WHEN the NYC Department of Purchase Building, at Water and New Dock Streets under the Brooklyn Bridge, was demolished in 2008, it wasn’t without protest from preservationists who wanted to preserve a rare example of Modernist architecture from 1936. The building served as a warehouse for the NYC Department of Purchase (now known as the NYC Department of Finance) and also as headquarters for other agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management following 9/11/01.
Though the building itself came down in 2008, it took until 2021 for its replacement, an extension of Brooklyn Bridge Park called Emily Roebling Plaza, to take its place. I wonder why it took so long for NYC Parks to connect the two pieces of Brooklyn Bridge Park. I imagine it was because there may have been some complicated negotiations for what had previously been private property. Nevertheless, this spot beneath the Brooklyn Bridge has been a favored spot for outdoor photo shoots for wedding parties. It didn’t involve a lot of construction as it’s basically a large windswept plaza that involved the closure of New Dock Street.
Emily Roebling (1843-1903), wife of Washington Roebling, assisted in the Bridge’s construction when her husband Washington (who had taken over the project from his father John, who had died of tetanus when his foot was crushed during construction) was himself struck down from caisson disease acquired when he was working beneath the East River bed and nitrogen entered his blood vessels. He then observed construction from the Roebling’s house with a spyglass and had Emily relay instructions to the construction workers. From her close association with her husband’s work as well as her own education, she knew engineering principles and with his help, she was able to explain his instructions to engineers. When bridge trustees wished to replace Washington Roebling a year before the bridge opened, her powers of persuasion were instrumental in keeping him on. She was on the first carriage to cross the Bridge when it formally opened in 1883.
Today the only reminder of the Purchase Building is its lintel, the structural horizontal support above the main doorway. It features extraordinarily stylized Machine-Age lettering that reads: Purchase Department, City of New York.” I had to stare at it for awhile before I was able to read it.
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3/18/23