TUNNEL VISION
By Kevin Duggan They’ve got the hole picture!
A new photo exhibit
focuses on subway
construction at the dawn of the
20th century! “Streetscapes and
Subways,” at Downtown’s New
York Transit Museum, features
more than 250 photographs taken
between 1900 and 1940 by brothers
Pierre and Granville Pullis,
who were hired to document the
literally groundbreaking transit
projects. The photos graphically
demonstrate how much the
underground trains have changed
the landscape of Brooklyn, said the
museum’s director.
“They take you back to 1900s
New York and you really get a
sense of the before and the after,
and how transformative mass
transit’s been,” said Concetta
Bencivenga.
The exhibit makes visitors
appreciate how difficult some
of the early subways building
methods were, according to
Bencivenga.
“Most people don’t actually
stop to think about the original
IRT subway was for the most part
done by hand: pick axes, shovels,
wheelbarrows, and mules,” she said.
The photos also capture scenes
of a now-forgotten Brooklyn. Shots
of construction along the Fourth
Avenue Line (now the D, N, and R
trains), show the street lined with
horse carriage businesses, said the
exhibit’s curator.
“Along Fourth Avenue you have
Children outside a horse shoer on Fourth Avenue and 19th Street in 1910.
Photo by Granville W. Pullis
all these equine-based businesses
like farriers, carriage makers,
veterinarians,” said Jodi Shapiro.
Today, the wide thoroughfare
is sprinkled with auto shops and
gas stations — a different kind of
transportation-focused business,
noted Bencivenga.
“It was vehicle repair, it still
kind of is vehicle repair in 2020.
It’s in the DNA of that quadrant of
Brooklyn,” she said.
Shapiro chose the roughly 250
images from the museum’s vast
archive of subway construction
photos. The snaps are mostly
utilitarian, but a surprising
number had an artistic touch, with
posed workmen and interesting
compositions, said Shapiro.
“It looks like they were trying
COURIER L 44 IFE, FEBRUARY 21-27, 2020
to show how dignified these
people were even in a climate
where laborers were probably not
considered essential at all, even
though they were doing the most
important jobs,” she said.
The pictures, taken before,
during, and after construction,
documented any damage caused
by construction accidents, which
were common due to the prevalent
use of dynamite and the lack of
modern safety precautions.
“Streetscapes and Subways” at
the New York City Transit Museum
99 Schermerhorn St., at Boerum
Place in Downtown, (718) 694–
1600, www.nytransitmuseum.org.
Through Jan. 17, 2021; Tue–Fri, 10
am–4 pm. Sat–Sun, 11 am–5 pm.
$10 ($5 kids).
BBy Amalia Arms rittany, you got to come
on up!
A newly solo, soulful
singer will kick off this year’s
Bric Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival!
The frontwoman of the blues rock
band Alabama Shakes, Brittany
Howard, will kick off the 42nd
annual free summer festival with
a solo performance at the Prospect
Park Bandshell on June 9. The
head of the arts organization
behind the beloved annual music
extravaganza said that Howard
was a perfect choice to launch the
festival.
“We are thrilled to be kicking
off our 42nd season with a showstopping
performance by Brittany
Howard,” said Bric President
Kristina Newman-Scott. “This
night celebrates our commitment
to present bold work from risktasking
artists and creators across
stages, screens, and galleries.”
As the lead singer and guitarist
for five-time Grammy-winning
band Alabama Shakes, Howard is
known as the powerhouse voice
behind the hit songs “Don’t Wanna
Fight,” “Sound and Color,” and
“Hold On,” among others. Howard
launched her debut solo album,
“Jamie,” in September of last year,
naming it after her sister, who
taught her to play the piano and
write poetry, and died of cancer at
a young age.
Howard’s young solo career has
already had success, with “History
Repeats,” the album opener for
“Jamie,” receiving nominations for
Best Rock Song and Best Rock
Performance at the 2020 Grammy
Awards.
