obsessed: old buildings

Although I've been living in New York City for several years now, it wasn't until I moved to Brooklyn and started working in the Lower East Side that my obsession with abandoned, turn of the century buildings took hold. They are everywhere (I think I was spoiled by Columbia's architecture while I was there, and I lived on the cusp between Long Island City and Astoria for a year--enough said about the latter).

As I walk, bike ride, and drive my car, these buildings in Brooklyn and the LES (typically imposing, shuttered, and Neo-Gothic) grab my attention (to a slightly dangerous degree, admittedly, as I turn my head to look at them). I think this may be connected to my interest in cemeteries. Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by artifacts or buildings connected with the distant past (meaning 100 years or more, which isn't very long by global standards). Here are a few of the buildings I've noticed in the recent weeks.

Secretly, I just really want to be this guy.

The Former New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company
360 Third Ave., Gowanus, Brooklyn
- Built in 1872-73. This building used to be the administrative office for an artificial stone factory. More recently, it housed an auto-repair shop (it is Gowanus after all). Today, it has been officially landmarked (hence its lonely location) and sits on the northwest corner of what will one day be a Whole Foods, if the toxins in the site are ever properly removed.



Alianza de Artistas, Inc.
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center
107 Suffolk St., Lower East Side
- Built 1897-98. I love old school buildings. Walking past this building on Suffolk St., you don't realize how large it is because of the scaffolding. It is covered in graffiti and seems abandoned until you pass by the entrance, which shows posters for performances and exhibits inside. The building was built by Charles B. J. Snyder, the superintendent for school buildings in NYC at the turn of the 20th century. He designed this five-story elementary school, which actually served as so until the mid 1970s.



The Old 18th Precinct (now the 68th)
43rd St. and 4th Ave., Sunset Park
- Built in 1905. I know the least about this building. Apparently, it also served as a music school. Who knew police precincts used to be so ornate? It is shuttered and abandoned now. Fourth Ave. isn't much to look at, but this building reminds me of a monastery or castle.