There were five landmarks designated in Brooklyn in 2015 and now the borough has its first of 2016. The East New York Savings Bank, Parkway Branch building at 1117 Eastern Parkway (a.k.a. 1123A Eastern Parkway) was designated an individual landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.
Located at the corner of Eastern Parkway (which is itself a scenic landmark) and Utica Avenue, the bank building was constructed between 1927 and 1928. It was designed by the firm of Holmes & Winslow, which specialized in bank buildings. It was described by the LPC research department as having a “fortress-like quality.”
Architectural sculptor Rene Chambellan created the bronze doors that face Eastern Parkway, which incorporate stylized figures accompanied by traditional symbols of abundance and ambition. The building’s monumental arch has medieval details.
“For decades, this impressive building housed an institution that was instrumental in the development of our city,” said LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan in a statement. “The building’s striking, monumental qualities coupled with its corner location on Eastern Parkway, a prominent boulevard in the Borough, make the East New York Savings Bank building a commanding neighborhood landmark. Today we are proud to give it the protection it deserves.”
The vote to designate was unanimous, and also happens to be the first designation of the year, in any borough.
Prior to that vote, the commission voted to calendar designation of the Empire State Dairy Co. Building and Complex (later the Borden Dairy Corp.) at 2840-2858 Atlantic Avenue (a.k.a. 181-185 Schenck Avenue). The complex was designed by architects Theobald Engelhardt and Otto Strack and built between 1906 and 1907 and between 1914 and 1915. It features polychrome ceramic tile mosaics.
Srinivasan was happy to see it added to the calendar, as one of the few surviving easily recognizable industrial buildings in East New York.
The LPC research department said designation would complement the rezoning of the neighborhood. The commission will take up designation of the structure in July.
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Yes, popular community bank keep it not go to the church’s looking, so paint and change to the real of this building.
I remember going to this beautiful bank as a child with my grandmother in the 1950s. During the 1964-65 World’s Fair, there was a special bus that began here that went to the Fair which my friends and I used to take. Across Utica was the Famous Dairy Restaurant, where I used to get proto-steak and vegetable cutlets, and then it became and still is McDonald’s. The East New York Savings Bank used to have contests in writing and art for kids in my public school. This always has been a great neighborhood, even back in the 1970s when people would look down their noses at us.
Was this really necessary? It is a bank. Nothing historical happened here. An office tower or housing could have taken its place, 2 things which are more important than landmarking a bank just because its old.
I think so. It’s a pretty great-looking building, along with the two church buildings next to it.
And don’t be silly – this isn’t an all-or-nothing situation, either. You can still put your office tower and housing on the three other corners of Eastern Parkway and Utica Avenue, which are not landmarked, and don’t have buildings as good-looking as this handsome bank building. If you wanted to, you could even market the views of the bank, the church, and the tree-lined parkway as a selling point to future tenants.
And why not the former Greenpoint Savings Bank? WOW LPC needs to adjust their meds. If THIS (Banco Popular)gorgeous and deserving bank gets the designation it deserves so to does 856 Washington Ave. Oh WAIT, a DEVELOPER already has plans to TEAR IT DOWN and WHY would LPC stick its neck out for a building that is as beautiful as the old Penn Station or the Brooklyn Museum…
I’m so glad this building has been granted landmark status. I wish I’d asked to take pictures of the interior and the safe deposit box area. I appreciated the wood privacy booths and the tiles, etc. I hope Modell’s treats the building with respect.
Does anyone remember the round bank at Rockaway Parkway near Kings Highway?