Brooklyn Army Terminal

The Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) spans 97 acres along the waterfront near the ferry to Manhattan and includes two eight-story warehouses, a train storage yard, three piers, and a variety of other buildings to support the transfer of supplies between rail and naval vessels. The complex was planned in 1918 as part of the nation's mobilization in World War. The supply terminal was completed in a year, and even though the war was over, it supported the U.S. Army in the interwar years and became the country's largest supply base during World War II. As the complex no longer met the Army's needs by the mid-1960s, the terminal became part of U.S. Navy and Postal Service operations in 1967. The city purchased the property in 1981 and was been renovated for commercial and light industrial use. Over 100 businesses lease space at BAT which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the U.S. Army Military Ocean Terminal.

BAT, also known as the Brooklyn Army Supply Base, stretches from 58th to 65th Streets and from 2nd Avenue to the waterfront with a deepwater channel that is forty feet deep and 1500 feet wide. The complex was built as a rail and marine terminal for transporting World War I troops and supplies to Europe, and especially to France. The U.S. entered World War I in April 1917. The U.S. Congress appropriated funds in early 1918 for the construction of five large terminal storage facilities along the East Coast and at New Orleans. The Army calculated that five tons of supplies were needed for each of the estimated 1.5 million Americans that would be fighting in France.

The monstrous, reinforced concrete complex in Brooklyn was the largest of the five and took 17 months to build, from April 1918 to September 1919; it wasn't finished until ten months after the war ended. When completed, BAT was the largest concrete complex in the world. There are two main large buildings that are almost identical: Warehouses A and B; a glass-covered atrium soars above the eight-story Warehouse B and its 52 acres of floor space. There also was an administration building, a boiler house, three covered piers, and one open pier. Overall, the complex held 4 million square feet including buildings, railroads, and piers. Train tracks led directly into or between the warehouses or directly to the waterfront piers. Two five-ton overhead electric cranes ran on a track at roof level and moved across the atrium space. Connecting skybridges and almost 100 elevators were built into the complex; forklifts weren't invented until the late 1930s.

The architect, Cass Gilbert (1859-1934), designed many famous buildings including the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. and the New York Customs House. Gilbert later described the complex as great grey buildings rising above the waterfront and streets like a medieval city's walls, giving an impression or power and strength. He designed the first floor of Warehouse B as the main receiving floor where freight was delivered by truck on all four sides or by the train tracks that entered the building at the central court. Cantilevered balconies overlooked the central court. Ceiling heights were 12 feet in Warehouse B; the extra height would be needed for post-war light industrial use. Henry C. Turner Construction Company was the contractor.

At first, the BAT warehouses held World War I surplus material. During Prohibition, seized alcohol from New York City speakeasies was shipped to BAT and destroyed. The BAT complex became a busy place once again during World War II. It actually came back to life in 1939, before the U.S. officially joined the war. During the war, about 20,000 people worked here. BAT was the headquarters of the New York Port of Embarkation.

By the mid-1960s, the complex was technologically obsolete, and BAT was decommissioned in December 1966; the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a mile or so to the north, closed in 1966, too. A major U.S. Post Office branch in New York was damaged by fire, and the Post Office moved into BAT and established a mail sorting center. Federal tenants moved out in 1975 and the complex was abandoned. New York City bought the complex in 1981 for $8.5 million; the feds pitched in about half of the price as a grant. Renovations took place in the 1980s before tenants moved back in, beginning in 1987.

There is free public parking on Pier 4 for BAT visitors. The main entrance is on the corner of 58th St. and 1st Ave. The secure industrial complex does not allow the general public to visit, except for scheduled, paid tours offered by Turnstile Tours at scheduled dates and times (see the links below for their website and a virtual video tour). Manufacturers and artists are among the business tenants, including FABSCRAP - a nonprofit specializing in recycling or selling fabric scraps from the fashion industry.

Christen, Barbara S. Flanders, Steven. Cass Gilbert, Life and Work: Architect of the Public Domain. New York, NY. W. W. Norton & Co., 2001.

Ellis, Will. Inside the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Abandoned NYC. March 20th 2015. Accessed December 17th 2021. https://abandonednyc.com/2015/03/20/basking-in-the-brooklyn-army-terminal/.

Grundhauser, Eric. Brooklyn Army Terminal Building B, Atlas Obscura. Accessed December 17th 2021. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/brooklyn-army-terminal-building-b.

Raber, Michael S. Historic American Engineering Record Survey, Brooklyn Army Supply Base, Library of Congress, Photo, Print, Drawing. January 1st 1988. Accessed December 18th 2021. https://www.loc.gov/item/ny1594/.

Smith, Raymond W. Placzek, Adolph K. McFadden, Dennis. NRHP Nomination of U.S. Army Military Ocean Terminal, Brooklyn, N.Y.. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1983.

Turnstile Tours. Open House New York at Brooklyn Army Terminal, Episode 150, YouTube videos. January 1st 2020. Accessed December 17th 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkkssnKskW8.