At the turn of the 20th century, Downtown Brooklyn had a theater district to rival Manhattan’s. In the space of a few blocks near the Flatbush Avenue Extension, a collection of grand multi-use ballrooms and smaller vaudeville stages proliferated. Just a few decades later, most had fallen into disuse and disrepair, but in many cases, the buildings themselves survive. Here’s a look at a thriving entertainment district of days gone by — and the contemporary adaptive reuse projects reinvigorating its legacy.

Main Post Office After the Civil War, the federal government attempted to establish a new high standard of architecture in its buildings. The work was done by the Supervising Architect under the Treasury Department. This post office was built when Mifflin E. Bell was Supervising Architect; it represents a curious combination of French Renaissance and Romanesque Revival forms, to which are added certain German Renaissance details.

In its history, New York City has seen its fair share of accidents, disasters, and catastrophes. Some have been man-made, while others were the work of Mother Nature. These events have, over time, altered and shaped the city and its citizens.

Mid-December up until Christmas is the Post Office's busiest time of the year. See what the holiday season looked like at Downtown Brooklyn's U.S. Post Office in 1950!

Mention of the Post Office these days tends to elicit more groans than high praise, but there was a time when the Brooklyn General Post Office was a central hub of communication for the Borough.

A cigarette card from the early 20th century depicting the former Brooklyn Theatre at the corner of Washington (now Cadman Plaza East) and Johnson Streets. The theater was the site of a catastrophic fire on December 5, 1876. The fire broke out backstage at about 11:20pm, between the fourth and fifth acts of “The Two Orphans.” Actors and stagehands attempted to extinguish the blaze while other actors on stage — some of whom were aware of the circumstances — attempted to carry on with the show, in order to avoid panic in the audience. Within minutes, the fire had spread and evacuation began en masse. The flames continued to spread rapidly, reaching the roof and causing the collapse of the Johnson Street frontage in less than an hour. Reports variously state the number of fatalities as 278, 294, or more than 300, many of whom had been seated in the Family Circle, the theater’s third and uppermost level. The Kings County coroner found suffocation via smoke inhalation to be the most prevalent cause of death. Today, it remains the third-deadliest fire at an American theater or place of public assembly.

Main Brooklyn Post Office ARCHITECT: Mifflin E. Bell DATE: 1885-1891 STYLE: Romanesque Revival The General Post Office displays a wealth of skillfully blended Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival details. The older section of the building was begin in 1885 and completed in 1891; the original plans of Mifflin E. Bell were modified by William A. Freret, Bell’s successor as supervisory architect of the Treasury Department. The extension, completed in 1933, adheres faithfully to the design of the older part of the building.

Between 1954 and 1957, the Municipal Art Society surveyed historic buildings in all five boroughs to create a database of potential landmarks to preserve. Local residents and MAS staff compiled individual sheets devoted to about 200 buildings. Each sheet outlined the building’s date, location, and style and provided a description and a small photograph. This is the list of Brooklyn buildings.