Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute collection
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Abstract
A collection of materials from the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1854, and the institutions that subsequently grew from it: the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (later the Polytechnic Institute of New York and then Polytechnic University) and Polytechnic Preparatory (Poly Prep).
Historical Note
The Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1854 and was the first all-boys school in Brooklyn. Located at 99 Livingston Street in the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, the Institute offered both preparatory and college level programs designed to be comparable to the most distinguished boarding schools of the day. By 1890, the Institute's Board of Trustees had decided to separate the preparatory and collegiate programs into two different schools, and in 1891 a new facility was constructed next to the Institute's original building to house the college, which took on the name of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. The preparatory program, which became the Polytechnic Preparatory School, remained at 99 Livingston Street.
Over time, the two schools took on increasingly distinctive and separate identities. The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn became a renowned college of engineering, and by the mid-20th century had become a coeducational institution. Throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the Institute underwent several name changes, the first occurring in 1973 with the adoption of the name of the Polytechnic Institute of New York. A little over a decade later, the Institute was renamed Polytechnic University. This name endured until 2008, when the Institute became affiliated with New York University and became the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU). In 2014, the Institute merged completely with New York University and became known as the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering. In 2015, it was renamed the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, often known simply as NYU Tandon. The school is located at Six Metrotech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, where it offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in several science disciplines, with a focus on engineering.
The Polytechnic Preparatory School relocated in 1916 to a 25-acre plot of land in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dyker Heights, where it became incorporated as the Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, commonly known as Poly Prep. At its Dyker Heights location, Poly Prep grew into one of Brooklyn's most esteemed private schools, and in the 1970s became a coeducational institution. In the 1990s, the School acquired property in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, which it converted into the Poly Prep Lower School, a center of primary education. As of 2023, the School continues to offer private educational programs spanning early childhood through the twelfth grade at its Dyker Heights and Park Slope locations.
Sources:
- Poly Prep Country Day School. "History." Accessed November 23, 2010. http://www.polyprep.org/podium/default.aspx?t=112862
- Polytechnic Institute of New York University. "Rich History." Accessed November 23, 2010. http://www.poly.edu/about/past-present-future/history
Scope and Contents
The Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute collection contains annual reports, catalogues, yearbooks, journals, periodicals, and printed ephemera. These items document the Institute from near to the time of its founding well through the period when its collegiate and preparatory programs were separated and developed into the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and the Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School.
Subjects
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
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); Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute collection, 1985.055, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Portions of this collection were the gifts of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, 1883 and 1893; Cornell University, 2011; Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler Bergen, date unknown; and William Jerome Cosgrove, date unknown.
The 1854 stock certificate was the gift of Cornell University.
Materials from Polytechnic University, the two printed images of Poly Prep Country Day School, and assorted other materials were transferred from the Brooklyn ephemera collection (BCMS.0007) and the Brooklyn Collection clippings files in 2023.
The 1905 alumni association dinner program was the gift of the Montauk Club as part of Brooklyn Collection accession 2016.0011.
Sources and dates of acquisition for the remaining items in the collection are unknown. The bulk of the collection was formally accessioned in 1985.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Originally minimally processed to the series level, this collection was reprocessed to the file level in 2023 and additional found-in-collection material was added, along with material from the Brooklyn ephemera collection (BCMS.0007) and the Brooklyn Collection clippings files. The collection was also completely rehoused at that time.
An 1854 stock certificate, gift of Cornell University, was added to the collection in 2014.
Sponsor Note
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series 1: Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, 1854-1890, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series contains materials dating from 1854, the year the Institute was founded, to 1890, when the Institute's collegiate and preparatory programs were split into two separate schools. Items include the Institute's second annual report, containing summary administrative and financial information; annual catalogs, complete with lists of students and faculty; issues of the Institute's monthly newsletter, The Polytechnic; copies of the Institute's yearbook, The Polywog; an 1854 stock certificate, and one commencement program from 1888. The series also includes a large bound volume commemorating the Institute's 25th anniversary in 1880. The volume contains an historical sketch of the Institute, as well as listings and photographic portraits of the Institute's trustees and faculty.
Stock certificate, 1854
Annual report, 1855
Catalogue, 1856-1890, inclusive
Catalogue duplicates, 1867-1875, inclusive
Diploma, 1867
Certificate, circa late 1800s, inclusive
25th anniversary volume, 1880
The Polytechnic magazine, 1881-1884, inclusive
Poly-Wog yearbook, 1887-1890, inclusive
Commencement program, 1888
Image of Institute building, circa late 19th century, inclusive
Retrospect and Outlook, 1890
Series 2: Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1890-1973, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series contains materials pertaining to the administration, curriculum, students and faculty, and general activities of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Materials date from 1890, when the Institute was first formed as the exclusively collegiate outgrowth of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, to 1973, when the Institute changed its name to the Polytechnic Institute of New York. Materials include annual reports, annual catalogues and registers, yearbooks, periodicals, journals, printed ephemera, and alumni materials.
Annual reports contain summary administrative and financial information, and span the periods 1908 to 1914, 1930 to 1931, and 1960 to 1966. Annual catalogs and registers date from 1889 to 1957 and contain details on the Institute's programs and curriculum, as well as lists of students and faculty. There are copies of the Institute's yearbook, carrying on the title of The Polywog, from 1890, 1901, 1908, and 1916, as well as issues of the Institute's weekly newsletter, The Polytechnic Reporter, from 1920, 1961 to 1963, and 1977.
