Raymond F. Almirall, 1905

The 200-foot tower of St. Michael’s was the second tallest building in Brooklyn after the Williamsburgh Savings Bank until the early 21st century when high-rise residential towers began to sprout up across the borough. The tower’s egg-shaped dome recalls the famous basilica of Sacré-Cœur in Paris, a French connection made through its École des Beaux Artstrained architect. Almirall also designed the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building at 51 Chambers Street in Manhattan, as well as most of the campus of Seaview Hospital in Staten Island.