Former City Resident To Release New Brooklyn Square Book

Brooklyn Square, Jamestown NY, in the 1950s.

JAMESTOWN – Joan V. Cusimano Lindquist, a Jamestown native who has written two previous books about the city’s past, will discuss and sign copies of her latest book, “Remembering Brooklyn Square: The 1930s to The 1960s,” at three local venues on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Lindquist will appear from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Off the Beaten Path Book Store, 28 Chautauqua Ave., Lakewood; noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Fenton History Center, 67 Washington Street, Jamestown; and 3-4:30 p.m. in the Fireplace Room at Prendergast Library, 509 Cherry St., Jamestown.

The author describes the new book as “something akin to a literary restoration of Brooklyn Square’s past, at least the last three decades of its long life” and gives credit to area residents who supplied material for the book by responding to her request for Brooklyn Square memories in local newspapers last year.

Joan Cusimano Lindquist

“It was this part of Jamestown that was demolished during the urban renewal project. However, the very disappearance of Brooklyn Square and its name from any current map of the city is what prompted my interest and desire to recapture what had been lost in a book of recollections and personal narratives by those who once knew the Square intimately because of their long-time association with it,” Mrs. Lindquist said.

Her new book, which is devoted solely to Brooklyn Square, was preceded by “The Lost Neighborhood Collection” published in 2010 and “Brooklyn Square, the Lost Neighborhood, and Beyond” released in 2013.

Copies of all titles will be available for sale and signing during the three author visits, and they can be purchased later at the Fenton History Center and Off the Beaten Path Book Store.

Autographed and/or inscribed copies of the new book, “Remembering Brooklyn Square: The 1930s to The 1960s,” can also be purchased directly from the author/editor herself by writing to Joan V. Lindquist, 34 Oregon Avenue, Jackson, New Jersey 08527; calling at (732) 364-6204; or e-mailing at scandit@att.net. The cost per book is $24.95. Add $3 for one copy or $5 for two copies to the same address shipped media mail.

Lindquist’s other two books are also available by direct mail order from the author/editor at a cost of $19.95 for “The Lost Neighborhood Collection” and $22.95 for “Brooklyn Square, the Lost Neighborhood, and Beyond” plus the same shipping rates described above.

The new book’s appeal is multi-generational, according to the author, because it can be enjoyed by older generations of Jamestown residents who remember Brooklyn Square and by members of the younger generations who will learn about what has been lost.

The book is divided into nine parts. Four deal with places where people gathered such as businesses, the City Public Market, restaurants, and federal and state buildings. Others offer a nostalgic collection of memories and impressions; a map of Brooklyn Square between 1930 and 1967 and a directory to help people identify places referred to in the book; a compilation of interesting facts and trivia plus old advertisements and announcements; a collection of never-before published photographs from the 1930s; and a section on Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to Jamestown in 1900.

For information about the author’s local appearances to discuss and sign her books, call  Off the Beaten Path Book Store at 720-4917; Fenton History Center at 664-6256; or Prendergast Library at 484-7135.