Before Howard’s 8:30 pm show,
Bric will host “The Revel,” a fundraising
event where the Downtown
arts group will honor David
Ehrenberg, the president of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development
Corporation. Tickets to the Revel
start at $750.
Brittany Howard at Bric
Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at the
Prospect Park Bandshell, (enter
at Ninth Street and Prospect Park
West in Park Slope, (718) 683–5600,
www.bricartsmedia.org/cb). June 9
at 8:30 pm. Free.
TBy Jessica Parks he Big Apple can party
like the Big Easy!
Mardis Gras is next
week, and Brooklyn has plenty
of spots where you can gather
your krewe to splurge before
the long Lenten season begins.
So here are four of your best
opportunities to celebrate Fat
Tuesday!
Hold everything!
The expansive event space
Freehold will take on the flavor
of N’awlins for its “Bourbon
Street” party tonight, featuring
fire eaters, stilt walkers, and
cajun cuisine. Happy hour starts
at 5 pm, and the tunes of New
Orleans will start bumping at 7
pm, with the High and Mighty
Brass Band keeping it going
well into Ash Wednesday.
“Bourbon Street” at
Freehold (45 S. Third St. between
Kent and Wythe avenues in
Williamsburg, (718) 388–7591,
www.freeholdbrooklyn.com).
Feb. 25 at 5 pm. Free.
Party animals
Roll with a canine krewe at
Sean Casey Animal Rescue’s
Mardi Gras Party! This actionpacked
night at Shenanigan’s
Pub will include a tongueblistering
hot sauce tasting
contest, games, Big Easy-style
cocktails, live jazz from singer
Gina Healy, and a raffle to win
a trip to New Orleans! The allinclusive
ticket will also score
you a mask, beads, a cajun
buffet dinner, and five raffle
tickets.
Mardi Gras Party at
Shenanigan’s Pub (802 Caton
Ave. at E. Eighth Street in
Kensington, (718) 436–5163,
s eanca s e yanimal r e s c ue .
t icketleap.com/mardigras).
Feb. 25; 6–10 pm. $10 ($30 allinclusive).
Fat Brewsday
Threes Brewing in Gowanus
is brewing up a Fat Tuesday
dance party with two full rooms
dedicated to boogie-woogie and
blues. Before hitting the dance
floor, you can load up on King
Cake and Sazeracs. The event
— with no cover! — kicks off
at 5 pm with dishes and drinks
from the bayou; followed by
disc jockeys spinning at 8 pm,
and the band 3 Ring Bender at
9 pm.
Fat Tuesday at Threes
Brewing (333 Douglass St.
between Third and Fourth
avenues in Gowanus, (718) 522–
2110, www.threesbrewing.com).
Feb. 25; 5 pm–2 am. Free.
Bourbon treat
Pick up a sweet new recipe
for the next Mardi Gras season
at Creme and Cocoa Creamery’s
“Beignet and Bourbon Ice
Cream Making Class,” where
you can learn to make their
own fried doughnuts, bourboninfused
chocolate, and bourbon
ice cream. Each amateur baker
will leave the two-hour class
with recipes they can use for a
lifetime, and two pints of ice
cream to gratify immediate
cravings.
“Beignet and Bourbon Ice
Cream Making Class” at Creme
and Cocoa Creamery (1067
Nostrand Ave. between Lincoln
and Lefferts avenues in Prospect
Lefferts Gardens, (718) 245–
6286, www.cremeandcocoa.
com). Feb. 21, 24, and 25 at 6:30
pm; Feb. 22–23 at 5:30 pm. $50.
Shakes it up!
Let’s get High: The High and Mighty Brass Band will play the Bourbon Street
party at Williamsburg’s Freehold on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Hold on: Brittany Howard, frontwoman
for the Alabama Shakes, will kick off
the Bric Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival on
June 9. Photo by Lza Axlwd
Carnival krewes!
The best Fat Tuesday
celebrations in Brooklyn
Exhibit showcases early subway construction photos
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