Greenhouse of William Brown, father-in-law of photographer Adrian Vanderveer Martense, in the aftermath of the blizzard of 1888.

Brown was a player in the Brooklyn brewing business. In 1884 he led a group of investors in the purchase of the Bedford Brewery in present-day Crown Heights, and proceeded to upgrade its equipment and practices.

Following a research and development trip to Europe, Brown returned to Kings County with the perfect recipe for lager beer, and the perfect name for his new brew: Budweiser. Unfortunately, the Anheuser-Busch corporation had already trademarked the name, following their own delegation's trip to the brewing city of Budweis in Bohemia. (Brown backed down, and the business was renamed Nassau Brewery.)

An avid horticulturist, Brown commissioned the Lord & Burnham architectural firm to design a pair of heated greenhouses straddling the planned right of way for Robinson Road (now Parkside Avenue), east of Flatbush Avenue.