Let’s Get Physical: Brooklyn’s 19th Century Journey to Fitness

[Virtual tour] After the Civil War, Americans became more aware of their physical fitness, or lack of it. The late Victorian middle class, with more leisure time than ever before, took this interest and ran with it. Literally. Today’s health clubs and gymnasiums, and even the phys. ed classes of our school years can be traced back to this period. Our tour will look at Brooklyn’s YMCA and German Turn Verein clubs, which started it all, and will take special note of the notable, and newsworthy fitness gurus of their day. They made headlines, had profitable businesses, and yet, are totally forgotten today. Both men and women explored ways of becoming healthier through exercise. Before Crunch Fitness, Brooklyn had the “Pangymnastikon.” What was that? Join writer and architecture historian Suzanne Spellen on this virtual tour and find out.

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