Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences

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Founded 1843, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences was the umbrella organization for four major Brooklyn institutions: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children's Museum, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Several smaller organizations were also under its jurisdiction.

From the description of Records, 1843-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122529756

The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS) evolved from the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association formed in 1824. BIAS later gave rise to the following institutions: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

From the description of Records, 1889-1976. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155460232

The origins of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences extend back to 1823, with the founding of the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library. The Library, located at the corner of Cranberry and Henry Streets in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, was established for the education and cultural enrichment of young tradesmen. In 1841, the Library relocated to the building of the Brooklyn Lyceum, an organization devoted to intellectual pursuits in the arts and sciences, at the corner of Washington and Concord Streets. In 1843, the Library and the Lyceum merged to form the Brooklyn Institute, an organization offering a variety of scientific, literary, cultural, and educational programs.

In 1890, the Institute was renamed the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in reflection of an ambitious new initiative to expand its programming through the development of several divisions devoted to the arts and sciences. In accordance with this initiative, four new divisions were established between 1890 and 1911, including the Brooklyn Museum, devoted to the collecting of fine arts and the natural sciences; the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the world's first cultural and educational center devoted entirely to children; the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which functioned as a city park and an institution devoted to the collection and exhibition of plants and trees, as well as the dissemination of botanical knowledge; and the Biological Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor in Long Island, devoted to education and research in the biological sciences. Later in 1936, the Institute absorbed Brooklyn's premier performing arts center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), which had been founded in 1859.

To coincide with its organizational expansion, the Institute developed plans for the construction of a grand museum building on Eastern Parkway. The building, designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, was intended to eventually serve as the center for all the Institute's programs and activities. Initial construction took place between 1895 and 1926, with the west wing being opened to the public as part of the Brooklyn Museum as early as 1897. However, the Institute's original plan for a grandiose, all-encompassing building proved to be too ambitious, and the finished building was only one-quarter the size that the Institute had originally intended. Rather than serving as a comprehensive facility for the Institute's myriad activities, the new building instead came to exclusively house the Brooklyn Museum.

In the early 1920s, the Institute transferred the Biological Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor to the Long Island Biological Association. With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the Institute was compelled to further narrow its focus. The Brooklyn Museum was refashioned exclusively as an art museum, and its scientific exhibitions were transferred to other institutions. In time, the Institute came to be primarily associated with the Brooklyn Museum, and in the ensuing decades the Institute's other divisions began operating more and more as self-sufficient organizations. In the 1970s, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and BAM all became independent entities separate from the Institute. The Institute's name was later officially changed to the Brooklyn Museum.

Sources: Brooklyn Botanic Garden. "A Brief History of BBG." Accessed January 4, 2011. http://www.bbg.org/about/history/ Brooklyn Children's Museum. "History." Accessed January 4, 2011. http://www.brooklynkids.org/index.php/whoweare/history Brooklyn Museum. "About: The Museum's Building." Accessed January 4, 2011. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/about/building.php Brooklyn Museum. "Initial Construction (1890s-1920s)." Accessed January 4, 2011. http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/about/initial_construction.php Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "History." Accessed January 4, 2011. http://www.cshl.edu/About-Us/History/ Lopate, Carol. Education and Culture in Brooklyn: A History of Ten Institutions. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Educational & Cultural Alliance, c1979.

From the guide to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences publications and ephemera, Bulk, 1904-1986, 1877-1998, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences evolved from the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association formed in 1823, largely through the efforts of Augustus Graham. In 1825 the Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone of a new building on Washington Street -- a memorable occasion for a young witness named Walt Whitman. The Library was renamed the Brooklyn Institute in 1843 and remained essentially the same until about 1888 when a greatly expanded program into many branches of science and art was initiated. Among the new division and departments added between 1890 and 1911 were (with year of opening):

The Brooklyn Museum (1897) The Brooklyn Children's Museum (1899) The Brooklyn Academy of Music (absorbed in 1907) Biological Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor (1907) The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1911)

A destructive fire at the Washington Street building in 1890 marred the accomplishments of a merger with the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIA&S) and reincorporation. An ambitious plan for a new building near Prospect Park was conceived in the 1890's. It was to house the Institute's library and a large museum complex. A new building to replace the original Brooklyn Academy of Music edifice which was destroyed by fire in 1903 was begun in 1907.

