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.

The contract to upgrade the Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant, which began in 1998, included construction of a community nature walk through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program. Artist George Trakas’s design revived the long-inaccessible industrial shorelines of Newtown Creek and Whale Creek and provided the first public access to the waterfront in decades.

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.

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.