08.04.10

THE TOBACCO WAREHOUSEa Report on

the History and Vision ofBrooklyn Bridge Park's Tobacco Warehouse as

OPEN SPACE FOR THE PUBLICprepared by

&

for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Council

NV/da

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

08.0

4.10

V 3

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Councilis a forum for neighborhood organizations and individuals

supporting Brooklyn Bridge Parkand collaborating on advocacy and design of the Park.

This report states and supports our position and our vision forthe Tobacco Warehouse

and its future form and usage inBrooklyn Bridge Park.

The following community and civic organizationsendorse this report:

list as of printing:

the American Institute of Architects - Brooklyn Chapterthe American Institute of Architects - New York Chapter

the American Society of Landscape Architects - New York Chapterthe Atlantic Avenue LDC

the Boerum Hill Associationthe Brooklyn Heights Association

Concord Village Ownersthe DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

the Fine Arts Federationthe Fulton Ferry Landing Association

JoAnne Simon, NYS Committeewoman, 52nd Assembly Districtthe Historic Districts Council

the Van Alen Institutethe Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

Contents

Position Statement

History

Present Form and Recent Use

Photographs

Planned Use: the General Project Plan

Uses and Enhancements

Diagrammatic Analysis of Objectives and their Maximization

Summary and Conclusions

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Councilcherishes the Tobacco Warehouse as

the architectural ruin that it is today.In its present form, it is an integral part of the Brooklyn

Bridge Park landscape and an icon of the Park.We advocate keeping the Tobacco Warehouse in this

form and enhancing it for continued use in ways that aremultiple, seasonal, and temporary.

We are opposed toany plans for re-construction of

the Tobacco Warehouse that would permanentlyeliminate its open-space and open-air character, and weare opposed to any plans to give it over permanently to a

singular use. If a Request for Proposals were to call forthese, we would oppose it.

POSITION STATEMENT 01

The Tobacco Inspection Warehouse was built in c. 1860 and was originally afive-story structure reduced at some point in the 20th century (date as yet unascertained) to a 2-story

structure. (It is important to point out that people frequently refer to "Civil War-era warehouses" in NewYork, and that this is one of the very few so referred to that was actually there during the Civil War, as

opposed to being built in the decade or so after the war ended.) It once had an appearance asimposing as that of the adjacent Empire Stores. For many years the warehouse was operated by the

firm of David Dows & Co. and was known as the Fulton Stores, while the adjacent dock was known asthe Tobacco Dock. At this dock lighters came from New Jersey bearing freights of tobacco from

Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, and Tennessee that had been sent by train to the westernshore of the Hudson River. The dock was also used for pleasure-boat excursions such as church

picnics. Certainly in the 19th century the warehouse was not used for foreign tobacco imports, thoughsome of the tobacco it stored was exported to Europe. Much of the tobacco was for local

consumption, as Brooklyn had flourishing industries in the making of chewing tobacco, cigars, andcigarettes.

David Dows died (and afterward his Brooklyn warehouse properties were

operated by his son, David Dows Jr.) on March 30, 1890, at his residence at Fifth Avenue and 69thStreet in Manhattan. He was 76 years old. His family was of 17th-century Massachusetts stock and hewas raised on a farm in upstate New York. He was an organizer of both the Produce Exchange and the

Corn Exchange Bank, was vice president of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, and a director ofthe Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, the Chicago, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad, and the

Delaware and Hudson Railroad. In addition to the tobacco warehouse he also operated grainwarehouses. In 1860 Dows entered into partnership with the Brooklyn Heights merchant Alexander Orr,

and in 1865 "the firm built the mammoth Columbia Stores near Atlantic street… and this was thebeginning of Brooklyn as a great grain storage and shipping center… .The firm also built the Fulton

Stores, used for tobacco inspectors" (Eagle 3/31/1890)Obituaries NYT 3/31/1890; Eagle 3/31/1890

In 1872 the Fulton Stores housed more than 18,000 hogsheads of tobacco, or

about 20% of the total tobacco coming into New York. (See Daily Eagle, "Brooklyn Interest inTobacco," August 28, 1872) By 1890--the year of Dows's death--the city had only the Fulton Stores

and the Stranahan Stores (at Atlantic Dock in Red Hook) in use as inspection warehouses for tobacco. Ido not find any evidence that the Fulton Stores were used by the United States Customs Service for

inspection of imported tobacco, as suggested by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. (SeeFulton Ferry Historic District designation report, pp. 15-16, 1977.)

