Brooklyn House Snooping

Don't you love a good snoop? Maybe it falls in the grey area, ethically speaking, but I just love poking around in people's homes. Nothing too nosey, but it's just fascinating to see how other people live their lives. "Ohhh, I use that toothpaste too!" "What!? I didn't know they collected velvet paintings!" "Nice thread count." Ok, well maybe I'm a creep, but I don't think I'm alone in that boat, because in January of 1978 photographer Dinanda H. Nooney began a year long process of capturing Brooklynites in their homes. Lucky for us snoops, her collection of over 500 of her previously unseen photos, aptly dubbed The Nooney Brooklyn Photographs, have been published in the New York Public Library's digital collections.

1: Eileen Cox. 152 Midwood St., Flatbush, Brooklyn. November 18, 1978. 

2: Joseph & Mary Merz, architects. Daughter Julie & cat. 48 Willow Place, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. January, 1978. (1978). 

3. Fran Orans. 4715 Surf Ave., Coney Island, Brooklyn. August 5, 1978. 

4: Johnny Redd home. 416 Waverly Ave., Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. April 6, 1978.

5: Home of the Frieds, oldest daughter. 501 E. 17th St., Flatbush, Brooklyn. July 31, 1978.

6: Walter & Kathy Becker. 289 Washington Ave., Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, suspiciously dated April 15, 1978, even though there’s a giant Christmas tree. 

7: Jonathan & Dorothy Nelson. 897 Sterling Pl., Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. May 20, 1978. 

8: Spencer & Rosalyn Depas. 227 Cumberland St., Fort Greene, Brooklyn. May 19, 1978. 

9: Everett & Evelyn Ortuer home. 272 Berkeley Pl., Park Slope, Brooklyn. March 4, 1978.

10: Geoffrey & Tobi Needler. 51 Montgomery Pl., Park Slope, Brooklyn. June 24, 1978. 

Photos via Messy Nessy Chic & NYPL