Alice Walsh Sunset Park collection
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Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
This collection includes materials gathered by Alice Walsh, Sunset Park resident and former president of the Sunset Park Restoration Committee: photographic negatives and prints depicting the construction of the 4th Avenue subway line and materials related to the activities of the Sunset Park Restoration Committee.
Biographical Note
Alice Walsh has been a resident of Sunset Park for over 40 years and is a co-founder of the Sunset Park Restoration Committee. She served as the Committee's first president from 1976 - 1980. During Walsh's time as president, the Sunset Park Restoration Committee received a grant from the Brooklyn Educational and Cultural Alliance (BECA) to produce a 20 minute film about Sunset Park. Walsh co-wrote the book, Sunset Park: A time remembered with Robert J. Walsh.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series:
Series 1: 4th Avenue subway construction photographs, 1910-1915
Series 2: Sunset Park Restoration Committee records, circa 1910-circa 2010
Scope and Contents
The Alice Walsh Sunset Park collection, circa 1910-circa 2010, includes materials gathered by Alice Walsh, Sunset Park resident and former president of the Sunset Park Restoration Committee. The photographic negatives and prints taken by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company in the early 1900s, depict the construction of the 4th Avenue subway line. Other photographs and negatives from the early 1900s depict Bush Terminal, Victory Gardens, the Sunset Park waterfront, and Brooklyn Army Terminal and were used in Sunset Park: A Time Remembered by Robert J. Walsh and Alice Walsh and published by the Sunset Park Restoration Committee in 1980. The Sunset Park Restoration Committee materials include house tour brochures, correspondence, photographs, event flyers, and an education curriculum.
Subjects
Organizations
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Open to users 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.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Alice Walsh, 2021.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The majority of the materials in this collection are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org at least two weeks prior to research visit.
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
All folder titles were supplied by the archivist. Original newspaper clippings were discarded after preservation photocopies were made.
Repository
Series 1: 4th Avenue subway construction photographs, 1910-1915, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series 1: 4th Avenue subway construction photographs, 1910-1915, includes photographic prints and negatives taken during the building of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company's 4th Avenue subway line. The images depict residences, storefronts, and churches along 4th Avenue, as well as the construction. Each image includes the address depicted and the date the image was captured.
Arrangement
The series is in original order.
Historical Note
The 4th Avenue subway line was built by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). This project was part of the Dual Contracts agreement between the New York City government and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and signed in 1913. The line opened in 1915. The BRT was acquired by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) in 1923 after the BRT went bankrupt.
Custodial History
Prior to the 2021 gift to Center for Brooklyn History, the negatives from the building of the 4th Avenue subway line were found in a drawer in the MTA's offices by Mike Rochford and Frank Goldsmith and given to Alice Walsh and Robert J. Walsh in the 1970s.
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
4th Avenue subway line construction, 1910-1915, inclusive
Series 2: Sunset Park Restoration Committee records, circa 1910-circa 2010, inclusive; 1980-1989, bulk
Scope and Contents
Series 2: Sunset Park Restoration Committee records, circa 1910-circa 2010, includes House Tour brochures, event flyers, and an educational curriculum developed for local schools. The curriculum was funded by a 1981 Brooklyn Educational and Cultural Alliance grant and developed by the Prospect Park Environmental Center and the Environmental Action Coalition. This series also includes photographs that were included in Sunset Park: A time remembered, researched and written by Robert J. Walsh and Alice Walsh, and published by the Sunset Park Restoration Committee in 1980.
Arrangement
The series is in chronological order.
Historical Note
The Sunset Park Restoration Committee was formed in 1976 by residents who wanted to represent Sunset Park at the annual Brooklyn Brownstone Fair. During the late 1970s and 1980s, the Committee sponsored house tours, home improvement workshops, flea markets, square dances, and an educational history guide and walking tour for 4th graders. The Sunset Park Restoration Committee has also advocated for historic district status for areas of the neighborhood and publishes informational material about the history and current activities of the neighborhood.