Architecturally the Fulton Stores is one of too-few surviving examples of

classic mid-19th-century timber-framed brick waterfront warehouses. These buildings once definedBrooklyn's waterfront and gave rise to the term "The Walled City." Eventually (in the first decade of the

20th century) such warehouses began to yield to the new technology of reinforced concreteconstruction. But the survivors remind us that these simple brick structures had a real majesty to

them--elegant proportions, rhythmical fenestration, beautiful brickwork--very much like that of old NewEngland textile mills. This quality is especially apparent in the rare instances where groupings of oldwarehouse buildings still exist, and by far the most important instance of this is along Water Street

where the surviving portion of the Fulton Stores stands adjacent to the Empire Stores.

- Francis Morrone

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

HISTORY 02

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

Some press clippings, mainly detailing the process of tobacco inspection:

Daily Eagle July 16, 1875:"Three of these 'breaks' are made in each hogshead or package, one near the top, one in the middle and

one near the bottom, and from each 'break' a handful of leaves is taken out. The object is to get as near aspossible a fair sample of the tobacco in each cask. The 'hands,' three in number, are then tied together in

the securest manner, and to them is fastened by a tag a card having the number of the hogshead, thename of the planter, the tobacco inspection, and other marks… .Most of the tobacco inspectors in New

York and Brooklyn are Southern gentlemen, skilled in the business, born upon tobacco plantations,perchance, and have always been connected with it one way or another. Their kindness and courtesy is

endless, and the visitor who desires to examine the method of inspection will be hospitably received andhave every courtesy shown him… .In the warehouse a curious sight is presented. Floor upon floor is

crowded as full as it can hold with the great casks, some piled tier on tier close to the roof. The air is filledwith the subtle odor of the crude leaf, which, if you are unaccustomed to it, sets you sneezing as though a

malignant catarrh had laid hold of you… .Last year's crop is short in the leaf, the weather would not allow ofa proper curing of it, some of it was frost bitten and it comes into market black and spotted, some of it

upon the ragged edge of rotting… .Now and then, however, the inspector finds a cask of long, light brownleaves, splendidly cured, and with the fragrant odor of a hickory nut. It remains to be seen what this year

will bring forth, but it does not yet come into market until next year, so the present is a good time to 'swearoff' for twelve months.

Daily Eagle April 4, 1874:

"'Tobacco inspection' consists in the storage of tobacco products in hogsheads, as it comes from theSouth and Southwest, and the inspection of each cask by a man who makes it a special business. The

business is conducted in the following manner: When a cask is inspected the staves are taken off, leaving acompact mass of pressed leaf tobacco, just the shape of the cask. By means of an iron lever, the mass is'broken' or lifted apart in three or four places, and a handful of the leaves taken from each 'break.' These

bunches are then bound together, the knot of the cord, sealed with sealing wax, stamped, and the card ofthe inspectors attached. The cask is then rehooped and stored away, and the tobacco sold by the samplethus taken from the cask. If, when the tobacco is delivered to the purchasers and the package upon being

opened does not correspond with the sample, the inspector is held reliable."

Daily Eagle July 16, 1875:"Enter the warehouse of David Dow & Co., yclept the "Brooklyn Tobacco Inspection." Look at the vast five

storied warehouse, covering an entire block, and know that at this moment there is stored therein at thepresent moment about SIXTEEN MILLION POUNDS of the crude crop… .The main warehouse stands backfrom the water's edge a distance of about 300 feet. The space between, is occupied by an enormous brick

shed; covering the whole space down the centre of this shed are two lines of heavy screw presses, in allabout sixty in number. The tobacco casks are rolled into this shed from the dock, and then the inspection

begins.

Daily Eagle June 15, 1876:"The immediate neighborhood is built up with immense stores, warehouses and manufacturing

establishments … on Water Street, is the great building commonly called the Tobacco Inspection, andotherwise designated the Fulton stores. The Empire stores… are just across Dock Street."

Daily Eagle June 26, 1877:

"Nearly all of the tobacco that comes to New York - two-thirds of it at least - is stored in Brooklyn, andFulton Stores is the point where a large proportion of it comes. Another equally capacious tobacco

warehouse known as Stranahan Stores is located just below the Atlantic Docks."

