
Sport - Pool - The billiards hall 1909

by Mike Savad
Title
Sport - Pool - The billiards hall 1909
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Hdr Photography
Description
Hand colored photo from 1909
Original title: A common scene in the Bancroft-Foote Boys Club
Photographer: Lewis Wickes Hine
Location: New Haven, CT
The Boys Club of New Haven was founded in 1871 by philanthropist Eliza Maria Blake, the wife of inventor Eli Whitney Blake. She established it in her home across from the New Haven Green when city leaders recognized the need for recreational facilities and social services for the growing immigrant population. It was the third Boys Club in the country, and today there are more than 4,600.
In 1891, the club moved to 200 Orange Street, located in the United Workers building, a hub for social service organizations. This building was demolished in the 1920s to construct the Hall of Records. The club stayed there until 1915, when it relocated to a new facility on Jefferson Street, closer to the factory workers families it served.
For six decades, the Jefferson Street location was the only recreational facility in the neighborhood. It provided a welcoming space where boys could play sports and games like ping pong, checkers, and table hockey. The club had a gym with a basketball court, allowing for fun and exercise even in winter. Talented players often competed in state and national competitions. The club also had the only public swimming pool in the area, where generations of local boys learned to swim.
And of course they had a billiards table, which is a skill set they could use later in life to hustle people and place bets. Fun fact, did you know where the term pool table comes from? It comes from the term "betting pool". The correct term is a billiards room, not a pool room. A pool room indicates they place bets there. Now that you know, you can correct people.
Uploaded
May 31st, 2024
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