by oral histories of its former female employees. This exhibition, conducted in partnership with the Brooklyn Historical Society, is currently open in Gallery 92 and will run through May of next year.

Meredith Wisner is the Assistant Director of Archives and Records Management for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and manages collections for BLDG 92.

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