Daily Eagle April 19, 1879:"William McLaughlin, aged 30, of 157 Hudson avenue, while at work at the tobacco inspection dock, foot of

Dock street, had his left hand badly bruised by being caught between two hogsheads of tobacco. He wasremoved to the City Hospital."

HISTORY 02

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

For five years the Brooklyn BridgePark Conservancy booked both public

and private events here. Revenuesfrom private events paid for free public

programming.

Open-air activities included “ Dancingin the Streets” in 2005, and “ Circle

“ Round Brooklyn” and “ Brooklyn Ballet'Caprice'” in 2006. Tented-activities

included “ Sunset Bouzoki” in 2006 and“ Music at the Bridge” in 2008.

This has accomplishedgoals of bringing people to Park andgenerating revenues to support free

public programming.

It has proven popularfor private events, such as parties,

weddings and for performances.

Community hasobjected to the presence of the party

tent (usually in place from May toNovember) and the resulting long-term

access restriction. Unfortunately thedifficulty of erecting and taking downthe tent has limited public access to

the warehouse.

With its proximity to the River, itsspectacular views and uniquecharacter as an urban ruin, its

architectural character must bepreserved while allowing for ease of

public access.

PRESENT FORM & RECENT USE 03

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

PHOTOGRAPHS 04

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

PHOTOGRAPHS 04

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

Some press clippings, mainly detailing the process of tobacco inspection:

Daily Eagle July 16, 1875:"Three of these 'breaks' are made in each hogshead or package, one near the top, one in the middle and

one near the bottom, and from each 'break' a handful of leaves is taken out. The object is to get as near aspossible a fair sample of the tobacco in each cask. The 'hands,' three in number, are then tied together in

the securest manner, and to them is fastened by a tag a card having the number of the hogshead, thename of the planter, the tobacco inspection, and other marks… .Most of the tobacco inspectors in New

York and Brooklyn are Southern gentlemen, skilled in the business, born upon tobacco plantations,perchance, and have always been connected with it one way or another. Their kindness and courtesy is

endless, and the visitor who desires to examine the method of inspection will be hospitably received andhave every courtesy shown him… .In the warehouse a curious sight is presented. Floor upon floor is

crowded as full as it can hold with the great casks, some piled tier on tier close to the roof. The air is filledwith the subtle odor of the crude leaf, which, if you are unaccustomed to it, sets you sneezing as though a

malignant catarrh had laid hold of you… .Last year's crop is short in the leaf, the weather would not allow ofa proper curing of it, some of it was frost bitten and it comes into market black and spotted, some of it

upon the ragged edge of rotting… .Now and then, however, the inspector finds a cask of long, light brownleaves, splendidly cured, and with the fragrant odor of a hickory nut. It remains to be seen what this year

will bring forth, but it does not yet come into market until next year, so the present is a good time to 'swearoff' for twelve months.

Daily Eagle April 4, 1874:

"'Tobacco inspection' consists in the storage of tobacco products in hogsheads, as it comes from theSouth and Southwest, and the inspection of each cask by a man who makes it a special business. The

business is conducted in the following manner: When a cask is inspected the staves are taken off, leaving acompact mass of pressed leaf tobacco, just the shape of the cask. By means of an iron lever, the mass is'broken' or lifted apart in three or four places, and a handful of the leaves taken from each 'break.' These

bunches are then bound together, the knot of the cord, sealed with sealing wax, stamped, and the card ofthe inspectors attached. The cask is then rehooped and stored away, and the tobacco sold by the samplethus taken from the cask. If, when the tobacco is delivered to the purchasers and the package upon being

opened does not correspond with the sample, the inspector is held reliable."

Daily Eagle July 16, 1875:"Enter the warehouse of David Dow & Co., yclept the "Brooklyn Tobacco Inspection." Look at the vast five

storied warehouse, covering an entire block, and know that at this moment there is stored therein at thepresent moment about SIXTEEN MILLION POUNDS of the crude crop… .The main warehouse stands backfrom the water's edge a distance of about 300 feet. The space between, is occupied by an enormous brick

shed; covering the whole space down the centre of this shed are two lines of heavy screw presses, in allabout sixty in number. The tobacco casks are rolled into this shed from the dock, and then the inspection

begins.

Daily Eagle June 15, 1876:"The immediate neighborhood is built up with immense stores, warehouses and manufacturing

establishments … on Water Street, is the great building commonly called the Tobacco Inspection, andotherwise designated the Fulton stores. The Empire stores… are just across Dock Street."

