Bayside Oil - Former Astral Oil Works in Greenpoint

Birds Eye View of Astral Oil Works (Source: Novelty Theater)

Gasoline Still at Astral Oil Works (Source: Novelty Theater)

Heating Oil Storage Tank - Bayside Oil

Neighborhood: Border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg
Address: Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

The Bayside Oil site on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg was first developed by Charles Pratt as part of the Astral Oil Works in the 1860s. Pratt’s facility was used to manufacture kerosene and other oil products. For some time, more oil was refined in Greenpoint than anywhere else, in part due to Astral Oil Works. Those who live in Greenpoint will probably recognize the Astral moniker from the landmarked Astral Apartments that were built to house Astral Oil Works employees. Pratt was forced to sell Astral Oil to John D. Rockefeller and his company was assimilated into Standard Oil. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil once owned most of the refineries along Newtown Creek. Standard Oil used the Astral Oil Works site for refining and storage until the 1940s before it was transferred to the Bayside Company.

Bayside Industrial Building

Oil Works Pipes

Gas Pump

Sergio Allegretti started the Bayside Heating Oil Corporation. The company has its roots in the ice carting business of the early 20th century. With the advent and expansion of refrigeration the business evolved into a one-truck coal company. Then, when oil became the dominant fuel source they began hauling oil. Although the oil enterprise began as a one-truck oil dealership, Sergio’s son Alfred convinced his father to expand the company and establish a terminal on the Gowanus before expanding further to include terminals in Bensonhurst and Williamsburg. As of 2001 the company employed more than 270 people and included 100 trucks that moved 300 million gallons of heating oil a year.

Like many other waterfront enterprises, Bayside once had a connection to the mafia. Former mob capo Joseph Corrao once worked as a salesman for the company. Although, it isn’t clear how involved the mob was in the business, Bayside lost a city contract due to its affiliation with Corrao.

Garage & Workshop

The Greenpoint site was slated for purchase by the city for inclusion in Bushwick Inlet Park as part of deal with the community for rezoning the local waterfront. Until a year or so ago, the 8-acre parcel was still full of oil trucks; however, the facility hasn’t stored oil at the location for several years now. As promised, the city purchased the land in March of 2016 for $53 million. Another recent use of the site worth noting is that it was a set in the film A Most Violent Year and was used to shoot the violent finale.

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Sources:

1. Martin, Douglas "Alfred Allegretti, 65, Heating Oil Executive" New York Times 26 January, 2001
2. Hobbs, Allegra "Striking Oil: City Buys Bayside Depot, Expands Bushwick Inlet Park" Brooklyn Paper 11 March, 2016
3. Friend, Tad "Oil Man" The New Yorker 5 January, 2015
4. "Cleaning Up Bushwick Inlet Park" Brooklyn 11211 20 July, 2016
5. "Astral Oil Works" Novelty Theater

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Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family – San Damiano Mission

Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family - San Damiano Mission

Neighborhood: Greenpoint
Address: 21 Nassau Avenue

I often pass this church at night when I work late, miss the ferry home and end up slumming it on the L Train. When I pass it, the lights are usually on and the front interior doors are open, allowing a vibrant glow to emanate from the entrance. The Roman Catholic San Damiano Mission leaders who now run the church have done a good job of making the church seem inviting in an otherwise industrial looking corner of Greenpoint. Every time I walk by I can’t help but want to walk in.

Church Rectory

Parochial School

Church History
Slovak immigrants of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy established the Slovak parish of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family in 1905. The congregation first met in the basement of St. Vincent De Paul Church (demolished) on North 4th Street in Williamsburg while their new sanctuary was under construction. Their new house of worship at Nassau Avenue and N 15th Street was completed in 1911. Shortly after moving into their new church, attendance grew to 1,500 parishioners.  In addition, a parochial school fronting Nassau Avenue was added in 1918.  The school closed in 1970 and is now a daycare. In 2011 the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family merged with the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua. Then, in 2015, the church became the Roman Catholic San Damiano Mission.

Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family - San Damiano Mission

Architecture
The church's design style is Romanesque Revival. The red brick building’s architectural features include a corbeled brick gable, Romanesque arched fenestration, limestone trim and a verdigris dome capped tower. Unfortunately, I can’t find the name of the church's architect.

