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Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs

Call Number

ARC.306

Dates

1873-2012, inclusive
; 1965-2008, bulk

Creator

Back to the City Conference
Brownstone Revival Committee
Ortner, Evelyn
Ortner, Everett

Extent

51.85 Linear Feet
in 79 boxes, 8 film canisters, 1 flat file drawer, and 1 personal computer

Extent

0.065 Megabytes
in 2 digital files.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The collection contains the papers and photographs of Everett and Evelyn Ortner, dating from 1873 to 2012. It documents the Ortner's personal and professional lives, especially their involvement in the historic preservation movement and Brooklyn cultural organizations. It includes the records of the Brownstone Revival Committee and Back to the City Conference. The collection's photographs extensively document 19th century buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, especially the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Biographical note

Everett H. Ortner was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1919. When he was child his family relocated to Brooklyn, New York. He attended P.S. 99, Jamaica High School, and James Madison High School, from which he graduated in 1935. He attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1939. He then entered the U.S. Army as an officer and trained at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1945 he was deployed to the European theater of World War II, where he was wounded in action and taken prisoner. He received a Bronze Star Medal for his service in 1948. After the war he was employed as an editor at Popular Science magazine from 1952 until his retirement in 1985.

Evelyn F. Gelbman was born in Manhattan on July 4, 1924. She was raised in the north Bronx and attended Washington Irving High School, graduating in 1942. She then attended Hunter College, graduating in 1952. Later she studied design at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute, and historic preservation at Columbia University. She was employed as an interior designer from the 1950s to the 2000s, and was a design columnist for the Brooklyn Heights Press and Homeowners How To Handbook. She was also the Director of Facilities and Collections for the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1979 to 1984, where she curated the organization's archives and portrait collection.

The Ortners married in 1953. They lived in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1963 the couple purchased an 1882 four-story brownstone at 272 Berkeley Place in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. This would be the catalyst for their involvement in the "Brownstone Revival" movement. The Ortners soon became active in a variety of community organizations. They lobbied local banks to provide mortgages to prospective Park Slope home-buyers at a time when lenders had "red-lined" the neighborhood. According to the Park Slope Civic Council, "they also encouraged the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. (now National Grid) to purchase and transform a dilapidated brownstone on Berkeley Place into a modern two-family home featuring a variety of gas appliances." These buildings became known as "Cinderella homes" and were used in advertising to entice new residents to the neighborhood. The couple were also a leading force in the designation of the Park Slope Historic District in 1973.

Starting in the 1960s, Everett was involved with the Park Slope Civic Council (as photographer and vice-president), the Park Slope Betterment Committee (founder), the Brownstone Revival Committee of New York (co-founder and president), the Back to the City Conference (co-founder and president), the Montauk Club (board member and president), the Brooklyn Historical Society/Long Island Historical Society (board member and vice-president), and Preservation Volunteers (co-founder with Evelyn). Evelyn was involved with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (board member), Brooklyn Museum (president of the Community Committee), the St. Ann Center for Restoration and the Arts (co-founder and chairman of the board), Brooklyn Stained Glass Conservation Center (vice-president and board member), the Long Island Historical Society (member), the Montauk Club (board member), the Victorian Society in America (New York Chapter, board member and secretary), the Fine Arts Federation of New York (board member), the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment (board member), Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (board member), and Preservation Volunteers (co-founder with Everett).

The Ortners were the recipients of numerous awards and honors, including the Brooklyn Union Gas Company's Cinderella Award (1978), the Preservation League of New York State's Excellence in Historic Preservation Award (2002), and the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Lucy G. Moses Preservation Leadership Award (2005).

Evelyn Ortner died at 272 Berkeley Place on September 19, 2006 at age 82. Everett followed on May 22, 2012, at age 92.

Sources:

Harris, Elizabeth A. "A Couple Who Gave Brownstones New Life," New York Times, June 4, 2012.

Hartocollis, Anemona. "Evelyn Ortner, 82, a Booster of Brooklyn Brownstones, Dies," New York Times, September 22, 2006.

Hevesi, Dennis. "Everett Ortner, Leader in Brooklyn Brownstones' Revival, Dies at 92," New York Times, May 26, 2012.

Park Slope Civic Council. "Remembering Everett Ortner," last modified July 13, 2012. http://parkslopeciviccouncil.org/remembering-everett-ortner/

EGO school work, resumes, correspondence, and ephemera, 1945-1958; Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs, ARC.306, Box 1, Folder 2; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Who's Who - Biographical, 1984-2009; Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs, ARC.306, Box 19, Folder 4; Brooklyn Historical Society.

EHO curriculum vitae and award correspondence, 2006-2009; Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs, ARC.306, Box 19, Folder 21; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains the papers and photographs of Everett H. Ortner (EHO) and Evelyn G. Ortner (EGO), dating from 1873 to 2012. It documents the Ortners personal and professional lives, especially their involvement in the historic preservation movement and Brooklyn cultural organizations.

Series 1: Evelyn G. Ortner personal papers contains files relating to EGO's education, interior design career, employment at the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry, curation of the Fulton Ferry Firehouse exhibit, and her role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Ann Center for Restoration and the Arts.

Series 2: Everett H. Ortner personal papers contains files documenting the early life, education, military career, and professional career of EHO.

