Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to Be Featured in ‘The Business of Brooklyn’ Exhibit at Brooklyn Historical Society

From Twizzlers to Bristol Myers Squibb, many iconic multinational brands got their start in Brooklyn.

From Twizzlers to Bristol Myers Squibb, many iconic multinational brands got their start in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, BK Reader, The Business of Brooklyn, Andrew Hoan, exhibit
The Brooklyn Historical Society
Photo: Courtesy Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

By The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

The Brooklyn Historical Society and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will partner to present 'The Business of Brooklyn,' an exhibit profiling the evolution of Brooklyn's businesses over last 100 years. From Twizzlers to Bristol Myers Squibb, many iconic multinational brands got their start in Brooklyn. The exhibition will highlight images and objects from a variety of Brooklyn companies over the last decade.

"We're thrilled to partner with the Brooklyn Historical Society to provide this timely insight into the last century of Brooklyn and the century ahead," said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Andrew Hoan. "As we reach our centennial and plan to keep Brooklyn cool, it's important to remember not just the borough's economic success today, but the great work of mom-and-pop stores throughout the borough that made it happen."

The exhibition is rooted in three major themes built around the Brooklyn's workers and entrepreneurs: the Local and the Global, Labor, and Innovation. The latter will focus on the new wave of innovative Brooklyn businesses, such as Etsy and ColdSteel, that have received over a billion dollars in investment since 2010.

The exhibit also sheds a light on pioneering community organizations like the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the first Community Development Corporation in the U.S.

In addition, the exhibit will show the ways in which consumer culture has evolved in the borough throughout the last century, thanks to shopping thoroughfares like the department stores on Fulton Street and shopping centers like City Point and Kings Plaza.

It will also include a gavel that the Brooklyn Chamber used to convene meetings in the 1920s.

The Chamber will kick off the exhibition with an opening reception on February 22 in the Brooklyn Historical Society's historic headquarters at 128 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights.

Over the past 100 years, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has gone through a variety of transformations. From the behemoth that owned 75 Livingston Street, once the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Building, to a smaller organization at 25 Elm Place, to its current iteration with over 2,000 members, the organization has shifted over the past century to suit the needs of a rapidly changing borough.

Explore Brooklyn is the dedicated tourism website for Brooklyn dining, events, shopping, attractions, and more. It was created to foster economic growth by spreading the word to tourists and businesses alike that Brooklyn is the place to be.

Be sure to hashtag #ExploreBrooklyn on social media as you explore our borough!




Comments