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Sources:

• Cook, Terry Sacred Havens of Brooklyn Charleston South Carolina: The History Press, 2013
• Brian Merlis & Riccardo Gomes Brooklyn's Historic Greenpoint Gomerl Publishing, NJ 2015
• Mcmahon, Joe "San Damiano Mission, Greenpoint" Brooklyn Catholic 6 May, 2015

Milton Street Row Houses - Greenpoint

Milton Street falls within the Greenpoint Historic District and as such includes some noteworthy architecture. According to the AIA Guide to New York “Milton Street encapsulates the history of Greenpoint’s urban row housing with a display of styles”.[1] In addition to the row houses there are a couple of churches and an apartment building. For the sake of brevity, I will only write this post on the North side of Milton Street. The south side will come later.

93 & 95 Milton Street

97 & 99 Milton Street

101 & 103 Milton Street

105 & 107 Milton Street

109 Milton Street

93-109 Milton Street:
The buildings in the above photos were designed and built by James R. Sparrow in 1873-1874. The buildings were designed in the then popular Renaissance Revival Style.[2] They adhere to the design principal of unity by maintaining a uniform height, fenestration and design style with matching details. Each façade was once painted in its own color to discern its individual identity.[1] According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission Report, the houses were likely built as two-family residences.  Most of the homes were sold to craftsmen that worked in the local trades. However, the buildings at 105-109 Milton Street were kept by the Sparrow Family as an investment. Most of the cast iron fences, as well as the stoop balustrades are original.[2]

111 Milton Street

111 Milton Street:
No. 111 is a neo-Grec style residence built circa 1881-82 by Thomas C. Smith.[2] Smith lived at the small mansion at 138 Milton Street. The Smith home is now the Greenpoint Reformed Church. Smith was the primary developer of Milton Street and designed the majority of the homes that still line the block.[3] I have more on Smith and his former home in an earlier post on the Greenpoint Reformed Church.

115 Milton Street

115 Milton Street:
This two-story brick building is a Neo-Classical row house built by Dr. Charles A. Walters ca. 1894. The property was developed as an investment by Walters who lived next door at No. 111.[2]

117 Milton Street

117 Milton Street:
Thomas C. Smith built the Italianate style house pictured above. The house is a brick structure built atop a rusticated brownstone basement. The house has retained its original stoop balustrade and garden railing, as well as its window guards at the basement.[2]

119 & 121 Milton Street

123 & 125 Milton Street

119-125 Milton Street:
The houses are a row of four brick neo-Grec style residences built in 1876 by Thomas C. Smith. They are in two pairs designed to appear like two larger homes.[2]  Unfortunately, the façade of the house at 125 Milton Street has been disfigured and no longer resembles its original historic design. I am not sure why the facade was changed but it now looks like a bad repair job on a damaged building, leaving little historic value. Also, the cornice that spans 123 and 125 has been painted a different color for each address which looks like a mistake.

127 & 129 Milton Street

127 & 129 Milton Street:
Built circa 1876, these homes were also designed and constructed by Thomas C Smith. Due to “renovations” No. 127 no longer has its 19th century character. In the photo it is hiding behind the evergreen shrub but don't worry, you're not missing much. As a reference to what it would have looked like, No. 129 has remained largely unaltered, retaining its Italianate style.[2]

131 & 133 Milton Street

131 & 133 Milton Street:
The next pair of houses adds to the Smith collection of Milton Street structures. Differing from the last two, these were designed in the French influenced Second Empire style. Although No. 131 has been modified, both buildings retain their mansard roof and original iron work.[2]

135 & 137 Milton Street

135 & 137 Milton Street:
More Smith homes… The houses were built in 1878 in the neo-Grec style.  The buildings had a two story bay that rose from the basement to the second floor at the side of each entrance which have since been removed. At No. 135 there is a picture window where the bay used to be and 137’s bay location has been covered with aluminum siding.[2]

139-151 Milton Street

139-151 Milton Street:
This brings me to my favorite of all of Thomas C. Smith’s houses. This row of Queen Ann style residential structures maintains a unique identity on the street due to its small arched and recessed loggias.[1][2] The homes are unified by the loggias, as well as the types of brick used, lintels and galvanized-iron roof cornices.[2] If I could buy any building on the block it would be one of this group.