Journals are comprised of research publications from 1940 to 1941, and copies of the Institute's yearly academic journal, The Polytechnic Engineer, from 1911 to 1915. These journals contain research papers and studies conducted by the Institute's students. Also included are issues of Counterweight, the Institute's journal of art and literature, for the period 1961 to 1969; and issues of Golana, the journal of the Institute's Science Fiction Club, for the period 1963 to 1969.
Ephemeral items consist of invitations and programs from the 1905 installation of Fred W. Atkinson as President of the Institute; a 1955 commemorative booklet containing the proceedings of the Institute's centennial convocation; and historical sketches, prospectuses, pamphlets, and brochures containing general information on the Institute and spanning the period circa 1890 to 1965.
Alumni materials consist of several publications, including the constitution of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn Alumni Association, dated 1908; two issues of the weekly newsletter, The Polytechnic Alumni Reporter, from April of 1916; alumni rosters from 1916 and 1931; issues of the periodical Poly Men from 1925 to 1951; a program from the Institute's Alumni Day in 1957; a summary report of donations to the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn for the year 1966; and a news bulletin from 1967.
Catalogue, 1890-1922, inclusive
Event programs, 1892-1965, inclusive
Poly-Wog yearbook, 1901, 1908, 1916, inclusive
Publications and ephemera, 1907-1967, inclusive
Annual reports, 1908-1910, 1912-1914, 1930-1931, 1962, 1964-1965, 1966, inclusive
Alumni Association constitution, 1908
College of Engineering Evening Technical Courses catalogue, 1909-1910, 1924-1926, inclusive
The Polytechnic Engineer, 1911-1913, 1915, inclusive
Alumni Roster, 1916, 1931, inclusive
Polytechnic Alumni Reporter newspaper, 1916-1917, inclusive
Bulletin, 1919
Polytechnic Reporter newspaper, 1920, 1961-1963, 1977, inclusive
Catalogue, 1922-1944, inclusive
Poly Men alumni magazine, 1925
Poly Men alumni magazine, 1927-1951, inclusive
Research Publications of the Polytechnic Institute, Vol. 4 Parts 2 and 3, 1940-1941, inclusive
Alumni directories, 1943, 1949, inclusive
Catalogue, 1944-1946, 1949-1950, 1956-1957, inclusive
Centennial dinner and convocation programs, 1954-1955, inclusive
Commencement program, 1959
Brooklyn Polytechnic Area Urban Renewal Designation, 1963
Counterweight literary magazine, 1961-1969, inclusive
Golana science fiction magazine, 1963-1969, inclusive
Series 3: Polytechnic Institute of New York, 1973-1985, inclusive
Polytechnic Cable newspaper, 1975-1977, inclusive
Series 4: Polytechnic University, 1985-2008, inclusive
Publications and ephemera, circa 1980s-2000s, inclusive
Series 5: Polytechnic Preparatory (Poly Prep), 1890-present, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series documents the development of the Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School (commonly called Poly Prep) from circa 1900, shortly after the School was established as the Polytechnic Preparatory School, to 1981, well after the School had changed its name and relocated to its campus in Dyker Heights. Items include annual catalogs and registers, informational pamphlets and prospectuses, yearbooks, periodicals, printed ephemera, and alumni materials.
Catalogs and registers date from the period 1902 to 1928, as well as the year 1966, and contain summary information on the School's curriculum and lists of students and faculty. Pamphlets and prospectuses date from circa 1900 to 1916 and contain historical sketches of the School as well as general information on the School's courses and programs. Copies of the School's yearbook, titled The Polyglot, are included for the periods 1900 to 1916 and 1936 to 1946, while issues of the School's weekly newspaper, The Polygon, are included for the years 1936, 1946 to 1949, and 1959 to 1981.
Ephemeral items consist of a 1902 program for a theatrical performance put on by the Poly Prep Dramatic Association, a scrapbook containing various newspaper clippings and printed material dating from 1904 to 1906, a 1905 program for the Interscholastic Indoor Games, a program for the School's centennial dinner in 1954, a 1961 program for a Poly Prep football game, and a 1974 parents' newsletter.
Alumni materials include two alumni directories from 1943 and 1949; a report on annual giving for the year 1957; and issues of the Alumni Association's quarterly newsletter, the Poly Prep Alumni Review (later the Poly Alumni Review and Perspectives), from the years 1962 and 1972 to 1979. There is also one issue of the Alumni Association's magazine, Poly Prep, from the winter of 1981.
Booklets, circa 1890-1915, inclusive
Polyglot yearbook, 1900, 1901, 1902, inclusive
Annual register, 1902-1905, inclusive
Event programs, 1902, 1905, 1915, 1961, inclusive
William Vail Dexter scrapbook, 1904-1906, inclusive
Polyglot yearbook, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1911-1913, inclusive
Catalogue, 1907-1910, 1913-1917, 1925, 1928, inclusive
Polyglot yearbook, 1914-1916, 1936-1938, inclusive
Country Day School Preliminary Prospectus, circa 1916
The Polygon newspaper, 1937 (Vol. 42), 1946-1947 (Vols. 55, 56, 58, 59), 1959-June 1968 (Vols. 79-87), inclusive
Polyglot yearbook, 1939-1940-1942, 1944, 1946, inclusive
Publications, circa 1950s-1981, inclusive
Alumni Review, 1962, 1972-1976, inclusive
The Polygon newspaper, October 1968-1981, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Volume 99 (1979-1980) is missing.
