THIS abandoned structure abutting Erie Basin in Red Hook has long been an attraction for the Forgotten NY camera, so I’m reaching into the archives to show it off today.
A massive concrete silo, built in 1922, was once the processing center for grains used for breweries and distilleries shipped down from upstate and the western USA via the Erie Canal. The terminal closed as shipping in Red Hook gave way to New Jersey containerization beginning in the 1950s. In addition, it was built because in the 1920s, canals were thought to be the wave of the future in transporting goods, but the need never materialized as freight railroads handled shipping traffic until long-haul trucking supplanted it as a main means of shipping.
With its 54 joined concrete silos, it has been described as looking like “concrete ladyfingers.” Today, the soccer field in front of the terminal has it as an impressive backdrop; dance companies have used it as a staging area, and urban sports enthusiasts have rappelled on it.
The grain elevator is in the Gowanus Industrial Park, which operates over 30 small businesses and a growing demand for moorage of small vessels and barges. The industrial park hopes to take on more shipping and on-site manufacturing. The ship moored behind the grain terminal is the Loujaine, a Panamanian bulk carrier employed as floating storage.
I first photographed the grain elevator for the Forgotten NY The Book back in 2005, and it remains abandoned today; proposed uses such as a concrete plant, recycling plant, storage, or even a movie soundstage have not yet materialized.
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9/19/22