WAREHOUSE, WATER AND DOCK STREETS
MAY 22, 1936. ABBOTT FILE 93

BROOKLYN BRIDGE, WATER AND NEW DOCK STREETS*†
MAY 22, 1936. ABBOTT FILE 113

On the day she photographed "Irishtown" under the Manhattan Bridge, Abbott continued along the waterfront to a row of nineteenth-century warehouses beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Prior to the 1883 opening of the bridge, this area in the vicinity of the Fulton Ferry formed the center of Brooklyn's thriving maritime industry. Once the bridge opened, the area declined, and in 1924 the ferry closed.

The 1870 warehouses in Abbott's photograph were called the Empire Stores and housed Yuban's green coffee beans imported from South America. The simple monumental facade, enlivened by open shutters and commercial lettering, was a natural subject for Abbott. She later commented that she "was very excited about that place [which] seemed to be so beautiful." (McQuaid, 381). She made two exposures, choosing the more dramatically foreshortened version that included a man sitting in the sun reading a newspaper.

Turning toward the river, Abbott photographed the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline. The use of a long lens created the impression that structures far apart were close together: a fragment of the bridge appears suspended over the Tobacco Inspection Warehouse on Water Street; the city’s Department of Purchase Storehouse under construction in the middle distance masks much of the Manhattan skyline; and 60 Wall Tower seems to reach for the bridge overhead.

In 1939, Yuban vacated the Empire Stores, which remained empty for decades but somehow escaped demolition. In 1974, the warehouses were placed on the Registry of Historic Places, and in 1978, the entire area was declared a state park. Despite many renovation proposals, these stately structures are still vacant.

† This photograph was taken from the corner of Water and New Dock Streets, several yards from the corner of Water and Dock Streets.

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