Daily Eagle June 26, 1877:

"Nearly all of the tobacco that comes to New York - two-thirds of it at least - is stored in Brooklyn, andFulton Stores is the point where a large proportion of it comes. Another equally capacious tobacco

warehouse known as Stranahan Stores is located just below the Atlantic Docks."

Daily Eagle April 19, 1879:"William McLaughlin, aged 30, of 157 Hudson avenue, while at work at the tobacco inspection dock, foot of

Dock street, had his left hand badly bruised by being caught between two hogsheads of tobacco. He wasremoved to the City Hospital."

PHOTOGRAPHS 04

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

For five years the Brooklyn BridgePark Conservancy booked both public

and private events here. Revenuesfrom private events paid for free public

programming.

Open-air activities included “ Dancingin the Streets” in 2005, and “ Circle

“ Round Brooklyn” and “ Brooklyn Ballet'Caprice'” in 2006. Tented-activities

included “ Sunset Bouzoki” in 2006 and“ Music at the Bridge” in 2008.

This has accomplishedgoals of bringing people to Park andgenerating revenues to support free

public programming.

It has proven popularfor private events, such as parties,

weddings and for performances.

Community hasobjected to the presence of the party

tent (usually in place from May toNovember) and the resulting long-term

access restriction. Unfortunately thedifficulty of erecting and taking downthe tent has limited public access to

the warehouse.

With its proximity to the River, itsspectacular views and uniquecharacter as an urban ruin, its

architectural character must bepreserved while allowing for ease of

public access.

PHOTOGRAPHS 04

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

PLANNED USE: THE GENERAL PROJECT PLAN 05"Only two of the original five-stories of the Tobacco Inspection Warehouse remain", reads the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Brooklyn Bridge Park.  "It is not anticipated that the historic integrity of the Tobacco Warehouse would be adversely affected [as this] resource is located within the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park and the proposed park would not alter this resource's setting within a park."  "[T]he exterior shell of the former Tobacco Warehouse would be restored, along with other possible improvements."  "Nearby, the restored exterior shell of the former Tobacco Warehouse, which may require other improvements, could house a walled garden, cafe, or space for arts groups."      "The restored exterior shell of the former Tobacoo Warehouse may be used to house a walled garden, cafe, or space for arts groups," states the General Project Plan, as amended December 18, 2006.      In its Letter of Resolution of January 18, 2006, New York State's Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation stated that "the EIS identified historic resources on the Project site that may be affected during construction of the Project, such as [the Bridge's stone piers] and the Tobacco Inspection Warehouse..." and required that construction plans "avoid any construction-related damage to the Tobacco Inspection Warehouse and any other historic resources..."

Examples of appropriate use:

picnicsperformancesmini museum

education programsprivate events

public artfood carts or outdoor café

marketsrevenue-generating events, although not exclusively for this

purpose

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

Tobacco Warehouse should remain a stabilized, architectural ruin, activated with enhancements that allow it to be a flexible, public, multi-purpose outdoor space accommodating a wide variety of activities and not dominated by one use or group. No historic material should be removed.

ADA compliance - address discontinuity of floor level within the TW and grade level in the surrounding park & sidewalks.

Address any structural issues with current concrete floor slab and add appropriate drainage, electrical supply, and lighting systems.

Identify appropriate entry/exit points with the goal of eliminating iron gates at open archways and establishing means of controlling access in a visually unobtrusive and flexible manner.

Install exhibit / interpretive history of the TW, Brooklyn's working waterfront, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

Identify design solutions that allow for segregated, flexible, temporary spaces for performances and events, including rational mechanics for ticketing and crowd control.

Features should be portable enough to allow quick changes in uses from day to day, additional features should be attractive yet secondary to the existing structure.

USE AND ENHANCEMENTS 06

Based upon 25 years of community concensus, 6 GOALS for the Tobacco Warehouse have been identified:

To illustrate these goals, a diagram was developed to graph and compare the merits of appropriate proposals. The figure above represents the six goals as six colored nodes radiating from a center. With each goal maximized to its equivalent and full potential, the resulting "flower" balances each of the potentially conflicting goals.

