Interact With Brooklyn Waterfront History at the Brooklyn Historical Society at Empire Stores

The history of Brooklyn’s coastline comes to life through the sights and sounds of its workers, families and activists.

“Waterfront,” a multimedia exhibition at the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Empire Stores location in Dumbo, is the result of four years of research. Video, sculptures and interactive installations allow visitors to explore different facets of the coastline’s past.

An eight-minute film called “At Water’s Edge” details more than 20,000 years of waterfront history through 10 distinct moments, while “History in Motion” allows people to “enter” historic paintings, interact with the figures, and create 60-second videos starring themselves.

The exhibition also includes tales of local oystermen, oral histories of female Navy Yard dock workers and the freedom struggle of three enslaved residents who lived along the shoreline.

Focusing on the present day, a video installation called “Rising Waters” allows visitors to confront debates about climate change and rising sea levels through the words of historians, scientists, activists and others.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, January 20 at the Brooklyn Historical Society’s second location at Empire Stores in Dumbo. For more information on the event, click here.

Related Stories

• Snapshots of Brooklyn’s Rural Past at Brooklyn Historical Society
• Learn About 150 Years of Prospect Park History With a New Exhibit at Brooklyn Historical Society
• Catch a Conversation on Urban Fishing at Brooklyn Historical Society

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.