Back in January, much was made of the city's plans to tear down the decrepit remains of Brooklyn's historic Admiral's Row, but six months later, the buildings are still standing. In fact, nothing has changed on the site, and no news or updates have been reported since the property was transferred to the city. Urban explorer, photographer, and Curbed tipster 2e has ventured onto the crumbling property several times, and on his most recent visit last month, he wandered through the ten former quarters buildings. Here now, we have 25 of his photos, showing the beautifully broken rooms and ivy-covered buildings.
Of Admiral's Row buildings (see map below), only Quarters B and the Timber Shed will be spared from demolition. Most of the other buildings have serious structural problems and are partially collapse, but 2e says that several have fully-intact sections and at least five have accessible third floors. "The single structure comprising Quarters E-F-G (1859, 1860, 1861 respectively) still has roof access that puts you above the surprisingly tall forest that surrounds the row," says 2e. "I'm sure you'll agree that the picture I took of Downtown Brooklyn from the roof looks like a rendering."
2e spoke with Meredith Wisner, the archivist of BLDG 92, who said she does not know the date of demolition, but that there is a salvage plan in place for the homes that will be torn down. "Considering the high degree of ornament and history each home still has, I guess a salvage plan makes the sting a little less," says 2e, who also laments the loss of the surrounding woods:
Almost as unfortunate as losing Admiral's Row will be the clearing of the dense forest that surrounds and now grows inside of many of the homes. It's so interesting seeing a forest completely overrun with vines take over what was once meticulously manicured land. Many of the trees are growing through fences separating homes and out of interior walls on upper floors. Most interesting, I think, is the green light that reflects off of the trees and comes into all of the homes. Because of this, in winter Admiral's Row is a completely different experience. Besides decades of being battered by the elements, the homes appear to have been mostly undisturbed by squatters and vandals?that is with the exception of Quarters H. Years of trash accumulations composed mostly of junk food and pornography are piled multiple feet high in several rooms. Quarters L also has a third floor squatter who instead is organized and clean.But soon, all of this will be wiped away and paved over to make way for a ShopRite and parking lot. Oh, the joys of development. · Admiral's Row coverage [Curbed]
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