Now the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, this building, opened in 1926, was formerly used to berth fireboats and dry out lengthy firehoses, hence the tower.
For years I was under the impression that this building was the Fulton Ferry waiting room, but the ferry ceased operations in 1924, a full two years before this building was constructed. The ferry terminal was a much larger affair that straddled each side of Fulton Street at the East River edge.
This is the point where Fulton Street formerly began, following a colonial trail that ran from here into the part of Brooklyn now called Midwood. It was even once the northern extension of Kings Highway before a branch of it running northeast into Brownsville assumed the name. Since the early 1950s, this stretch has been called Fulton Street, Cadman Plaza West, and now Old Fulton Street.
3/26/14