National Cold Storage: Must Have Been a Wonder When it Was Brand New

By on July 30, 2010 9:45 am in Brooklyn Heights

via @mopostal 's Tumblr

Don’t know if the recently demolished National Cold Storage building on Furman Street is worthy of the preservationist fervor represented  by the quote from Elvis Costello’s Hoover Factory in our headline, but nevertheless it’s gone. Rejoice in its rebirth as benches and pavement stones in the outstanding new Brooklyn Bridge Park.

As for inspiring artists, as London’s art deco wonder Hoover Factory did, the Cold Storage building’s literary legacy was written by Harvey Shapiro in response to JFK’s assassination.  Since Mr. Junkersfeld’s agent wouldn’t allow him to deliver the poem on video, you’ll have to settle for this guy:

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  • Obama?

    Gee, why didn’t the Watchtower “save” us & buy National Cold Storage & turn it into dormitories for themselves?

  • ashton

    the views from the promenade are enhanced without those buildings blocking part of the Brooklyn Bridge. In terms of those warehouses, less is certainly more.

  • Jorale-man

    Yes, i didn’t see much of great architectural significance in that building. There are cool industrial areas worth saving – Domino Sugar Factory, the Highline – but that looked fairly bland by comparison.

    The Wall Street Journal just published a piece about the Heights, incidentally:
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703578104575397442373735082.html

  • tr

    Does anyone know what is going to be built in its place?

    I hear the plan is to put a hotel there. My guess is it will be a shiny new, ugly out-of-context glass eyesore. If a hotel has to be put there the building should have been repurposed. It was built to last centuries and it took forever to demo it.

  • ashton

    oh for heaven’s sake, the new hotel will be just fine. Why is everyone so allergic to new architecture? it’s as if half of brooklyn heights were scared to death as children by a modern building.
    The new hotel, if it is ever built, will be lower that the old warehouses and will be fresh and clean and useful.
    Horrors! I know,