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The Landmark Building
The Brooklyn Historical Society's building is located
in downtown Brooklyn's Historic District at 128 Pierrepont
Street.
The Brooklyn Historical Society's four-story Queen Anne style
building was completed in 1881 and was designed by architect
George B. Post. Post's bold use of extensive terra cotta ornamentation
on the façade, and innovative truss system to support
the ceiling of the central library, has long been revered
by architectural historians. The building's masonry of unglazed
terra cotta and repressed brick was the first building in
New York City to use locally produced terra cotta. The facade
was sculpted by Olin Levi Warner and is adorned with heroic
busts of figures from history, interspersed with representations
of American flora by Truman H. Bartlett. Post employed artisans
in the spirit of the Aesthetic Movement to embellish and enrich
the interior spaces of the building. Stained glass in window
lunettes and a central laylight are believed to have originated
from the studio of the noted artist, Charles Booth. Decorations
throughout the building include Minton tile floors, custom
made bronze hardware (designed by Post), and elaborately carved
black ash woodwork in the library.
In addition, Post applied the bridge construction technique
of using a truss system to suspend the weight of a floor.
In order to create an open and graceful galleried library,
Post suspended the top floor of the building from iron trusses
in the roof. Additional iron columns enclosed in carved wood
support the galleries in the library. The building is one
of the few examples of the 19th century genre of a combined
museum and library still in existence.
In July 1991, the building was recognized as a National
Historic Landmark and included on the National
Register of Historic Places. Portions of the interior,
including the library were designated as an Interior
Landmark by the City of New York, one of the few interior
landmarked buildings in Brooklyn.
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