The parent BIA&S transferred the Biological Laboratory to the Long Island Biological Association in the early 1920's now called Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory. In the face of financial restraints brought on by the Depression, the Institute began narrowing its focus. The Museum began concentrating on the collection of art objects, and beginning about that time, the different branches became more and more independent, such as the Academy of Music, which is now independently operated.

Sources Lopate, Carol. Education and Culture in Brooklyn: a History of Ten Institutions. [Brooklyn, N.Y.]: Brooklyn Educational and Cultural Alliance, 1979. 63 p.

From the guide to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences records, 1843-1979, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Institutional file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Records, 1843-1980. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Culin, Stewart, 1858-1929. Culin Archival Collection : Series 2: collecting expeditions 1898-1928 1903-1928 (bulk). Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Edgar Craig Schenck Records, 1955-1960. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn South Georgia Island Expedition (1912-1913). Field photographs, 1912-1913. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Levison, Wallace Goold, 1846-1924. Manuscript and notes for a history of the Brooklyn Institute, 1894-1922, 1919. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn New York Zoological Society. Dept. of Birds. Record of disposition, [ca. 1899-1911] Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Dow, Alden B., 1904-1983. Alden B. Dow personal papers, 1910-1999 (bulk 1930-1975). Alden B. Dow Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Isabel Spaulding Roberts records, 1943-46. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences records, 1843-1979 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Brooklyn Art Association. Minutes, 1864-1919. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Philip Newell Youtz records, 1934-38 (bulk), 1928-38 (inclusive). Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Richard Rogers Bowker papers, 1856-1958 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Long Island Biological Association (N.Y.). Records, 1890-1971. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Davenport, Charles Benedict, 1866-1944. Cold Spring Harbor Papers, ca. 1903-1940. American Philosophical Society Library
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Records, 1889-1976. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Adrian Van Sinderen Papers, 1919-1963 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Correspondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1937-1938. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Blackburne, Woodward, and Ottaway family papers, Bulk, 1870-1930, 1807-2011 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Brooklyn Academy of Music. Programs, 1904-1974. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Libraries and Archives. Lantern slide collection. Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Miscellaneous file, 1910-1919. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. William Henry Fox records, 1913-33 (bulk), 1908-35 (inclusive). Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Brooklyn Children's Museum. Publications, 1884-1984. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Mayr, George. Jacob van Ruisdael scrapbook, 1896-1922. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Chapman, John Jay, 1862-1933. Additional papers, 1841-1940 Houghton Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Academy of Music. Records, 1891-1984. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Hooper, Franklin, ca. 1851-1914. Letter, 1913. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1965-1970. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Reports, 1935-1971. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Charles M. Higgins papers, Bulk, 1886-1929, 1854-1929 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. [Fliers announcing programs from the Institute at the Academy of Music, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, for the 1939/1940 season.]. New-York Historical Society
creatorOf Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers), 1848-1933. Richard Rogers Bowker Papers, 1856-1958. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn John B. Woodward papers, 1820-1924 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
creatorOf Culin, Stewart, 1858-1929. Culin Archival Collection Series 1: General Correspondence 1886-1929 1919-1929 (bulk). Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Correspondence with Theodore Dreiser, 1935. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Yearbooks (newspaper and magazine clipping scrapbooks) 1899-1977. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Graham, Augustus, ca. 1780-1851. Papers, 1808-1965. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Downes, Irene. Irene Downes papers, 1926-1964. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Downes, Olin, 1886-1955. Olin Downes correspondence, [ca. 1909-1955]. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Laurence Page Roberts records, 1938-43. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn H. Randolph Lever papers, 1963 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association publications, 1969-1997 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Charles Nagel records, 1946-1955. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Franklin Hooper letter, 1913 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Correspondence with Edgar Fahs Smith, 1905-1911. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn William Ernest Hocking papers Houghton Library
