Of the 300+ chapters comprising the American Institute of Architects nationwide, the Brooklyn Chapter ranks seventeenth in seniority. The Institute was struggling to establish itself as the sole national organization of architects; most chapters were centered in major cities and were widely dispersed throughout the country. The two other chapters that were also started in 1894 were Southern Califo
rnia (now Los Angeles) and Washington State (now Seattle) Both chapters covered a vast geographical areas and yet had less members than Brooklyn. Our founding fathers felt that Brooklyn was large enough to be independent from the New York chapter. On September 13, 1894, the first regular Chapter meeting was held at the home of A.C. Thomson, which was located at 279 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn. Attending this meeting were Louis De Coppet Bergh, George P. Chappel, Walter Dickson, Issac E. Danmar, H.P. Fowler, William C. Hough, Washington Hull, George Ingram, D.C. Ernest Laub, Charles T.Mott, George L. Morse, Samuel B. Snook and, of course, A.G. Thomson. Of these fourteen men, eleven were, or would become, Fellows of the Institute. Few chapter records remain of those early years. Institute archives show that, because of distance and lack of interest, many chapters managed to meet only yearly, if at all. Yet the monthly Brooklyn chapter meetings were always lively social affairs with program speakers and elaborate dinners. Also documented are yearly boat outings to the beaches and pleasure palaces of Long Island. Up until World War I, the chapter held yearly exhibitions of architectural work at the Brooklyn Museum. The Depression brought hardships to the country and to the architectural profession. Paradoxically, chapter membership increased, perhaps as a way of sharing the misery. World War II brought further restrictions. In 1944, the fiftieth anniversary of the chapter was observed with a quiet dinner in a local restaurant. The 1950′s and 1960′s saw a burst of activity and a stable membership, despite the splitting of the chapter territory by the formation of the Queens and Long Island chapters in 1945. During these years, the chapter established a foundation to further the profession of architecture and held annual dinner dances to fund scholarships for architecture students. In 1957, in association with the centennial of the national Institute, the chapter celebrated its five hundredth meeting with a gala dinner at the Granada Hotel. In 1967, the Brooklyn Society of Architects joined the chapter. In 1994, the Brooklyn Chapter celebrated its one hundredth anniversary with a memorable grand gala at the Palm House at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Throughout the last one hundred and ten years, chapter members and their firms have left a legacy of public and private buildings. Members have participated in the civic life of the city and state, lobbying for changes in government and in its regulations. They have promoted aesthetic values through competitions and exhibitions and sought to inform the public on the role of architecture. But, most of all, they have continued the chapter in the spirit of fellowship and good will evident since its founding.
