Architecture

Share Your Brooklyn Door Photos and Pay Homage to the Late, Great Joseph Sweeney

Joseph Lee Sweeney is a name few Brooklynites will recognize, and yet he left us with a remarkable legacy. A Park Slope resident, successful architect and gifted photographer, Sweeney scoured Brooklyn on foot, documenting hundreds of the borough’s gorgeous doorways. In 2004, he picked 30 of his favorite photographs to create an iconic poster called “The Doors of Brooklyn.” Today marks the first anniversary of…

by Brownstoner

09/22/2015 2

Today marks the first anniversary of Sweeney’s death. In honor of his contribution to the community, we’re launching a tribute to Sweeney’s project by inviting you to share your portraits of Brooklyn’s majestic doors.

When asked why he chose to document Brooklyn, Sweeney told the New York Daily News, “Brooklyn is very different — especially brownstone Brooklyn. You look at this poster and immediately you know it’s Brooklyn,” he said. “There are photos in this poster of doors located down the block from where I live. These great artistic masterpieces have become so much of our daily routine we barely notice them.”

Where You Come In

Brownstoner is celebrating Brooklyn architecture and paying homage to Sweeney’s work with a new version of the poster — one created with your Brooklyn doorway finds. Please note that if your photo is chosen, we’ll ask you to send us a hi-res version to use in the poster. To enter, simply snap a pic of your favorite door, tag it with #thedoorsofbrooklyn and tag @brownstoner on Instagram. Don’t have Instagram? No problem. You can email your picture to maude [at] brownstoner [dot] com.

Submission guidelines can be found here.

On October 24 (Sweeney’s birthday), we’ll choose 30 of our favorite images to print on the new poster. If your photo is chosen, we’ll send you one. If you need a little inspiration, check out Sweeney’s original and a few from us: