Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

The Old Brooklyn Firehouse was designed in 1892 by Frank Freedman. The red brick Romanesque-style building served as Brooklyn’s fire headquarters until 1972. Its seven story tower – then the tallest structure around – enabled fire watchers to detect blazes around the borough. If billows of smoke were spotted, horse-drawn fire wagons were dispatched from the firehouse located at 365-367 Jay Street between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street. In 1972, it was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Later that same year, the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn developed interest in purchasing and renovating the Jay Street Firehouse. After years of negotiation and planning, Poly entered long-term lease with the City of New York to develop a fire research center at the site in June 1976.

Paul DeCicco, director of Poly’s Center for Urban and Environmental Studies, spearheaded the development of the Fire Research Center. Working with Architect William A. Hall and administrators at Polytechnic, the building was designed to include a demonstration laboratory, a large computer display to simulate fires and firefighting situations, and a low speed wind tunnel to study fire phenomena. The center also included classrooms, training areas, a fire reference library, as well as assembly and gallery space for public exhibitions and performances. Proposals for the building included a shared space with the Poly Media Institute.

The project was funded by the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation; the New York State Department of Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. The remainder came from private donations.

From the guide to the Guide to the Jay Street Firehouse Records, 1972-1981, 1972-1981, (Poly Archives & Special Collections at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology)

The Faculty Minutes collection begins in 1896 in bound volumes. Over the years, the minutes were no longer bound, but were placed in three ring binders. The most recent faculty minutes and associated documents are foldered and boxed immediately after the meeting. Faculty meeting minutes from 2003 to present are also available online, although they are password protected so that only faculty members may view them.

The minutes reflect changes in the institution over time, including faculty appointments, graduation lists, proposed and accepted courses, and other issues related to the operation of the university.

From the guide to the Guide to the Faculty Minutes, 1896 - present, 1896 - present, (Poly Archives & Special Collections at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology)

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 Institute's 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 occuring in 1973 with the adoption of the name of the Polytechnic Institute of New York. A little over a decade later, the Institute became known simply as 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). As of 2010, the Institute continues its affiliation with NYU and 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 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 2010, the School continues to offer private educational programs spanning early childhood through the twelfth grade at its Dyker Heights and Park Slope locations.

From the guide to the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute collection, 1855-1981, (Brooklyn Historical Society)