WGPA

Bedford Avenue Theatre
109 South 6th Street
Architect: W. F. Gaylor
Date: 1891 Photo: WPA

For just over a year now (while we've been quiet) Brownstoner has been posting little daily snippets on Brooklyn's historical buildings. Written by contributor "Montrose Morris", the Building of the Day series is a quick look at buildings that the author finds interesting. Some are more interesting than others, but they are all interesting.

This week, Montrose posted two north Brooklyn buildings, and we thought we'd repost them here. The first one might be familiar, as we have posted on it before - it is the former Bedford Avenue Theatre on South 6th between Bedford and Berry, designed by architect W. F. Gaylor and constructed in 1891.

The building had a short life as a theatre, as its back end was cut off in the early 1900s by the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge. In later years, the building operated as a factory and a warehouse, and today it houses a health club (it was the health club that did the wonderful restoration on the building starting in 2007).

Montrose has added some color to the history, tracking down some information on the early theatre history (including some not kind reviews of the opening play).

We had originally written that the builder of the theatre was W. W. Cole and the architect was not known - errors that we picked up from the AIA Guide and that Montrose passed on in her article. In fact, Cole was the owner and the architect was W. F. Gaylor - the same person who was responsible for the two Smith Gray buildings around the corner on the Broadway.

Check out Montrose's write up for more on the building's history, including its Juicy Juice legacy. And check out Building of the Day every day.

Merganthaler Linotype Company building
35 Ryerson Street, Wallabout
Architect: Lockwood Greene Engineers, Inc. (1942)
Photo: Montrose Morris/Brownstoner

Another very interesting Building of the Day from Brownstoner's Montrose Morris. The Merganthaler building recently got a bright red paint job, and proves to be one of the few buildings that wear that color successfully. The building was constructed for the Merganthaler Linotype company, and was one of many printing and printing-related buildings located in the South Williamsburg/Wallabout area (we've mentioned the McLoughlin Brothers plant before).

Feast your eyes on some interior views of the landmarked (inside and out) Williamsburgh Savings Bank at Driggs and Broadway (the original Williamsburgh Savings Bank building).

Photo: A|N

The Architect's Newspaper reports that the building will be become a catering hall and museum (catering hall/event space is seemingly the only possible use for opulent former banking hall interiors, viz. Bowery Savings Bank (both the Bowery and 42nd Street branches), 55 Wall Street and that other Williamsburgh Savings Bank on Hanson Place).