Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower

1 Hanson Place | Fort Greene | built 1929

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1926

    Williamsburgh Savings Bank quietly assembles a Hanson Place site and wins approval over ten rival banks

    Through 29 separate transactions in 1926, the bank anonymously bought lots on Hanson Place and Ashland Place for a new headquarters. Once the plan became public, two savings banks with branches in Downtown Brooklyn, joined by eight others, protested that it was invading their territory. The state superintendent of banks nonetheless let it open a Downtown Brooklyn branch, on condition that its temporary office be closed when the tower was finished.

    “…anonymously acquired lots on 1–9 Hanson Place and 135–149 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn over a total of 29 transactions in 1926…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1928

    April 9

    The tower's cornerstone is laid, and the frame is topped out by July

    The William Kennedy Construction Company was excavating the site by August 1927, and received the general contract that December for a building planned to cost $3 million. The cornerstone went in on April 9, 1928. By the end of July the superstructure was topped out, and space was already being rented that year.

    “The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower's cornerstone was laid on April 9, 1928, and the superstructure was topped out by the end of July 1928.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1928

    December

    The giant clock atop the tower starts running

    The clock at the top of the tower started operating in December 1928. Each face is 27 feet across, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle claimed they could be seen from 30 miles away. Through the middle of the 20th century, large numbers of Brooklynites depended on it for the time, and in 1973 one of its maintainers said the phone rang at once if it drifted by a minute.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 1929

    April 1

    The bank opens in its new tower after a reception for 400 guests

    A reception on March 28, 1929 drew four hundred people, and the banking offices opened on April 1. About 75 percent of the space was already leased, and the office floors opened formally the next month. Even after the Wall Street Crash that year, 94 percent of the building was rented before 1929 ended.

    “Four hundred people attended a reception for the new bank building on March 28, 1929. The banking offices opened on April 1…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 1929

    Architect Robert Helmer designs a cathedral of thrift, with a dome the bank insisted on

    Robert Helmer of Halsey, McCormack & Helmer wanted the tower to be regarded as a cathedral devoted to thrift and prosperity, and the banking hall has a nave, aisles and a chancel. The carved ornament includes owls, squirrels storing nuts, beehives and a thief. The dome, modeled on the one on the bank's older Broadway building, was demanded by the bank; one architect noted it was required over their protests.

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 1978

    March

    The city approves landmark status after the bank pledges $10 million in loans

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the tower's exterior on November 15, 1977. Approval by the Board of Estimate then stalled when Congressman Fred Richmond accused the bank of redlining, meaning it refused mortgages to residents of poorer neighborhoods. The board finally approved in March 1978, after the bank pledged $10 million in loans and mortgages for Brooklyn residents.

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 1988

    A lobby renovation leads landmarks staff to find 906 replacement windows installed without approval

    The bank had begun replacing windows in 1983 without seeking the required Landmarks Preservation Commission approval. After Republic National Bank, which acquired the Williamsburgh in 1986, announced a renovation of the lobby, banking room and facade in 1988, a commission staff member read the news reports and contacted the bank. The staff member found that 906 exterior windows had been replaced, then the biggest violation of the city's landmarks law, and the commission asked for muntins to be added over them.

    Source: Wikipedia

  8. 2005

    May

    Dermot, Magic Johnson and Canyon Capital buy the tower from HSBC

    HSBC put the building up for sale in 2004, and the sale to the Dermot Company was finalized in May 2005 at a reported $71 to $73 million. The partners in the deal also included retired basketball star Magic Johnson and Canyon Capital Realty Advisers. The remaining dentists had to find new offices, and mercury vapor had to be cleared from their former offices before H. Thomas O'Hara's conversion to condominiums could start.

    Source: Wikipedia

  9. 2009

    September

    The old banking hall reopens as an event venue, hosting VH1 and MTV shows

    Skylight One Hanson agreed in July 2009 to operate the banking room and opened it that September, renting it for events at $15,000 a night or more. VH1 Divas and MTV's Hip Hop Honors were among the events held there. The Brooklyn Flea announced it would use the hall on weekends starting in January 2010.

    “Skylight One Hanson opened that September, renting the banking room for events at rates of at least $15,000 per night.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  10. 2026

    The Barclays Center's owner plans an Italian food hall in the landmarked banking hall

    Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, parent of the Barclays Center, bought the tower's retail space for $10.3 million in October 2024. In 2026 it announced that Casa Tua's Cucina would fill the vacant banking hall, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the designs while keeping the landmarked interior. The opening is expected in 2027.

    Source: 6sqft

Further reading

Nearby

All 18 buildings with stories in Fort Greene