Church of the Ascension, 1935. Designed in Early English Gothic style by noted church architect Henry Dudley, the Church of the Ascension hosted its first mass in 1866. Funding for the church was donated by two notable parishioners: J.W. Valentine and Thomas Fitch Rowland, the owner of Greenpoint’s Continental Iron Works. Following the devastation of 2012's Hurricane Sandy, the church became the logistical base in North Brooklyn for the 'Occupy Sandy' relief efforts.

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, October 19, 1958. This German-Gothic style church was designed by the Brooklyn-born architect Theobald Engelhardt and completed in 1897 (some records list an earlier date of completion). Engelhardt was a prolific in the late 19th century, designing breweries, banks, factories, and mansions across Brooklyn, especially in neighborhoods with established German populations.

144 Franklin Street Alonzo B. Jones, ca. 1895 This Renaissance Revival structure features a rich texture comprised of rough-cut brownstone at the base and brick and red terra cotta on the upper floors. Its bays consist of impressively scaled arches separated by equally monumental pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Separating the arched bays from the bracketed cornice is an ornate frieze. Attention is drawn to the Greenpoint Avenue façade, whose central bay is flanked by oval windows that further accentuate the building’s Renaissance inspiration.

This 1895 Neo-Classical building was the headquarters of the Mechanics and Traders Bank, founded in 1867 by Archibald Meserole, of the prominent Greenpoint family. Architect Alonzo B. Jones incorporated a variety of building materials and architectural styles: a rusticated brownstone base; arched, palladian, and oval windows with terra cotta detail; full-height (second and third stories) red brick pilasters with Corinthian capitals; and a wavy stemlike motif frieze beneath the cornice.

Shadowed by a wastewater treatment plant, this corner of Greenpoint was once a bronze foundry so famous it is rumored to have been visited by President Theodore Roosevelt. The Roman Bronze Works specialized in the lost-wax casting technique, which allowed artists to produce masterfully detailed sculptures.

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA CHURCH 862 Manhattan Avenue Patrick Charles Keely, 1875 With its 240-foot spire, St. Anthony of Padua is a dramatic neighborhood centerpiece, especially when viewed from Milton Street. Designed in the Victorian Gothic style, it is the most impressive of the many churches in Brooklyn designed by Patrick C. Keely, a prolific ecclesiastical architect whose works spanned the country. Decorative features include original carved tympana in the three arched entrances, keyed stone enframements, carved stone and Minton tile bandcourses and diamond panels, and pediments with clock faces at the base of the spire. Flanking the church is the modest convent at 878 Manhattan Avenue and the Gothic Revival rectory at number 862, which features pointed-arch windows with carved tympana and a cornice with iron cresting.

St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, October 19, 1958. The church is adorned with black and purple fabric as a gesture of mourning for Pope Pius XII. Construction on St. Anthony of Padua, designed in Gothic Revival style by prolific church architect Patrick Keely, commenced in 1873. The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s 1982 Designation Report calls St. Anthony “the most impressive of Keely’s Brooklyn churches,” noting its 240-foot spire and polychrome limestone and brick facade. In 1975, the church merged St. Alphonsus Church, and is today known as St. Anthony — St. Alphonsus.

What happens when two Urban Archive staff members are practically neighbors? They go on a walk capturing as many then-and-now pictures as they can! If you’re in North Brooklyn sometime soon, see if you can take some of your own!

St. Elias Catholic Church 149 Kent Street Church: William B. Ditmars, 1869–70 School: W. Wheeler Smith, 1879 St. Elias Greek Rite Catholic Church, formerly the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint (bottom), combines elements of the Romanesque Revival and Victorian Gothic styles, both popular in the post-Civil War period. Its brick and stone façades have round-arch openings, polychromatic ornament and a columned portico entrance. Its polygonal Sunday school building mimics a medieval Italian baptistery, but another Victorian touch can be found in the handsome wooden porch on its east end.

GREENPOINT SAVINGS BANK HQ 807 Manhattan Avenue Helmle & Huberty, 1906–08 The Greenpoint Savings Bank, established in 1868, was housed in four different buildings in the neighborhood prior to commissioning this grand structure. Designed by the same firm responsible for the Shelter Pavilion in Monsignor McGolrick Park, this neo-Classical, Roman-style limestone bank features a granite base, a recessed portico with four Doric columns topped with a triangular pediment, a large dome, and patterned slate shingles.

North side of Milton Street, Greenpoint, October 19, 1958. At right Nos. 131 and 133 form a pair of Second Empire townhouses, each with floor length parlor windows, and mansard roofs with round “bullseye” windows. By 1982, when Milton Street was included in the Greenpoint Historic District, the 1870s houses had been modified, with No. 131 losing its bullseye.

“Blue House,” 1958. 119 Milton Street is one half of a pair of Neo-Grec rowhouses designed by Thomas C. Smith and completed in 1876. Curiously, the 1982 Historic District Designation Report makes no mention of no. 119’s bold color scheme.

106-112 Noble Street, September 1, 1936. This photo shows two synagogues: Beth El (at left) and Ahawath Israel, now known as Greenpoint Shul (at right). The Greenpoint Shul is the only remaining synagogue in the neighborhood. According to public records, the building was originally a Congregationalist Church that dates back to 1871. In the late 1880s, it became a German-Jewish Reform synagogue, Temple Beth El. The congregation that worships at Greenpoint Shul today (2018) is the result of a merger of three of five synagogues that have served Greenpoint since the late 19th century.

The Roman Catholic Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, October 19, 1958. This Roman Catholic parish was founded by members of Greenpoint's Polish Community in 1916, with the church itself completed the following year. In the 1958 photo, black bunting appears over the entrance, commemorating the mourning of Pope Pius XII, who had died 10 days earlier.

St. Elias Catholic Church, October 29, 1958. Built in “Ruskinian Gothic” style with alternating white and brownstone arches, the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint was completed in 1870. A Sunday School building was added in 1879. The church was sold St. Elias, a Greek Catholic congregation, in 1943, when the Reformed Dutch Church moved to a smaller building on nearby Milton Street. The Kent Street church has been abandoned since 2007.

Roman Bronze Works foundry, Green Street, ca. 1910. The Roman foundry, established in 1897, specialized in lost-wax casting and worked with prominent clients, including Tiffany Studios and the sculptor Frederic Remington. In 1927, operations were shifted to the Tiffany factory on 43rd Avenue in Corona, Queens. Today, the former foundry site is occupied by the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (which includes the large silver onion-shaped Digester Eggs, also known as the Sh\*t Tits).

179 Freeman Street, October 19, 1958.

Formerly Public School 126.

From hip little coffee shops, beautiful street art, and spacious parks, Brooklyn is known as a bastion for community, creativity, and excitement. Its history spans back over 350 years and has its roots in New Amsterdam—it’s named after the Dutch town Breukelen after all, and each neighborhood has a unique cultural identity complete with great food. As you explore the borough, we’ve highlighted a few of Brooklyn’s numerous delicious restaurants. These local Brooklyn businesses all have a little slice of Brooklyn history to them and you will surely learn something new while enjoying a local meal.