Only one commenter guessed this week's Cornerspotter location correctly: It's the former Knox Hat Factory at the corner of St. Mark's Avenue and Grand Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Brownstoner took a fairly in-depth look at the building several years ago, and uncovered a few interesting tidbits; namely, that the entire building cost $35,000 when it was originally built in 1890. When it first debuted, the structure had a clock tower outfitted with four Seth Thomas clocks, but you can see that the ornate topper is no longer on the building these days. It remained in use as a factory until post-World War II, and fell into disrepair as the neighborhood around it fell on hard times. But it was turned into subsidized housing in the 1980s—predating the rapid gentrification of Crown Heights that's happened in the past decade—and remains an apartment building to this day. A plaque on the side of the building nods to its former industrial past.
· Hint: This Building Once Churned Out Goods for Stylish NYers [Curbed]
· Cornerspotter archives [Curbed]
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