From Pencils to the "Other Smithsonian," Historic Greenpoint Walking Tour, Brooklyn

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The Astral Apartments were built between 1885-1886 and used as affordable housing for the workers of Astral Oil Works, a kerosene refinery. The Astral Apartment building is made of brick and terracotta in the Queen Anne Style. American Queen Anne Style refers to structures with “free Renaissance”, or non-Gothic Revival, characteristics.

2. Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory buildings

The two large buildings along the north side of Greenpoint Avenue (#39-45 and #47-61) east of West St. once contained part of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory. The company was founded in Germany and opened operations in Manhattan in 1849. After a fire, the factory moved to the Greenpoint neighborhood in 1872. The red brick. 5-story building on the west is older. The eastern building, 6 stories of red brick with bands of concrete, was added as an expansion of the factory in 1923 to 1924. Look closely and you'll see stars, a symbol of the company. The factory complex in Greenpoint, the oldest pencil factory in America and the only one of its kind in Brooklyn, closed in 1956 and moved operations to Pennsylvania. The renovated buildings now hold condominium residences and leased work spaces. The pair of buildings - along with seven others in the complex - became a New York City landmarked historic district in 2007.

3. Smithsonian Hall

The building at 896 Manhattan Avenue, on the southeast corner with Greenpoint Ave., was built from 1878 to early 1879 and is called Smithsonian Hall. The three-story cast iron building was designed to hold a clothing store on the ground floor and a performance hall on the upper stories. The building was converted into a bank with offices above around 1906. The building is one of hundreds within the Greenpoint Historic District, listed in the New York and National Registers in 1983. Smithsonian Hall recently contained Investors Bank on the ground floor. A dentist, a tax preparer, and a therapist have offices on the second and third floors. A NYC subway entrance - Greenpoint Ave. Station on the Green Line - is adjacent to the corner of the building on the Greenpoint Ave. side.

4. Greenpoint Savings Bank

The building at 807 Manhattan Ave., on the southwest corner with Calyer St., is the Greenpoint Savings Bank, built in 1906. The bank building is one of hundreds of buildings in the Greenpoint Historic District, listed in the New York and National Registers in 1983 and a New York City landmark since 1982. The neo-Classical style bank building sports a low dome and columned porticoed main entrance on Manhattan Ave. The core of the building held a Capitol One bank branch in recent years, but the bank vacated the building in May 2020. An L-shaped addition was built in the 1920s in a style matching the original. A more modern, 3.5-story rear addition from the 1950s extended the building along Calyer to Lorimer; this "Greenpoint Savings Bank Annex" was renovated in 2019 into 29 luxury residences (1080 Lorimer St.) and rechristened "The Helm." The vacant, older parts of the bank building are available for lease as of 2022.

5. Greenpoint War Memorial

The Greenpoint War Memorial stands about 17 feet tall in the center of McGolrick Park, opened in 1891, commemorates local residents that fought in World War I. Built in 1923, this "winged lady" was cast out of bronze. Though bronze is a durable material, the sculpture has seen its fair share of damage and vandalism. Nonetheless, it received constant repairs and continues to stand tall for the fallen soldiers' collective bravery and unquestionable patriotism.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

From Pencils to the "Other Smithsonian," Historic Greenpoint Walking Tour, Brooklyn

Created by Laurie Paonessa on March 24th 2022, 10:02:11 pm.

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Sample a selection of the hundreds of historical buildings in Greenpoint from the 19th and early 20th centuries, from factories to places for factory workers to live, and places where locals could see a performance or store their money. Check out included maps to take side strolls through more of the Greenpoint Historic District before ending at McGolrick Park and its monument to Greenpointers and World War I.

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From Pencils to the "Other Smithsonian," Historic Greenpoint Walking Tour, Brooklyn

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