Series 3: Everett and Evelyn Ortner personal papers documents the professional, social, and familial lives of the Ortners, dating from 1900 to 2010. It includes an assortment of correspondence, clippings, photographs, ephemera, memorabilia, digital files, and other materials.

Series 4: Brooklyn and Historic Preservation photographs contains photographs related to Brooklyn and historic preservation in a variety of formats, dating from circa 1880s to 2000. Formats include prints, slides, negatives, and glass plate negatives. The series includes original photograghs by EHO, copy photographs of historic images used by EHO in lectures, and a small amount of original photographs taken by other photographers.

Series 5: Brooklyn and Historic Preservation lectures contains files on Brooklyn and historic preservation lectures, dating from the 1970s to 2006. The lectures were primarily delivered by EHO. The files include lecture notes, slide lists, transcripts, clippings, photographs, flyers, and audio cassette recordings.

Series 6: Brooklyn and Historic Preservation general files is comprised of assorted files relating to Brooklyn (history and culture) and the historic preservation movement that were collected by the Ortners, dating from circa 1880 to 2008. The files include publications, typescripts, correspondence, photographs, posters, notes, and other materials.

Series 7: Brownstone Revival Comittee records contains files relating to the Brownstone Revival Committee (BRC) (later Brownstone Revival Coalition), dating from 1967 to 2008. It includes organizational records, lecture and workshop files, copies of the Brownstone calendar, and issues of the organization's publication, The Brownstoner.

Series 8: Back to the City Conference records contains records relating to the Back to the City Conference (BTTC), dating from 1973 to 1992. It includes the records of the organization (Board of Directors files) and files relating to individual conferences.

Series 9: Brownstones and Historic Preservation clippings contains clippings relating to brownstones and the historic preservation movement, including the Brownstone Revival Committee (BRC), Back to the City Conference (BTTC), and the Brooklyn Union Gas Company's Cinderella project, dating from 1966 to 1985.

Series 10: Brownstone correspondence consists of correspondence relating to brownstones and the urban historic preservation movement, especially in the Park Slope neigborhood of Brooklyn, dating from 1965 to 2005. It includes several organizations, such as the Park Slope Betterment Committee, the Brownstone Revival Committee, and the Back to the City Conference.

Series 11: Brooklyn Union Gas Company - Cinderella projects documents the Brooklyn Union Gas Company's Cinderella program. The series consists of publications, correspondence, films, histories on the program and the company, and ephemera, dating from 1968 to 2008.

Series 12: Historic District Designation Reports contains New York City Historic District Designation Reports (1969-1973) and one map of historic locations in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn (2005).

Series 13: Brooklyn and Manhattan postcards contains Brooklyn and Manhattan postcards and a small amount of other postcards and tradecards (Rising Sun Stove Polish and Paine's Funiture Manufactory) collected by EHO, dating from 1873 to 2007.

Subjects

Conditions Governing Access

Papers and photographs open to researchers without restriction. The collection's audiovisual and digital files are not currently accessible.

Conditions Governing Use

The rights to original photographs created by Everett Ortner are held by the Center for Brooklyn History. The copyright status all of other material has not been evaluated. While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Everett and Evelyn Ortner papers and photographs, ARC.306, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Estate of Everett and Evelyn Ortner, 2014.

Related Materials

Downtown Brooklyn Development Association records (1979.021)

Robert Vadheim Brooklyn neighborhood renewal and development collection (1987.002)

Robert Vadheim collection on the renovation of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church (1988.014)

Back to the City collection (1991.036)

Eastern Parkway Coalition records (2007.016)

H. Dickson McKenna collection (ARC.060)

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce publications (ARC.165)

Brooklyn neighborhood associations and civic organizations publications (ARC.167)

Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC) records (BCMS.0083)

Other Finding Aids

Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via the image database in the library under the object ID prefixes V1973.5, V1974.12, V1982.8, and V1991.136.

Collection processed by

John Zarrillo. Digital materials processed by Erica López in 2019.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-07-16 15:46:29 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The collection combines five accessions: 2014.003, V1973.005.1949, V1974.012, V1982.008, and V1991.136.

Some newspaper clippings and other fragile documents have been photocopied for preservation purposes. Approximately 0.5 linear feet of files (mostly relating to the Back to the City Conference) were found to be water damaged. These materials were treated by Mitra Library Conservation LLC. They were then processed by John Zarrillo and reintegrated into the collection in May 2017. These files are located in box 79.

A note on abbreviations: Everett and Evelyn Ortner fequently abbreviated their own names as "EvO". To avoid confusion, this finding aid refers to Everett H. Ortner as "EHO" and Evelyn G. Ortner as "EGO".

Born digital materials donated on one 3.5 inch floppy disk. The disk was imaged using BitCurator-2.0.14. No viruses or personally identifying information were found during imaging.

Additional materials were added to the collection in 2024 by Dee Bowers and filed under existing folder headings, except for the folder "Park Slope general" which was created at that time.

Revisions to this Guide

May 2017: Last updated by John Zarrillo
July 2019: Revised by Maggie Schreiner to include links to digitized AV material.
January 2021: Revised by Maggie Schreiner to reflect born digital materials
July 2024: Revised by Dee Bowers to reflect the incorporation of additional materials.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201