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Six to Celebrate: Greenpoint

In 1832, Neziah Bliss (1790–1876) and Eliphalet Nott (1773–1866), business partners in steamship production, began purchasing acres of farmland in Greenpoint and laying out streets. Spurred by a period of economic growth and an influx of European immigrants during the 1850s, more than a dozen shipbuilding firms moved across the river from Manhattan and turned the neighborhood into a major shipbuilding center. Franklin Street, named after Benjamin Franklin, was established as its commercial strip with shops catering to local industries. During the Civil War, the United States Navy commissioned several major ironclad war ships from the Continental Iron Works, which occupied a seven-acre stretch of the Greenpoint waterfront and employed 1,400 men. The first of these, the Monitor, famously defeated the Merrimac, a Confederate ironclad ship, in a standoff in Virginia in 1862, just a month after its launch. The Monitor was a source of pride for the neighborhood and is commemorated to this day by a monument in Monsignor McGolrick Park.

While shipbuilding declined after the Civil War, Greenpoint’s other industrial enterprises, which included porcelain making, glass making and oil refining, continued to thrive. The influential Union Porcelain Works on Eckford Street helped shape American porcelain design. Its owner, Thomas C. Smith, purchased a tract of land on Milton Street in the 1860s and constructed a number of homes there, decorating some of their hearths with blue and white porcelain tiles. It was claimed they were the only tiles manufactured in the United States that could withstand such heat. The Greenpoint Glass Works, another local company, gained such acclaim that Mary Todd Lincoln commissioned table settings for the White House. Greenpoint and Williamsburg also formed a hub for oil refineries.

Greenpoint’s residential development was closely aligned with its industrial growth, as workers’ housing was built inland from the waterfront. Large, elaborate rowhouses were constructed for owners and managers, while modest rowhouses, tenements and apartment buildings were built for laborers. Much of this construction occurred during the second half of the 19th century, and the neighborhood still displays a variety of architectural styles popular at that time. Early rowhouses contain elements of the Italianate and Greek Revival styles, while later styles include French Second Empire, neo-Grec, Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival. Some of the neighborhood’s later institutional buildings, such as the Greenpoint Savings Bank and the Mechanics and Traders Bank, were designed in the Classical and Renaissance Revival styles. The neighborhood also boasts many fine churches, designed in the Gothic Revival, Victorian Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles, among others.

There are two historic districts in Greenpoint: the Greenpoint Historic District, located in the neighborhood’s core, and the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District, which covers roughly one block. A section of the neighborhood is also a National Register of Historic Places District.

ByHistoric Districts Council logoHistoric Districts Council
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McGolrick Park Pavilion icon

McGolrick Park Pavilion

MONSIGNOR MCGOLRICK PARK Shelter Pavilion: Helmle & Huberty, 1910 John Ericsson Monument (Monitor and Merrimac) Sculptor: Antonio de Filippo, 1938 Originally called Winthrop Park, this park was renamed in 1941 in honor of Monsignor Edward J. McGolrick, the Pastor of St. Cecilia’s Church. Its interior pathways are lined with shade trees, and its exterior perimeter is bordered by modest residential architecture. A highlight is the Shelter Pavilion, a Beaux-Arts comfort station that recalls the Grand Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. The structure features two end pavilions connected by a crescent-shaped open arcade of paired columns. In front of the pavilion is a statue commemorating the Greenpoint natives who lost their lives in World War I. Also within the park, the John Ericsson Monument is named for the engineer who built the Monitor, America’s first ironclad warship, in Greenpoint in 1862.
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128 NOBLE STREET icon

128 NOBLE STREET

128–132 NOBLE STREET James H. Balston, 1868–69 128, 128A and 130 Noble Street form a trio of Italianate rowhouses designed by architect/builder, James H. Balston, who lived at number 128A. Number 132 was designed and built in the same style as its triplet sisters, but is slightly taller. Architecture as a profession did not fully emerge until around the time of the Civil War. However, even through the 19th century, many architects of Brooklyn rowhouses principally worked on interior layouts, as exterior design elements were often pulled from catalogs and entire façade designs were frequently repeated. Many of Greenpoint’s rowhouses were developed this way, but are, nonetheless, very attractive in their uniform elegance. These houses feature high stoops with cast-iron railings, entryways with wooden double doors and roundarch lintels, segmental-arch cast-iron window lintels and fanciful cornices.
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132 NOBLE STREET icon