St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church

153-157 Milton Street:
St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church

159, 161 & 163 Milton Street

159, 161 & 163 Milton Street:
This building split between three addresses/entrances is a neoclassical structure constructed between 1904 and 1909.[2] The building is constructed of red brick on a first floor built of limestone.

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References:

1. White, Norval, Willensky, Elliot, and Leadon, Fran AIA Guide to New York. Oxford University Press, 2010.
2. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Report 14 September, 1982
3. Spellen, Suzanne "Building of the Day: 138 Milton Street" Brownstoner.com 5 October, 2015

Greenpoint Reformed Church

Greenpoint Reformed Church

Neighborhood: Greenpoint
Address: 138 Milton Street

The Greenpoint Reformed Church is an odd one. Among the many churches still in operation in Greenpoint, it is not a Romanesque or Gothic Revival structure built on a grand scale; it is a humble mid 19th century mansion. That is not to say it’s not a beautiful building. If it were still being utilized as a residence here in North Brooklyn it would be a symbol of wealth. So, how did the church begin and how did it end up in a house?

The Church
The church began in 1848 as the Reformed Dutch Church of Green Point in a building located on the north side of Java Street near Franklin Avenue. The building was a gift of Magdalena Meserole. The expanding congregation eventually required a larger house of worship, at which point they commissioned architect William Ditmars to design a new structure on Kent Street. Built in 1870, the building remains to this day; however, the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint congregation moved to the Thomas C. Smith mansion on Milton Street in 1944 where it remains under a slightly different name.[1] The church purchased the building from the YMCA, the organization that owned it after the Smith Family.[2] Once the church moved it was renamed to Greenpoint Reformed Church.[1] 

The House
The mansion that currently houses the church was the residence of Thomas C. Smith, a prominent Greenpoint resident, successful businessman and builder.[2] The Italianate Greek Revival style house was built in 1867.[3] At that time, architecture did not exist as the organized profession we know today. So, as a builder, Smith designed and constructed his house. He also built many of the other homes on Milton Street.[3][4] The house’s architectural characteristics are described in a section of the Landmarks Preservation Commission Reprt:

Built of brick, No. 136-138 is a freestanding, two story house, which is three bays wide. The full-height central bay projects, creating a pavilion. The entrance is protected by a portico with two smooth Tuscan columns carrying a modillioned pediment with raking cornice. Pilasters echo the columns where the pediment meets the façade. Above the entrance is a double window enframed by a simple sill and pilasters carrying a bracketed lintel. Projecting double window bays with architrave moldings and modillioned cornices flank the entrance at the ground floor. Above these are double windows with corbelled sills and cap-molded lintels. A cornice carried on neo-Grec brackets crowns the house.[4]

Thomas Smith & Union Porcelain Works
In addition to being a builder, Thomas Smith was a producer of various porcelain wares. Smith had acquired a small porcelain doorknob manufacturing company to satisfy a debt. After the acquisition he studied the porcelain industry in England and France, then returned to retool the fledgling company to make it “the first hard porcelain factory in the United States”. He named the new enterprise Union Porcelain Works. The company manufactured restaurantware, industrial parts, tiles and other products. Union Porcelain Works closed in 1922 and the factory no longer exists but you can still see some of the company’s products at the Brooklyn Museum.[2]

Milton Street After Filming the Knick

Greenpoint Reformed Church as Minetta Negro Infirmary

On a side note, the church was converted into the Minetta Negro Infirmary for Steven Soderbergh's mini series The Knick featuring Clive Owen. The series is about the people of New York's Harlem based Knickerbocker Hospital around the turn of the last century.[5] I happened to come by to photograph the Church of Saint Anthony a couple of years ago, the day after the shoot and took some extra photos of the Greenpoint Reformed Church. The streets were still dusty from being covered with a sandy soil to create a dirt road and the church still featured the infirmary sign.

