North Side Bank of Brooklyn, ca. 1978. The 1889 Romanesque Revival building by Theobald Engelhardt was the original location on the North Side Bank of Brooklyn. The bank was acquired by the Manufacturer’s Trust Bank in 1922. The Grand Street branch shuttered during the 20th century, as Manufacturer’s Trust went through a series of mergers, eventually becoming part of Chase Bank. In recent years, the building has been a retail location and event space; its weathered exterior continues to recall the rapidly-developing neighborhood’s industrial roots.

View west on Broadway toward the former Sparrow Shoe Factory (No. 195), ca. 1975. The cast iron-fronted factory was built in 1882 for the show manufacturing business of James R. Sparrow and his son James R. Sparrow, Jr. At right is the awning for the Peter Luger Steak House, a restaurant founded in 1887 as Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley. At left is the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.

Kings County Savings Banks ca. 1975 Post-Civil War elegance in this country always aped the grandeur of Second Empire Paris. This bank, with its high mansard roofs, quoins in the walls, and rusticated first floor, was no exception.

Little boys standing on the south side of Broadway between Berry Street and Bedford Avenue, ca. 1975. The elevated subway trestle east of the Williamsburg Bridge is visible between buildings at right.

Kings County Savings Bank ARCHITECT: King & Wilcox DATE: 1868 STYLE: Second Empire A four-story building with Mansard roof of the French Second Empire period, the Kings County Savings Bank has excellent proportions and many fine architectural details. The main entrance doorway is dominated by a handsome porch with elaborate carving in the pediment. A cast iron balustrade flanks the building on the property line enclosing the bank.

Kings County Savings Bank. ca. 1975. Built between 1860 and 1867, the bank building (at left) was designed by William H. Wilcox in partnership with prominent Brooklyn architect Gamaliel King. The four-story, Second Empire building (the mansard roof hides the 4th floor attic) was the first permanent home of the Kings County Savings Bank, chartered in 1860. The building was occupied by a number of different banks for more than 120 years, finally closing as a banking institution in the early 1990s. Since 1996 the building has been occupied by the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, a non-profit organization that presents art and history exhibitions, performances, cultural events, lectures, and educational programs.

411-415 Bedford Avenue, ca. 1975. Cast iron architecture is most well known in New York City in the SoHo and a few excellent examples in Fulton Ferry and Downtown Brooklyn. Williamsburg also had a smattering of cast iron building, including most notably the Smith, Gray & Co. building on Broadway and Bedford Avenue. This pair of cast iron facades, seen here in a 1970s era photograph, are unfortunately, no longer extant. The buildings still stand but the facades are now brick, and the fenestration (the arrangement of windows) has been drastically altered.

St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, pre-1909. The community of St. Mark's was founded in 1838 and moved into their Gothic style stone church at the corner of Bedford Avenue and South 5th Street in 1841. After six successful decades in that location the church was informed that the land on which the church sat was being taken by imminent domain for an entrance to the new Williamsburg Bridge. The church was razed after the turn of the century and the congregation moved to a location in Crown Heights on Union Street and Brooklyn Avenue.

ca. 1975 George Washington at Valley Forge is the name of the sculpture by Henry Shrady that stands in Brooklyn near the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge. It commemorates the months Washington and his army spent in a camp northwest of Philadelphia over the course of a deadly winter. Washington did, of course, also spend some time in Brooklyn during the Revolutionary War, although Shrady opted, perhaps understandably, not to memorialize Washington escaping capture following his defeat in the Battle of Brooklyn. Although it might not have seemed like a statue-worthy moment, that escape, made possible by dense fog and strong winds over the East River, is what allowed Washington to continue to lead the Continental Army to eventual victory.