132 NOBLE STREET

128–132 NOBLE STREET James H. Balston, 1868–69 128, 128A and 130 Noble Street form a trio of Italianate rowhouses designed by architect/builder, James H. Balston, who lived at number 128A. Number 132 was designed and built in the same style as its triplet sisters, but is slightly taller. Architecture as a profession did not fully emerge until around the time of the Civil War. However, even through the 19th century, many architects of Brooklyn rowhouses principally worked on interior layouts, as exterior design elements were often pulled from catalogs and entire façade designs were frequently repeated. Many of Greenpoint’s rowhouses were developed this way, but are, nonetheless, very attractive in their uniform elegance. These houses feature high stoops with cast-iron railings, entryways with wooden double doors and roundarch lintels, segmental-arch cast-iron window lintels and fanciful cornices.
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St. Anthony of Padua icon

St. Anthony of Padua

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.
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St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church icon

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Theobald Engelhardt, 1891-92 Milton Street between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue is one of the neighborhood’s most picturesque blocks, with rows of houses designed in the neo-Classical, Queen Anne and Italianate styles. The block features two lovely churches: St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran and Greenpoint Reformed Church. St. John’s was built in the German neo-Gothic style of brick with terracotta ornament. It features a flying buttress at its western corner, lancet windows and a plaque above the central arched window carved with the church’s name in German. Its architect, Theobold Engelhardt, also designed numbers 122 and 124 across the street, the latter of which now serves as the St. John’s parish house. Designed in the Queen Anne style as near twins, their rich brownstone and ironwork details differ slightly, lending visual interest and dimension. The Greenpoint Reformed Church was originally the Greek Revival home of Thomas C. Smith, owner of the Union Porcelain Works and a local architect/builder. On this block, Smith is also responsible for numbers 119–125 and 139–151, which is a particularly distinctive row with arched, recessed loggias at the third floors.
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138 MILTON STREET icon

138 MILTON STREET

Greenpoint Reformed Church Thomas C. Smith, 1866-67 Milton Street between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue is one of the neighborhood’s most picturesque blocks, with rows of houses designed in the neo-Classical, Queen Anne and Italianate styles. The block features two lovely churches: St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran and Greenpoint Reformed Church. St. John’s was built in the German neo-Gothic style of brick with terracotta ornament. It features a flying buttress at its western corner, lancet windows and a plaque above the central arched window carved with the church’s name in German. Its architect, Theobold Engelhardt, also designed numbers 122 and 124 across the street, the latter of which now serves as the St. John’s parish house. Designed in the Queen Anne style as near twins, their rich brownstone and ironwork details differ slightly, lending visual interest and dimension. The Greenpoint Reformed Church was originally the Greek Revival home of Thomas C. Smith, owner of the Union Porcelain Works and a local architect/builder. On this block, Smith is also responsible for numbers 119–125 and 139–151, which is a particularly distinctive row with arched, recessed loggias at the third floors.
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122 MILTON STREET icon

122 MILTON STREET

122-124 Milton Street Theobold Engelhardt, 1889 Milton Street between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue is one of the neighborhood’s most picturesque blocks, with rows of houses designed in the neo-Classical, Queen Anne and Italianate styles. The block features two lovely churches: St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran and Greenpoint Reformed Church. St. John’s was built in the German neo-Gothic style of brick with terracotta ornament. It features a flying buttress at its western corner, lancet windows and a plaque above the central arched window carved with the church’s name in German. Its architect, Theobold Engelhardt, also designed numbers 122 and 124 across the street, the latter of which now serves as the St. John’s parish house. Designed in the Queen Anne style as near twins, their rich brownstone and ironwork details differ slightly, lending visual interest and dimension. The Greenpoint Reformed Church was originally the Greek Revival home of Thomas C. Smith, owner of the Union Porcelain Works and a local architect/builder. On this block, Smith is also responsible for numbers 119–125 and 139–151, which is a particularly distinctive row with arched, recessed loggias at the third floors.
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124 MILTON STREET icon

