WGPA

An intersting mystery at Greenpoint Reformed Church on Milton Street. The tiles in question were manufactured by Union Porcelain Works, whose president, Thomas Smith, owned the company. Union Porcelain was located on Eckford Street, just east of where McCarren Park Pool is now. In the 19th century, Greenpoint was a center of porcelain manufacture - one of the oldest such establishments was Faience Pottery Works, located at the corner of West Street and Greenpoint Avenue (and now part of the Eberhard Faber Historic District).

This Sunday, Domino developer CPC is opening the gates and allowing the public onto the wharf (the future esplanade). Free, and open to the public.

The question was put to a class from a Brooklyn high school: Had they ever given a moment’s thought to their school building?

The quick answers were no, no, no. Then:

“Huge windows,” said Justin Statia.

“I wondered why the hallways are so thin,” said Gaston Ovando.

“It’s old,” said Hanifah Presley. “My granduncle went here.”

The students attend the Academy for Young Writers, a small program housed in Junior High School 50 on South Third Street in Williamsburg.

JHS 50 was built in 1915 (and replaced an earlier public school on the site). Like many of NYC's other public schools, this building was designed by Charles B. J. Snyder, the City's architect for public school from 1891 to 1922. Over the course of those three decades, Snyder transformed the design of public schools, emphasizing light and air, safety, and amenities such as gymnasiums and auditoriums. (PS 17 on North 5th and Roebling is probably a Snyder school.)

Jim Dwyer has an article in today's Times detailing an effort to resurrect Snyder's legacy.

MAS is holding a panel discussion titled "Recycling New York’s Industrial Past: Inspiration From Home and Abroad". Here are the details:

New York City was once the nation’s power house for manufacturing, and many of the buildings and factories that fueled that industry remain. Preserving these buildings and using them to foster green-collar industries or adapting them to new housing, cultural, and retail uses is the most sustainable action New York could take.

This program will explore two approaches to preserving industrial buildings: keeping them for manufacturing uses (which also means retaining good-paying jobs) or adapting these buildings to new uses.

The panel will be introduced by WPA's Ward Dennis and moderated by Mary Habstritt of the Society for Industrial Archaeology and WPA. Panelists include Andrew Kimball of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Bob Powers, preservation consultant for the restoration of the Austin, Nichols & Co. Warehouse (184 Kent) and Lisa Kersavage of MAS (a long-time WPA supporter).

When: Wednesday, October 22, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., reception to follow.
Where: The Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, at East 51st St.
Cost: $15, $12 MAS members/students. Purchase tickets online or call 212-935-2075.

McCaddin Memorial, Berry Street.

McCaddin Memorial Hall is the large yellow brick building on Berry between South 2nd and South 3rd. It is part of the complex of building on that block that belong to the Ss. Peter and Paul parish (the second oldest Catholic parish in Brooklyn). Historically, it served as the school building for Ss. Peter and Paul's parochial school (author Henry Miller was one of its students); lately it has housed a Head Start program, but little else. Which is a shame, since at the center of the building is the 600-seat auditorium seen below.

Now, production company OperaOggiNY is reopening the hall for a performance of L'Oracolo, a one-act verismo opera by Franco Leoni.

A 600 seat, "theater" complete with 50 foot proscenium arch raked stage and a balcony, plenty of fly space with classic brick and wood and plaster construction has been found and is about to be opened to the public by a collaboration between OperaOggiNY and the St. Peter and Paul parish.

Rehearsals, started this week, are already bringing serious opera back to the theater. With Music Director, Bill Lewis, (coach to none other than the Met's Marcello Giordani and accompanist to all of Ronan Tynan's appearances) as part of the mix, these two very serious performers are preparing L'Oracolo, by Leone. Although presented within the last 2 years in a concert version in Manhattan, this is the first time that the work has been staged in an extremely long time. This one act verismo opera. composed by Leoni, who was a student with Puccini and part of Ponchielli's studio, will not disappoint. Set in San Francisco's China Town, cerca 1900, it was all the rage at the Met while Antonio Scotti was a star.

When: Nov. 6, 7, 8. (all at 8pm)
Where: Henry McCaddin Hall 288 Berry Street, Williamsburg
Cost: Admission: $20 dollars.

McCaddin Memorial auditorium.
Photo: via NAG

[Via NAG]

CityRoom has a recap of last week's MAS panel discussion. Williamsburg and Greenpoint were well represented by WPA members Ward Dennis, Mary Habstritt and Lisa Kersavage. The preservation consultant for the Austin, Nichols & Co. Warehouse gave an in-depth presentation on the work there. Among the other local topics raised were Domino Sugar, Old Dutch Mustard, the BRT Power Plant and Eberhard Faber.