Weir Greenhouse

The glass and iron building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 25th Street is the only surviving commercial greenhouse from the Victorian era in New York City. Weir Greenhouse is across the street from Green-Wood Cemetery in the Sunset Park neighborhood. The greenhouse was built in 1880 and enlarged in 1895. Weir Greenhouse was listed in the New York and National Registers of Historic Places in 1984 and has been a New York City Landmark since 1982. Green-Wood Cemetery bought the deteriorating greenhouse in 2012 and renovated the building; almost all of the iron parts and much of the glass needed to be replaced and the brick foundation was failing. The cemetery plans to use the building as an information center for visitors.

Green-Wood Cemetery came to be in 1838, partly in response to a new law forbidding burials in neighboring Manhattan. The cemetery was modeled on a new style of burial ground becoming popular in Europe and the Northeastern U.S. which created natural, picturesque settings in suburban locations that doubled as public parks. Instead of being buried in the yard of the family's church, many religious denominations came together to be buried at Green-Wood, with its rolling hills, winding paths, and pond. The cemetery became a popular spot to visit for locals and tourists; the cemetery operated its own police force to accommodate funerals and visitors.

Florist businesses flourished near the new cemeteries, where visitors could pick up a floral tribute to place on the grave of a loved one. James Weir, Sr., a Scottish immigrant, founded his floral business in Brooklyn in 1853. His son, James Weir, Jr., was born in England in 1843 and went into the family enterprise, along with his brothers, John and Frederick; the firm's name was changed to Weir and Sons. James Weir, Jr. went into business for himself and built a greenhouse on the corner of Fifth Ave. and 25th St. in 1880, across from the main gate into Green-Wood. The original greenhouse was designed by a local architect, Mercein Thomas and was a simple rectangle in plan with a corner tower. The rectangle was 55 feet long by 44 feet wide; the tower's roof was pyramidal and topped by a weathervane.

James Weir, Jr.'s son, James E. Weir, became his father's business partner in 1888 and the company was renamed James Weir Jr. & Son. The company soon added a greenhouse near the eastern entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery on Fort Hamilton Parkway. Edward Weir, probably another son, joined the company in 1894. All three Weir men lived in houses on 25th Street near the original greenhouse (Fifth Ave. and 25th St.). The original greenhouse was enlarged in 1895 and was essentially rebuilt. The architect, George Curtis Gillespie, was from the neighborhood. The building had a new, copper roof on its octagonal dome and no tower at the corner entrance.

The Weir family's greenhouses had local competition from other florists. None of the other nineteenth-century greenhouse structures in Brooklyn or the rest of New York City have survived into the twenty-first century. James Weir, Jr. is buried across the street in Green-Wood Cemetery, on a hillside overlooking his greenhouse.

The greenhouse was sold by the Weir family in 1971 and became McGovern Florist; the company changed the metal sign on the rooftop to read "McGOVERN" above "WEIR." McGovern Florist closed around 2011. Green-Wood Cemetery became the new owner of the greenhouse in 2012 and spent years and thousands of dollars to renovate the building. The old version of the rooftop sign, with the name "WEIR" below a weathervane, has been reproduced. The roof has been re-clad in copper and the new steel framework has been painted green. The cemetery bought and demolished the adjacent building at 751 Fifth Avenue in 2016 and plans new construction on the lot.

There is still a Weir family floral company in Brooklyn - James Weir Floral Company at 107 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. The company claims to be the oldest florist in Brooklyn.

BK Stories. Built to Last: Green-Wood Cemetery. Video, YouTube. December 19th 2019. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7f6tab-DOk.

De Vries, Susan. A Newly Rehabbed Roof is Gleaming at the at the Historic Weir Greenhouse in Greenwood Heights, Brownstoner. November 21st 2018. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/brooklyn-architecture-green-wood-weir-greenhouse-750-5th-avenue/.

Dolkart, Andrew S. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. NYC Landmarks Designation Report on Weir Greenhouse (now McGovern-Weir Greenhouse), corner 5th ave. & 25th St., Brooklyn. New York, NY. New York City Government, 1982.

James Weir Floral Company. About Us, James Weir Floral Company. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://jamesweirfloral.net/about-us/.