124 MILTON STREET

124 Milton Street Theobold Engelhardt, 1889 Milton Street between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue is one of the neighborhood’s most picturesque blocks, with rows of houses designed in the neo-Classical, Queen Anne and Italianate styles. The block features two lovely churches: St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran and Greenpoint Reformed Church. St. John’s was built in the German neo-Gothic style of brick with terracotta ornament. It features a flying buttress at its western corner, lancet windows and a plaque above the central arched window carved with the church’s name in German. Its architect, Theobold Engelhardt, also designed numbers 122 and 124 across the street, the latter of which now serves as the St. John’s parish house. Designed in the Queen Anne style as near twins, their rich brownstone and ironwork details differ slightly, lending visual interest and dimension. The Greenpoint Reformed Church was originally the Greek Revival home of Thomas C. Smith, owner of the Union Porcelain Works and a local architect/builder. On this block, Smith is also responsible for numbers 119–125 and 139–151, which is a particularly distinctive row with arched, recessed loggias at the third floors.
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97 WEST STREET icon

97 WEST STREET

GREENPOINT TERMINAL MARKET COMPLEX West Street between Greenpoint and Calyer Avenues Ca. 1890s Originally home to the American Manufacturing Company, the largest nationwide manufacturer of maritime rope in its time, this complex of 16 buildings was once Brooklyn’s second largest industrial enterprise. As industry moved out of the area in the 1980s, the buildings fell into disrepair, and by the 1990s, became overrun with squatters and wildlife, gaining the moniker “Forgotten City.” Much of the complex was destroyed in 2006 by one of the worst fires in the city’s recent history, with 350 firemen called to contain it. The surviving buildings were repurposed as artists’ studios, office space and start-up businesses. Along West Street, note the wooden block pavers—a once ubiquitous paving material rarely seen in the city today.
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37 Greenpoint Avenue icon

37 Greenpoint Avenue

EBERHARD FABER PENCIL COMPANY HISTORIC DISTRICT 98 West Street, Ca. 1870 100–106 West Street, Ca. 1860s 37 Greenpoint Avenue, S.A. Valentine, 1881 47–61 Greenpoint Avenue, Frederick H. Klie, 1923–24 The Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, which introduced America to the German method of mass-producing lead pencils, moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn after a fire destroyed its factory in 1872. It remained in Greenpoint until 1956, becoming one of Brooklyn’s most prosperous companies and employing hundreds of workers, most of whom were women. The complex, which encompasses almost the entire block, contains eight buildings, mostly designed in the German Renaissance Revival style. 98 and 100–106 West Street, the latter of which is the oldest building in the complex, were purchased in 1872. 37 Greenpoint Avenue, acquired in the 1880s, features brownstone window lintels incised with the company’s star logo, which is in keeping with the neo-Grec style popular at that time. The Art Deco–style 47–61 Greenpoint Avenue, the newest and most prominent building in the district, features massive glazed terra-cotta pencils at the upper floors of its six stories, proudly exhibiting the building’s legacy.
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114 KENT STREET icon

114 KENT STREET

114-124 Kent Street Builder: James R. Sparrow, Sr., 1867-68 Another of the neighborhood’s most notable blocks, this street features rowhouses in a variety of styles, including Italianate and French Second Empire. Highlights include the Italianate brick houses at numbers 94–100, a row of four with round-arch entrances and mansard roofs; numbers 114–124, a row of six dwellings with cast-iron lintels and sheet metal cornices; and number 130, with an elaborate cornice and portico with fluted Corinthian columns supporting an entablature and a round-arch entrance. Church of the Ascension, a granite structure with brownstone trim, evokes a small country church. Its architect was a famous proponent of the Gothic Revival style in America, of which this church is an early example. St. Elias Greek Rite Catholic Church, formerly the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint, 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.
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130 KENT STREET icon