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References:

1. Brian Merlis & Riccardo Gomes Brooklyn's Historic Greenpoint Gomerl Publishing, NJ 2015
2. Spellen, Suzanne "Building of the Day: 138 Milton Street" Brownstoner.com 5 October, 2015
3. White, Norval, Willensky, Elliot, and Leadon, Fran AIA Guide to New York. Oxford University Press, 2010
4. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Report 14 September, 1982
5. Jen G. "Greenpoint Filming The Knick: Horses on Milton St - Today" Greenpointers.com 23 October, 2013

Greenpoint Shul - Congregation Ahavas Israel

Greenpoint Shul - Congregation Ahavas Israel

Neighborhood: Greenpoint
Adress: 108 & 110 Noble Street

Shul History
The buildings occupied by the Ahavas Israel Jewish congregation in Greenpoint were once two separate Synagogues. The now defunct Temple Beth-El Synagogue was a reform congregation organized in 1886. They met in Germania Hall on Franklin Street prior to purchasing the structure on 108 Noble Street from the Church of the Reconciliation in 1887. The Church of the Reconciliation building was constructed ca. 1871.[1][2] Under the leadership of Rabbi M.J. Luebke their services were held in German and Hebrew. After the dismissal of Luebke in 1897, sermons were given in English.[1] Originally located in Keramos Hall on Manhattan Avenue, Congregation Ahavas Isreal partnered with the Congregation Shayrish Israel (Congregation of the Relic of Israel) and began construction on their new synagogue adjacent to the Temple Beth-El Israel in 1904.[1][2] As industries left Greenoint much of Temple Beth-El’s congregation went with them. With a shrinking congregation the Temple Beth-El disbanded.[3] Today, Ahavas Israel owns both buildings and is the last of five synagogues in Greenpoint.[1][3]

Temple Beth-El & Ahavas Israel Windows

Architecture
The building formerly occupied by Temple Beth-El has Gothic-Revival features on a townhouse like frame. Ahavas Israel had their building designed in the Romanesque Revival style. The difference in styles is most apparent in the fenestration of the two buildings. The Temple Beth-El building has lancet windows and an entrance with a pointed arch, typical features of its style. Ahawath Israel’s original house of worship features rounded Romanesque arches. It’s worth noting that the Beth-El building once had a square dome at the front of it.

Interior
Ahavas Israel’s original sanctuary is cream colored and surrounded by a wood-faced balcony. Overhead is a barrel vaulted ceiling with three skylights. Additional light is provided by a Victorian era chandelier with frosted glass.[3] Additional details regarding the building’s interior listed in the book “Sacred Havens of Brooklyn” are quoted below.

All eyes are drawn to the holy ark, guarded from above by golden lions of Judah that flank gilded tablets of the Ten Commandments. A wheel window above the ark is filled with the stained-glass Shield of David outlined in red against a turquoise sky. Colorful stenciling surrounds the window and ceiling, while a dark wood bema, the reading of the table for the Torah scrolls, has brass menorahs on each corner.

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References:

1. Brian Merlis & Riccardo Gomes Brooklyn's Historic Greenpoint Gomerl Publishing, NJ 2015
2. "Our History" GreenpointShul.org
3. Cook, Terri Sacred Havens of Brooklyn. Charleston South Carolina: The History Press, 2013

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church from Diamond Street

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church

Neighborhood: Greenpoint
Address: 607 Humboldt Street

Church History
Until 1896 Greenpoint's Polish residents had to commute to St. Casimir’s in Ft. Greene for church services in their native language. Anticipating an increase in demand for services in Polish, Father Leon Wysiecki of St. Casimir’s established a new church in Greenpoint. He began by purchasing 10 lots at Humboldt Street and Driggs Avenue. Then, Father Wysiecki had a wood frame church erected to serve the community until his vision of a larger church could be realized. St. Casimir’s administered the church until Father Wysiecki became its pastor 1898. Following the wood framed church was the structure we see today. The existing monumental house of worship was dedicated on November 13, 1904 during the Feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka.[1]

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Greenpoint is the oldest and largest remaining Polish Catholic congregation in Brooklyn and it maintains its Polish cultural and social traditions.[2][3] The church continues to celebrate Koleda, the January feast of the three kings, Polaski Day, the signing of Poland’s constitution in 1791, and other Polish national holidays. In addition, the church has kept archives documenting its parishioners support for the people who struggled for survival in Poland during the two world wars.[3] St. Stanislaus offers mass in English and Polish; however, English Mass is held in the basement while Polish Mass is held in the main sanctuary.[4]

View of Transept from Broome Street

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church Recessed Sculpture

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church Commemorative Plaque

Karol Cardinal Wojtyla (a.k.a.Pope John Paul II)