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. [Collection of fliers from the Brooklyn Museum listing current exhibitions by month]. New-York Historical Society
creatorOf [Collection of materials relating to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences]. New-York Historical Society
referencedIn Sallee, John, Mrs.,. Jones family scrapbooks, 1780-1903. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Augustus Graham family papers, 1806-1965 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Charles Benedict Davenport Papers, 1874-1946 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Brooklyn Museum records Archives of American Art
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. Records, 1896-[ongoing]. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. [Letter] 1917, August 28, New York City [to] Mrs. [Edwin] Markham, [Staten Island] / Charles D. Atkins. Wagner College, Horrmann Library
referencedIn Murphy's Expedition to Peru and Ecuador (1924-1925). Field photographs, 1924-1925. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences publications and ephemera, Bulk, 1904-1986, 1877-1998 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Downes, Olin, 1886-1955. Olin Downes lectures, 1932-1953. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Atkins, Charles D. person
associatedWith Atkins, Charles Dwight. person
associatedWith Bell Chorus of New York. corporateBody
associatedWith Blackburne family family
associatedWith Blum, John R. H. person
associatedWith Boston Symphony Orchestra. corporateBody
associatedWith Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers), 1848-1933. person
associatedWith Brooklyn Academy of Music. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Academy of Music. Next Wave Festival. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Apprentices' Library Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Art Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Botanic Garden. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Children's Garden. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Children's Museum. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Children's Museum. Women's Auxiliary. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Board of Trustees. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Governing Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Libraries and Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. corporateBody
associatedWith Brooklyn Society of Artists. corporateBody
correspondedWith Chapman, John Jay, 1862-1933 person
associatedWith Christy, Francis T. person
associatedWith Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. corporateBody
associatedWith Coleman, Chester person
associatedWith Culbertson, M. L., Mrs. person
associatedWith Culin, Stewart, 1858-1929. person
associatedWith Davenport, Charles Benedict, 1866-1944. person
associatedWith Donnelly, Thomas A. person
associatedWith Dow, Alden B., 1904-1983. person
associatedWith Downes, Irene. person
associatedWith Downes, Olin, 1886-1955. person
associatedWith Gager, Charles Stuart, d. 1943. person
associatedWith Goddard, Elizabeth Hayes person
associatedWith Graham, Augustus, ca. 1780-1851. person
associatedWith Graham, Augustus, d. 1851 person
associatedWith Hardee, Covington. person
associatedWith Higgins, Chas. M., (Charles Michael), b. 1854 person
correspondedWith Hocking, William Ernest, 1873-1966 person
associatedWith Hooper, Franklin, ca. 1851-1914. person
associatedWith Hooper, Franklin W., 1851-1914. person
associatedWith Hooper, Franklin W., Director. person
associatedWith Lever, H. Randolph person
associatedWith Levison, Wallace Goold, 1846-1924. person
associatedWith Long Island Biological Association (N.Y.). corporateBody
associatedWith Markham, Catherine, person
associatedWith Martin, William McKelvey. person
associatedWith Mayr, George. person
associatedWith Murphy's Expedition to Peru and Ecuador (1924-1925) corporateBody
associatedWith New York Zoological Society. Dept. of Birds. corporateBody
associatedWith Ottaway family family
associatedWith Ottaway, Ruth B., 1910-2011 person
associatedWith Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin), 1856-1920 person
associatedWith Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn. corporateBody
associatedWith Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn. Women's Auxiliary. corporateBody
associatedWith Reform Club (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Sallee, John, Mrs., person
associatedWith Schaeffer, Charles. person
associatedWith Shaw, Ellen Eddy. person
associatedWith South Georgia Island Expedition (1912-1913) corporateBody
associatedWith Van Sinderen, Adrian, 1887-1963 person
associatedWith Woodward, Elizabeth, 1849-1923 person
associatedWith Woodward family family
associatedWith Woodward family family
associatedWith Woodward, John B., (John Blackburne), 1835-1896 person
associatedWith Woodward, Mary Barrow Blackburne, 1807-1850 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Prospect Heights (New York, N.Y.)
New York (State)--New York
Asia
Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.)
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |x Intellectual life
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Middle East
Subject
Education
Art
Arts
Botanical gardens
Botanical gardens
Botany
Botany
Centers for the performing arts
Children's museums
Children's museums
Conservatories of music
Gardening for children
Museums
Museums
Music
Music education
Performing arts
Performing arts festivals
Sciences
Type specimens (Natural history)
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Active 1843

Active 1980

Information

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