Sugar refining was one of New York City's leading industries from colonial times, when thick-walled masonry "sugar houses" of five to seven stories were some of the tallest structures in Manhattan. The first of these vertical factories was erected on Wall Street in 1729, and at least four similar sugar houses operated in lower Manhattan through the mid-1830s, when new machinery and methods transformed the production process. In 1884, Havemeyer & Elder constructed the world's largest sugar refinery on the Brooklyn waterfront. The burgeoning industry consolidated in 1897 under a cartel led by the Havemeyer family's Sugar Refineries Company (later renamed the American Sugar Refining Company), at its peak it controlled 98% of the country's sugar production. The Filter, Pan & Finishing House of Havemeyer & Elder was a three-building complex for filtering and reducing, drying, refining, grading, and packaging sugar-- all carried out in vertical production process. The deep waters of Wallabout Bay and Bushwick Creek allowed direct docking for ships unloading raw sugar and taking on packaged goods as cargo. The refinery continued to evolve with additions to the complex in the 1920s and the name was changed to Domino Sugar Corporation in 1991. With a workforce of 4,500, it had a minimum capacity of 1,200 pounds of sugar a day. Refining ceased in 2009, leaving only a packaging operation until the factory closed in 2004. In 2007, the Landmark Preservation Commission designated the original three-building complex as a New York City landmark, noting that, at 155 feet tall, it was the tallest building on the Brooklyn waterfront, approaching the height of early skyscrapers in lower Manhattan's financial district." Plans are underway by developer CPC Resources for a large-scale residential and commercial complex that will restore the Filter, Pan & Finishing House as a community center by Beyer Blinder & Belle Architects and replace the remainder of the site with new high-rise apartment buildings designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects.

Sparrow Show Factory 183-195 Broadway is considered one of the finest surviving cast-iron buildings in Brooklyn. Its iron was cast by the Atlantic Iron Works of Manhattan, which cast pieces for many buildings in Tribeca and Soho. The cast-iron façade remains intact and features inventive ornamentation in the form of calla lilies, stylized drapery, and wreaths on the building’s pilasters. A similar spiral floral concept can be seen on other buildings, but the use of the calla lily is considered unique. The building was likely built as a shoe dealer’s factory and warehouse. In 1937, the building became home to the Forman Family, manufacturers of chromium tableware and metal gift items. Their signage remains between the second and third floors, though the building now houses loft-style apartments. While cast-iron buildings could once be found throughout Brooklyn, the four surviving cast-iron buildings clustered along this section of Broadway are among the borough’s only survivors, and the only substantial group outside of Manhattan.

Williamsburgh Trust Company Building (later Holy Trinity Cathedral) Historic District ARCHITECT: Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell DATE: 1905-06 STYLE: Neo-Classical Completed in 1906, the Williamsburgh Trust Company Building is a monumental Neoclassical style bank building recalling Williamsburg’s industrial prosperity of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Designed by Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell, major Brooklyn architects who designed some of the borough’s most significant early-20th-century banks and park structures, it initially served as headquarters of the Williamsburgh Trust Company. It is a superlative example of the luxurious “banking temples” constructed in Manhattan and Brooklyn starting in the late 19th century, featuring classical porticos with acroteria on its two street facades, as well as a saucer dome recalling that of the Pantheon. Originally intended to stand in isolation, the building is remarkable for its four fully developed classical facades as well as its unusual facing material of white terra cotta. The building was acquired by the City of New York and from 1916 to 1958, it served as Magistrates’ Court for the Fifth District of Brooklyn. The building’s cross-shaped plan and central dome made it attractive for conversion to an Orthodox church, and in 1961, it was acquired by the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile, which renovated it to serve as its Holy Trinity Cathedral. Since then, the church has diligently and sensitively maintained the building, enabling this lavish structure to endure as one of Williamsburg’s most prominent and imposing landmarks.