130 KENT STREET

130 Kent Street Building: Neziah Bliss, 1858-59 Another of the neighborhood’s most notable blocks, this street features rowhouses in a variety of styles, including Italianate and French Second Empire. Highlights include the Italianate brick houses at numbers 94–100, a row of four with round-arch entrances and mansard roofs; numbers 114–124, a row of six dwellings with cast-iron lintels and sheet metal cornices; and number 130, with an elaborate cornice and portico with fluted Corinthian columns supporting an entablature and a round-arch entrance. Church of the Ascension, a granite structure with brownstone trim, evokes a small country church. Its architect was a famous proponent of the Gothic Revival style in America, of which this church is an early example. St. Elias Greek Rite Catholic Church, formerly the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint, 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.
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Church of the Ascension icon

Church of the Ascension

Church of the Ascension 121-129 Kent Street Henry Dudley, 1865-66 Another of the neighborhood’s most notable blocks, this street features rowhouses in a variety of styles, including Italianate and French Second Empire. Highlights include the Italianate brick houses at numbers 94–100, a row of four with round-arch entrances and mansard roofs; numbers 114–124, a row of six dwellings with cast-iron lintels and sheet metal cornices; and number 130, with an elaborate cornice and portico with fluted Corinthian columns supporting an entablature and a round-arch entrance. Church of the Ascension, a granite structure with brownstone trim, evokes a small country church. Its architect was a famous proponent of the Gothic Revival style in America, of which this church is an early example. St. Elias Greek Rite Catholic Church, formerly the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint, 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.
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180 FRANKLIN STREET icon

180 FRANKLIN STREET

THE ASTRAL APARTMENTS 184 Franklin Street Lamb & Rich, 1885–86 This ornate Queen Anne–style apartment building looks like it was built for the wealthy, yet its significance derives in part from its construction as workers’ housing for Charles Pratt’s oil refinery in Williamsburg. In the mid 19th century, housing conditions were very poor, with people packed into tenements with little light and air. This building’s amenities included kitchens and toilets in each apartment, bathing facilities in the basement, a lecture hall and library, ground-floor cooperative stores, and removable “buttoned” windows in the stairwells and rear courtyards for ventilation, all of which was added without legislative pressure. Pratt, Brooklyn’s wealthiest man, a prominent philanthropist and funder of Pratt Institute, believed that healthy environments foster healthy individuals and thus productive citizens. He commissioned the prestigious firm of Lamb & Rich to design the building, drawing upon examples of humane workers’ housing in America and Europe. The brick and brownstone Queen Anne–style building features stepped gables, projecting bays, chimneys and arched windows along its top story. The projecting central entrance on Franklin Street rises to the full height with a round-arched four-story recess. Two imposing cornices–one in terra-cotta at the fifth story and a corbelled one at the top–add to the building’s grandeur.
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1155 Manhattan Avenue icon

1155 Manhattan Avenue

GREENPOINT MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN CENTER 1205 Manhattan Avenue 1868 The former Chelsea Fiber Mill, a complex of four buildings, was constructed by Standard Oil just after the Civil War to manufacture rope and textiles for the U.S. Navy. By 1891, four more buildings were added, and many Greenpoint residents worked here, especially during the two World Wars. In 1974, the buildings went into foreclosure, and the city leased the space to artists until the mid-1980s, when the North Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation purchased the complex. In 1994, it was acquired by the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, a non-profit whose mission is to rehabilitate vacant manufacturing buildings for use by small companies. It is now home to roughly 75 small businesses and artist tenants.
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Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility icon

Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility

Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant The largest of the city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed in 1965–79 and underwent a vast upgrade and expansion in 2009. It features futuristic buildings with swooping roofs and a series of immense, stainless steel, eggshaped “digesters.” The 3.5-mile Newtown Creek, a major industrial waterway in the second half of the 19th century, forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens. As one of America’s most polluted industrial waterways, it was designated a Federal Superfund site by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection in 2010. Along with the plant’s modernization, a nature walk around the creek was laid out and the plant established a visitors’ center that runs monthly tours of the facility. The nature walk, from which visitors can get a good view of the egg digesters, begins at the eastern edge of Paidge Avenue.
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