Montague-Court Building
16 Court Street | also 206 Montague Street | Brooklyn Heights | built 1927
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1874
The Continental Insurance Company builds a cast-iron, towered office building at Court and Montague
In 1873-74 the Continental Insurance Company of New York built one of the first of a new class of office buildings at the southwest corner of Court and Montague Streets, where 16 Court Street now stands. George L. Morse designed the five-story French Second Empire building, with a cast-iron facade and a mansard roof. A tower rose a reported 120 feet over the Montague Street entrance. It has since been demolished.
“In 1873-74 the Continental Insurance Company of New York ... erected one of the first of the new class of office buildings at the southwest corner of Court and Montague…”
- 1880
The Phenix Fire Insurance Company puts up a taller office building with steam elevators next door
A few years after the Continental, the Brooklyn firm Phenix Fire Insurance Company commissioned an even taller building just south of it, on the site of the old Montague Hall. Ebenezer L. Roberts designed it, and it was built in 1879-80. Its large glass expanses, rental offices beyond the owners' needs and two steam-powered elevators are now seen as hallmarks of early skyscrapers. It was demolished.
“…commissioned an even taller structure immediately to the south of the Continental Building on the site of the old Montague Hall…”
- 1927
The 35-story Montague-Court Building makes Brooklyn's tallest tower
The Montague-Court Building, begun in 1925 and finished in 1927, replaced the Continental and Phenix buildings. H. Craig Severance designed it with David M. Oltarsh as associate, for a syndicate headed by Saul Singer, who also invested in Manhattan's Garment Center. At 35 stories it was then the newest tallest building in Brooklyn, with a single deep setback on Court Street and two on Montague.
- 1927
Architect H. Craig Severance, once William Van Alen's partner, designs the tower
Harold Craig Severance was from upstate New York, studied in the United States and France, and worked early in the 1900s at Carrere & Hastings. From 1916 to 1924 he partnered with William Van Alen, who later designed the Chrysler Building, and the pair specialized in modern office buildings. He got the Court Street commission after the partnership ended, and later designed many Midtown and Garment District offices.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2007
SL Green pays $107 million for a run-down, 75 percent occupied 16 Court Street
SL Green Realty bought 16 Court Street in 2007 for $107 million, when the tower had been allowed to fall into disrepair and was only 75 percent occupied. By early 2009 the company was upgrading and rebranding it to attract creative tenants, including the landscape designer Michael Van Valkenburgh. Leasing was slower than SL Green had expected.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2012
The Landmarks Commission designates the tower within the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District
The Landmarks Preservation Commission included the 35-story, 462-foot Montague-Court Building in the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District it designated in February 2012. At 462 feet it is the tallest office building in Brooklyn.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2017
CIM Group buys the Montague-Court Building from SL Green for $171 million
CIM Group bought the Montague-Court Building from SL Green Realty in 2017 for $171 million and has owned and managed it since. By 2025 low occupancy had put the building in danger of foreclosure.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Montague–Court BuildingWikipedia
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