Smith Building, ca. 1977. Smith-Gray, was a popular manufacturer and retailer of boys and men’s clothing in New York City. In the mid 1870s they moved into a new building on the corner of South 8th Street and Bedford Avenue, after outgrowing a number of other spaces in the Williamsburg area. That four-story, iron-fronted structure, called the Lyceum Building, was destroyed in a fire in 1888. The building that replaced the destroyed one is seen here at right. Called the Smith Building, it was designed by Peter J. Lauritzen, who would go on to construct other stores for the Smith-Gray Company. The building was demolished in the late 20th century and today the lot (and those around it) are occupied by a large apartment house.

Smith, Gray & Company Building ARCHITECT: attributed to William H. Gaynor DATE: 1870 STYLE: Cast-iron The Smith, Gray & Co. Building is an early, significantly intact, 5-story and 25-foot-wide cast-iron-fronted store-and-loft building in Brooklyn. The firm was founded by tailor Edward Smith, who began his business in 1833. This structure, constructed in 1870, is attributed to William H. Gaylor, a prominent Brooklyn architect who designed three other cast-iron-fronted structures for Smith between 1873 and 1884. This iron front was fabricated by George R. Jackson & Sons, and the builders were probably Thomas and William Lamb who, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, built all of Smith, Gray’s stores. Typical of cast iron designs in the Second Empire style, the building’s main facade features tiered upper stories with segmental-arched fenestration framed by Corinthian columns and pilasters.

The former Novelty Theatre on Driggs Avenue, 1917. The theater was demolished in 1919, with an apartment building named Novelty Court built in its place. It was there that NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico was shot in suspicious circumstances during a 1971 drug bust. Serpico, portrayed by Al Pacino in the film of the same name, was a vocal critic of the widespread corruption in the department.

In the wake of excessive new construction and urban renewal initiatives across the country there are growing trends of gentrification and community displacement. Using NYC as a case study, how could we consider adaptive reuse of older structures and thoughtful architectural additions to building sites as a way to create not only sustainable architectural precedents, but community-oriented structures? As examples of older structures that have been renovated and established new uses for their building types, the Domino Sugar Factory, Cooper Square CLT Housing Units, and the 122 Community Center serve as examples of adaptive reuse, but comparatively all for different reasons.

99 Broadway entrance detail, ca. 1975.

“American Sugar Refining Company, East River, Kent Avenue, Between South First and South Second Streets. The Largest in the World.” Ca. 1915. Williamsburg’s East River waterfront was once home to America’s largest concentration of sugar refining facilities — in 1870, the American Sugar refinery processed more than half of the sugar consumed nationally. The original factory, built in 1856, was damaged in an 1882 fire. The current 10-story brick structure was built as a fire-proof replacement. The factory continued to operate until 2004. The site is currently being redeveloped as a residential complex.

109 South 6th Street, ca. 1975. This Romanesque Revival/Queen Anne building was constructed in 1891 and designed by William H. Gaylor. originally built as the Bedford Avenue Theatre, it opened in October of 1891 with a production of a musical called Jolly Surprise. The theatre became the Empire Theatre in 1893 and by 1903 its life as a theatre was over. The construction of entrance roadways for the new Williamsburg Bridge caused the entire back half of building, including the stage, to be demolished. In the 1930s the building became a warehouse for the Fruitcrest Corporation (the painted sign is seen on the side facade in this photograph). Fruitcrest was a manufacturer of jams, jellies, and fruit juices. The company later developed the popular Juicy Juice and moved out of this building, first to Long Island, then to California. After Fruitcrest vacated the building it suffered from deterioration. In 2007 it was purchased by a fitness company that completely restored the exterior. Today, the red brick and terra cotta trim and medallions are in excellent condition.

Listen to the Gotham Center and Brendan Cooper's podcast on the history on the Domino Sugar Refinery, a monument of New York Industry, while examining these related archival images!

View of the Williamsburg Bridge from South 6th and Berry Streets. Berenice Abbott, April 28, 1937.