MAXIMIZED & EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL

HISTORY

ACCE

SS

USE FLEX

REVENUE

ECO

LOGY

OPEN

ESS

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

1. OPENNESS maintain a roofless open space 2. HISTORY preserve the historic structure as "a stabilized ruin"3. ECOLOGY create an environmentally sustainable space 4. REVENUE create the potential for generation of revenue for program and facility support 5. ACCESS provide year-round public access 6. USE FLEX allow use of the space for a large variety of things throughout the year

DIAGRAMATIC ANALYSIS 07

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

08.0

4.10

V 3

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

A - TW AS GARDEN

HISTORY

ACCE

SS

USE FLEX

REVENUE

ECO

LOGY

OPEN

ESS

Potential Programs:

• Gardening• Passive Recreation• Historic Interpretation• Environmental Learning

DIAGRAMATIC ANALYSIS 07

A Sculpture GardenScenario

The landscape of the parkto the north is extended to

the interior of thewarehouse, creating a

microclimate capable ofsustaining a unique set of

plant types. Openness,Access, Ecology, and

History goals are possiblymet, the potential for

Revenue and Use Flexare compromised.

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

B - TW FLOODED

HISTORY

ACCE

SS

USE FLEX

REVENUE

ECO

LOGY

OPEN

ESS

Potential Programs:

• Summer Recreation• Skating Rink• Historic Interpretation

DIAGRAMATIC ANALYSIS 07

A Water Scenario

The interior of thewarehouse is flooded to

provide a cool environmentin Summer and recreation inWinter. Openness, Access,Revenue, and History goals

are possibly met, thepotential for Ecology and

Use Flex are compromised.

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

C - TW TENTED

HISTORY

ACCE

SS

USE FLEX

REVENUE

ECO

LOGY

OPEN

ESS

Potential Programs:

• Performances• Market• Historic Interpretation• Environmental Learning

DIAGRAMATIC ANALYSIS 07

Another Tent Scenario

Installing a retractable,inflatable, or otherwise

temporary tented area allowsfor inceased potential for

activities that require cover,while maintaining a sense of

openness. The ability toretract, deflate, or

disassemble the tented areawithin the course of 24 hoursis critical to balancing goals.

A + B + C = COMPOSITE

HISTORY

ACCE

SS

USE FLEX

REVENUE

ECO

LOGY

OPEN

ESS

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

08.0

4.10

V 3

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

orkA Composite Scenario

By combining aspects of the three previous scenarios (and potentially many more), a sensible program and design can be developed that incorporates, balances and maximizes each of the goals.

The resulting "Flower" illustrates a programming strategy that balances the community goals for the warehouse and enhances the existing qualities of the space.

DIAGRAMATIC ANALYSIS 07

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

The Tobacco Warehouse, in its present form, is an architectural ruin that is an integralpart of the Brooklyn Bridge Park landscape and an icon of the Park.

The Tobacco Warehouse is an historic structure, built during the Civil War to housetobacco products sent by train and boat for local consumption.

The Tobacco Warehouse, as an architectural ruin, today offers uniquely framed spacesand views that inspire the imagination while accommodating a wide variety of public and

private uses.

The Tobacco Warehouse has in recent years successfully served as the setting for usesof many kinds, including highly-regarded theater productions such as TR Warszawa's

Macbeth, local productions by the Brooklyn Ballet and the Festival of EmergingPhotographers hosted by the New York gallery Art + Commerce. The success of theseand many other events have proven the existing space to be conducive with a variety of

open-air programming.

The General Project Plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park states that the proposed park wouldnot alter this resource's (the Tobacco Warehouse) setting within a park.

Potential uses of the Tobacco Warehouse include; picnics, performances, mini museum,education programs, private events, public art, food carts or outdoor café , markets, and

other revenue-generating events.

A diagrammatic analysis shows that the Tobacco Warehouse can easily incorporate,balance, and maximize the community-based goals of openness, history, ecology,

revenue, public access, and flexible use.

We conclude that the Tobacco Warehouse should remain astabilized, architectural ruin, activated with enhancements that

allow it to be a flexible, public, multipurpose outdoor spaceaccommodating a wide variety of activities, and not dominated

by one use or group.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION 08

TW

TO

BA

CC

O W

AR

EH

OU

SE

RE

PO

RT

05.0

5.10

V 1

.0W

ater

Str

eet,

nort

h si

deb

etw

een

New

Doc

k an

d D

ock

Str

eets

Bro

okly

n, N

ew Y

ork

NV/da