Building of the Day: 275 Park Avenue

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Originally Von Glahn Warehouse, then Rockwood & Co. Chocolate Factory, now Chocolate Factory Apartments
Address: 275 Park Avenue, corner of Washington Avenue.
Neighborhood: Wallabout
Year Built: 1890
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: John G. Glover
Other buildings by architect: 60-68 Washington Ave. (further down the same block)
Landmarked: No, but part of proposed Wallabout Historic District. Also on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

The story: The Brooklyn waterfront has long been a natural draw for food businesses and commodities. From the coffee warehouses below Brooklyn Heights, and in Red Hook, to the sugar factories of Williamsburg, we’ve long been about food. The Wallabout area has long been in the business of making and packaging that food, as well as storing it. The Von Glahn Brothers were one of several large wholesale grocery supply businesses in Brooklyn which developed at the end of the 19th century, and on into the beginning of the 20th. Others included the Grand Union Company in DUMBO, and Austin Nichols in Williamsburg.

The Wallabout area was perfect for these kinds of businesses, large buildings could be built, a steady workforce was nearby, and the factories could get in raw produce from the nearby Wallabout Market, as well as close proximity to Brooklyn’s harbors and bridges. Companies like Von Glahn Brothers manufactured canned goods and other processed foods, re- packaged foods and groceries for retail, and shipped them across the country.

John and Henry Von Glahn already had several buildings further down Washington Avenue, also by Glover, near Flushing, for their business, and commissioned this building in 1890 to be the showpiece of their empire. It’s a handsome 5 story brick building with a chamfered corner, the better to show off the Von Glahn name in terra-cotta, which also appears on the side. Another terra-cotta plaque on the end of the building reads Quimby, which may have been one of their products, or perhaps the name of another tenant. By using brick in creative patterns, Glover really made this industrial warehouse into quite an attractive building, and a fine example of late 19th century industrial architecture.

In 1907, the building became part of the Rockwood & Co. Chocolate Company, an annexation to their factories behind this building, on Waverly and Park. The last candy was produced in these factories in 1967, and today, the buildings are enjoying a new life as housing.