Brooklyn Navy Yard: Building 128

January 16th, 2008 -

Building 128 is a complex of massive warehouses inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard which the NY Times called "as big and hulking as an airport hangar." According to Historic Structures - a document from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation - Building 128 was "built in 1899, the steel structure... used to assemble large boiler engines and fabricated sections of naval vessels...." It is slated for destruction, as "BNYDC will adaptively reuse the building’s foundation and steel and develop a Food Complex."

According to Mayor Bloomberg this adaptive reuse means "partial demolition," as "three new industrial buildings will replace a large, deteriorating structure." A Mayor's Office press release states these new buildings will contain "over 300,000 square feet of food manufacturing and processing space." As demolition proceeds on this historic structure, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a mural from Building 128 as "the first artifact in the Historical Center" at the Navy Yard.

The following photographs may be a last look at this 109 year old complex. For more on the Navy Yard and its expansion, see Building 1 and The GMD Shipyard.