Charles Hamm

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Charles Hamm

Charles J. Hamm was born in Brooklyn in 1937. His childhood home was on Pierrpont Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. He attended Brooklyn Friends School, Packer Collegiate Institute, Berkeley Carroll School, and Polytechnic Preparatory School; all in the borough. He went on to Phillips Exeter Academy and after serving in the Army, he attended Harvard, then received a graduate degree in business at New York University. During his advertising career, Hamm worked for McCann Erickson Worldwide as Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of their United States division. In 1975, he became Trustee of Independence Community Bank Corporation, then President in 1985. For much of his time with the bank, he and his wife, Irene, lived in Brooklyn Heights. After retiring in the early 2000s, they resided in Mystic, Connecticut and kept an apartment in the Bronxville neighborhood of Manhattan. His board memberships have included Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

In this second of two interviews, Charles J. Hamm elaborates on his enjoyment of athletics as a youth at the Heights Casino sports club in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. This leads him to recall the surroundings of the club's Montague Street address before the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway disrupted the street. Hamm remembers a short term stay as a boy at his grandmother's home on Prospect Park West and then a permanent home in Brooklyn Heights near the Promenade. He evaluates the post-World War II gentrification that engendered youth gangs and high-rise apartments in the Heights. He assesses his time away from Brooklyn while at school and then coming back to it during his banking career. This leads into his exploration of why he values community service and philanthropy. In closing, Hamm analyzes how his learning disabilities and athleticism fed his drive to succeed and take risks; leading to life-changing times at Exeter, the Army, and Harvard. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.

The Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Civic leaders series features a dynamic range of narrators. Many are well-known public figures and others are well-known in their communities. This ongoing series focuses on Brooklyn history and the experiences of these narrators often reference their outsized contribution to how New York City citizens live, work, and conduct business in the five boroughs. The oldest narrator in this series was born in 1921.

Citation

Hamm, Charles, Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, November 14, 2006, Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Civic leaders, 2008.031.3.002; Brooklyn Historical Society.