Brooklyn Trust Company Building

The limestone building on the corner of Montague and Clinton Street was once the headquarters of the Brooklyn Trust Company, a bank. This High Italian Renaissance style building, constructed from 1913 to 1916, replaced the bank's earlier headquarters building that stood in this same spot. The architectural firm of York and Sawyer used an Italian palazzo in Verona as inspiration. The extra-fancy ground floor interior banking hall with a vaulted ceiling and chandeliers is worth a peek inside and was made a city landmark in 1996. The building now houses a Chase Bank on the ground floor and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 for its significance in architecture and the history of local commerce. The bank building is across the street from the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, listed in the National Register in 1965. The upper floor offices were renovated in 2015 and hold 12 boutique condominium apartments.

The Brooklyn Trust Company was established in 1866 and opened for business in 1868. At first, the company leased space on the corner of Joralemon and Court Streets. The first president was Ethelbert S. Mills; he committed suicide after the national economic Panic of 1873. Ripley Ropes was the next president. In 1873, the bank bought the former Taylor mansion on the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets. The converted mansion was gradually enlarged and served as the bank's headquarters for 40 years. The bank bought the Brooklyn Club property to the north in 1913 and began building their new bank in 1914 while still occupying the former Taylor mansion. The Brooklyn Club building was razed first and construction began there; then, the former Taylor mansion was demolished in 1915 and the rest of the bank was built. The bank's fifth president from 1913 to 1927 was Edward P. Maynard.

The architects, Edward P. York (1865-1928) and Philip Sawyer (1868-1949), specialized in bank designs, beginning in 1899 for the Franklin Savings Bank, formerly on W. 42nd St. in Manhattan. The Neo-classical style of the new Brooklyn Trust Company building was intended to convey that the bank was stable and secure. The ground floor banking hall is meant to impress with its high, vaulted ceiling, crystal chandeliers, and mosaic tile flooring. Vestibules lead to the banking hall from Montague and Pierrepont Streets. The doorways from the banking hall to the vestibules are topped by inscribed tablets reading "COMMERCE DEFIES EVERY WIND, OUTRIDES EVERY TEMPEST AND INVADES EVERY ZONE" and "SOCIETY IS BUILT UPON TRUST AND TRUST UPON CONFIDENCE IN ONE ANOTHER'S INTEGRITY." The upper floors held office space.

The Brooklyn Trust Company merged with one of the largest banks in Brooklyn, Mechanics Bank, in 1929. It merged with many other banks but kept its name until it merged with Manufacturers Trust Company in 1950. Manufacturers Trust, through further mergers, became Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan, and J.P. Morgan. Chase Bank sold the building in 2008 to Brookfield Asset Management but still leases ground floor space for its bank; the building was soon sold again to Stahl Real Estate Company of Manhattan. A law firm, Cullen and Dykman, also leased space in the building in recent years.

Architect Barry Rice and developer the Stahl Organization have renovated the building's interior while preserving its historic exterior. The offices on the top four floors were essentially gutted in the renovation but several fireplaces from bank executive offices were preserved in the new spaces. There are 12 luxury condominium residences now; some of the two to five-bedroom units include ladders to a loft space. The former bank vault, at the back of the residential lobby off of Pierrepont Street, has reinforced concrete walls and has been converted into a dog spa and stroller storage. The top floor units have skylights but no windows, and the building features a music room, fitness center, and roof deck.

This block of Montague Street is nicknamed "Bank Row" for its collection of banks. Pierrepont Street is named for Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, a former landowner, one of the original developers of Brooklyn Heights, and one of this bank's incorporators. Montague Street was named for his cousin, an English poet named Lady Mary Wortley Montague. Clinton street is named for Dewitt Clinton, a former New York City mayor and New York governor.

City Realty. The Brooklyn Trust Company Building, City Realty. January 1st 2022. Accessed January 5th 2022. https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/brooklyn-heights/the-brooklyn-trust-company-building-138-pierrepont-street/60536.

Gabby. Big Bank on Montague Street, Brownstoner. July 8th 2008. Accessed December 27th 2021. https://www.brownstoner.com/real-estate-market/big-bank-on-mon/.

Horsley, Carter. Review of Brooklyn Trust Company Building, City Realty. January 1st 2015. Accessed January 5th 2022. https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/brooklyn-heights/the-brooklyn-trust-company-building-138-pierrepont-street/review/60536.

Kaysen, Ronda. "'Palazzo' Living in Brooklyn." New York Times (New York) February 6th 2015. , Real estate sec.

Goeschel, Nancy J. NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Designation Report LP-1905, Brooklyn Trust Company (now Chemical Bank) Building, June 25, 1996. New York, NY. New York City Government, 1996.

Riddle, Nathan J. Morris, Jennifer. Crader, Amy. NRHP Nomination of Brooklyn Trust Company Building, Kings County, New York. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 2009.