What's the old saying about something being too little too late or about closing the gate after the horse has already left the barn? Well, the a state historic preservation office has determined that the Kent Avenue (BMT) Powerhouse meets the criteria for being included on the National Register of Historic Places. The bad news, of course, is that Con Ed has been demolishing the building since spring and all that preservationists may have for the National Register are big piles of historically significant rubble. There's now a blog devoted to the building and part of what it is doing is keeping tabs on the progress of the demolition work. Per an email from the troublemakers at the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, "The Kent Avenue Powerhouse was built in 1905 by the prolific electrical engineer Thomas Edward Murray...to provide electricity to the streetcars and elevated lines of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT)." The utility is expected to be prepping the land to sell it for luxury housing development. The building was turned down for consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. On the bright side, a museum will probably accept an historically significant piece of the building for its collection.
· Save the BMT Powerhouse [savethepowerhouse]
· As Burg Power Plants Falls, a Vision of What It Could Be [Curbed]
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