112 South 3rd Street, adjoining the southeast corner of Berry Street, showing the old Brooklyn Hospital and Dispensary. It first appears on an 1886 atlas of the City of Brooklyn. Sperr refers to it as "The Relief," probably referring to it being used, at this time, as a station of the Home Relief Bureau. May 1, 1936.

Williamsburgh Savings Banks ca. 1975 After the Greek Revival, very few purely classical buildings were erected until the World's Columbian Exposition rerouted interest in the beauties of the ancient world. This Classic building, erected in 1875, is one of the few, and must have seemed imposing to a city of brownstone, brick, and Ruskinian polychromy.

142 South 8th Street ARCHITECT: William H. Gaylor DATE: 1895 STYLE: Romanesque Revival Designed by William H. Gaylor, the Long Island Business College was built by Henry C. Wright, who founded Wright’s Business College in Williamsburg in 1873. In 1920, the college itself was sold and moved to a different Brooklyn location, and in 1922, the building reopened as Public School 166. Gaylor based the school’s design on Brooklyn’s recent public schools. The building, which combines the Romanesque Revival and Second Empire styles, and incorporates elements of other contemporary styles, features rough-faced brownstone trim, a five-part facade with a central tower and end pavilions, slate-covered mansards, and a convex roof with a square cap.

Williamsburgh Savings Bank ARCHITECT: George B. Post DATE: 1875 STYLE: Italian Renaissance An imposing building of monumental proportions, this bank with its dome and handsome lantern impresses one with its massive strength and quiet dignity. Classic Revival in style, this four story building of limestone, sandstone and marble contains a wealth of architectural detail and ornament. The Williamsburgh Savings Bank is an unusual domed structure, with many diverse architectural elements in its composition. Interior: Inspired by Renaissance models, the centrally-planned, domed banking room is a precursor to the temple banking halls which came into vogue in the period following the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. A rare intact example of a mid-nineteenth century ornamentation scheme, the banking hall features a mixture of Renaissance and Neo-Grec motifs and contains an abundance of rich materials and elaborate polychromy. Dominating the space is the soaring cast-iron dome which rises 110 feet above the banking floor and is capped by a beautifully painted vault with an unusual abstract design.

33-35 Grand Street, ca. 1978. Built in 1889 by Theobald Engelhardt, a Brooklyn architect who mostly worked in Williamsburg and Bushwick, this Romanesque Revival style building was the first location for the newly chartered North Side Savings Bank. Smaller in size than many of Brooklyn's other banks from this time period, the bank fit in with the industrial and commercial feel of the neighborhood. The bank was particularly successful, garnering clients not only from the local industries but also using their location right near the ferry terminal to attract commuters. The bank became a part of the Manufacturer’s Trust Bank in 1922. Manufacturer's Trust, through various mergers and renaming, is today J.P. Morgan Chase. The little building became a new branch of the larger bank in 1992 but closed sometime in the mid century. The building has been a clothing store, a hip barber shop, and an event space in recent years. There is a large, renovated apartment on the second floor. Despite the drastic changes that Williamsburg has seen in the last two decades, this building, with its darkened rough cut stone facade and pressed metal pediment, has remained largely the same as when this photograph was taken, and likely for much of its history.

261 Bedford Avenue, ca. 1923. Though called the Greenpoint Bathhouse in a number of sources, this building is firmly located in Williamsburg. Design by Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., the structure was opened in 1922. Saved from demolition in 1983 by an intrepid city Parks and Recreation Commissioner named Henry J. Stern, the facility remains a community pool and recreation center. The ceiling above the pool is a striking peaked skylight surrounded by a pressed copper ceiling. The entire building, including the natatorium, had a major renovation in the late 1990s.

“George Washington at Valley Forge,” at Continental Army Plaza at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge. The plaza has been decorated by the Mayor’s Committee to Welcome the British and French War Commissions. May 1, 1917. The bronze statue by Henry Mervin Shrady was cast at Roman Bronze Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and installed ahead of the park’s opening in 1906.