williamsburg

St. Vincent de Paul R. C Church

Laying of the cornerstone attended by 10,000 people, let by Bishop Loughlin. Construction was "begun on the second day of June under the superintendence of Mr. P. C. Keeley [sic], architect, who numbers this as his three hundred and eighty fifth church edifice he has been engaged in building on this continent. Its dimensions are 68 feet in width by 156 feet in depth, and judging by the massive appearance of the walls, constructed by the builder, Mr. Jas. Radwell [sic, probably Rodwell, a prominent local builder], will be as substantial an edifice as any in the States.

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Peter Cooper's Glue Factory

Brooklynology has a lengthy post on Peter Cooper and his glue factory that was once one of the major foulers of Newtown Creek. Cooper's glue factory stood not too far from Peter Cooper Houses, the NYCHA development in East Williamsburg. And also not too far from the stockyards and abbatoirs that dominated the area of East Williamsburg south of Grand Street at the turn of the century.

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Annunciation Church, Williamsburg

The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the centerpiece of a fine complex of buildings located at North 5th Street and Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg. According to the "AIA Guide to NY", the church was designed by F. J. Berlenbach, Jr. and completed in 1870. But for a number of reasons, this attribution is not possible. Berlenbach can be documented as the architect of the convent and school on the west side of Havemeyer. But the design of the church – a Lombard basilica – does not appear to be from the same hand that gave us the High Victorian Gothic school and convent. Furthermore, in 1870, F. J. Berlenbach, Jr. was only 13 years old.