Art & Architecture
The church’s rich architectural detailing and brick masonry sits in stark contrast with the clapboard and aluminum siding of the neighborhood it resides in. A Neo-Gothic structure, St. Stanislaus features asymmetrical twin spires, pointed arches and a high pitched roof. Marble columns, gilded arches and stained glass windows can be seen in the nave, as well as a “lavishly painted vaulted ceiling” that includes a choir of angles. The church’s art collection includes an oil painting of the French Carmelite nun Theresa, a portrait of the Black Madonna is displayed on a side alter, and two large murals for the Patron Saint Stanislaus can be seen. In addition, there is a portrait and an exterior bronze sculpture of Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), the first Polish Pope.[3] The former Pope visited the church as a Cardinal in 1969.

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References:

1. Brian Merlis & Riccardo Gomes Brooklyn's Historic Greenpoint Gomerl Publishing, NJ 2015
2. White, Norval, Willensky, Elliot, and Leadon, Fran AIA Guide to New York. Oxford University Press, 2010
3. Cook, Terri Sacred Havens of Brooklyn. Charleston South Carolina: The History Press, 2013
4. Catholic Churches of Manhattan Williamsburg: St. Stanislaus Kostka (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)

Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

St John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Revised 7/2/16
Neighborhood: Greenpoint
Address: 155 Milton Street

Congregation History
The Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church congregation of Greenpoint was founded in 1867. The congregation’s services were first held at Union Hall on Manhattan Avenue prior to building their first church on Leonard Street near Greenpoint Avenue in 1869. The original church was a wood frame building with a capacity for 350 people. In addition to the church, the congregation founded a parochial school with instruction in German and English. Outgrowing its original sanctuary, the congregation purchased the Milton Street site in 1890.[1]

In the early 1900s the congregation continued to grow until the neighborhood’s demographics began to change. During the latter half of the twentieth century, the congregation declined as Greenpoint became a predominantly Polish, Roman Catholic enclave. However, over the years the church has maintained a core fellowship that continues to thrive to this day.

Evangelische-Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche

Inscribed above the door is the churches moniker in German "Evangelische-Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche".

Architectural Details

Sanctuary

Apse

Architecture & Interior Design
Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was built 1891-1892 to replace the original building on Leonard Street. The church was designed by architect Theobold Engelhardt in a German Neo-Gothic style.[2] Born in Williamsburg in 1851, Theobold Engelhardt was a prolific North Brooklyn architect that helped define the built environment of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bushwick. Some of Engelhardt's other architectural contributions to north Brooklyn include the Greenpoint Home for the Aged, Northside Savings Bank and a few of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory buildings (60-64 Kent Avenue).[3] The church is constructed of Philadelphia pressed brick and rugged granite.[1] Helping to balance the façade’s composition is a lone flying buttress acting as a visual counterweight to the tower which is capped with a slate clad spire.[4] The church interior features blue vaulted ceilings, wooden pews, and Gothic style pendant light fixtures. There are six memorial windows which were donated by members of the congregation and the Ecce Homo window, above the alter, was a gift from the pastor. In 1927 the church was redecorated and refurnished. The central crucifixion window was added and the existing pulpit, constructed of wood from Germany’s Oberammergue forest, was added.[1] In addition, there is an organ in the mezzanine over the main entrance.

Jardine & Son Pipe Organ in Mezzanine

Organ Pipes

Jardine & Son Pipe Organ

Historic Pipe Organ
The organ is a tracker-action Jardine & Son 1214 Pipe Organ.[1] Jardine & Son was a New York based organ maker. Prior to closing their doors in 1899, the company produced approximately 1,300 pipe organs in the United States and Mexico. Of the thirteen hundred organs, fewer than 100 remain.[5] Additional information about the organ can be found on the Organ Society Database.

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References:

1. "St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church" Church History Brochure
2. White, Norval, Willensky, Elliot, and Leadon, Fran AIA Guide to New York. Oxford University Press, 2010.
3. Morris, Montrose Brownstoner. "Walkabout: Theobold Engelhardt, Architect" Online (10 October 2010).
4. Morrone, Francis An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2001
5. "George Jardine & Son Tracker Organ" The United Methodist Church at New Brunswick

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