Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse
184 Kent Avenue | Williamsburg | built 1914
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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1913
Austin, Nichols & Company signs a lease with Havemeyer & Elder for a new warehouse designed by Cass Gilbert
Horace Havemeyer, whose family owned the East River land in Williamsburg, commissioned architect Cass Gilbert to design a warehouse for the wholesale grocers Austin, Nichols & Company. In November 1913 the grocer signed a long-term lease with Havemeyer & Elder, which agreed to build the factory for it. Turner Construction was given the building contract the same week.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1914
Cass Gilbert builds a fireproof reinforced-concrete warehouse in the Egyptian Revival style
Gilbert designed the 179-by-440-foot warehouse in reinforced concrete, which let it carry heavier loads and made it fireproof. Its facade is simple, and it is one of the few Egyptian Revival buildings in New York. A 1921 article in Architecture magazine called it a good example of Egyptian design adapted to modern commerce, and in 1928 Gilbert himself listed it among his best works.
“The structure, built in the Egyptian Revival style, is one of the city's only Egyptian Revival buildings. Its primary construction material is reinforced concrete.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1915
Austin, Nichols & Company starts operating at its Williamsburg plant, with about 1,500 workers
The company began work at the new warehouse in January 1915, right after the lease on its old Hudson Street building in Manhattan expired, and had finished moving by March. The plant employed 1,500 workers, and nearly all of its floor space was in use. The building handled foodstuffs, European grocery imports and dry goods.
“The first operations at the Austin, Nichols & Company warehouse started in January 1915... The warehouse employed 1,500 workers and nearly all of the floor space was being used.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1934
After Prohibition ends, Austin, Nichols & Company renews its lease and installs a distillery in the warehouse
Once Prohibition was repealed, the company took up liquor handling. Its lease on the building was renewed in 1934 and a distillery went in afterward. The grocery business went to Francis H. Leggett & Co. in 1938 or 1939, after which the company concentrated entirely on selling liquor.
“Starting in the 1930s, after Prohibition in the United States was repealed, the company started handling liquor. Austin, Nichols & Company's lease was renewed in 1934, and a distillery was subsequently installed.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1955
Austin, Nichols & Company leaves for Queens and small manufacturers move into 184 Kent Avenue
The company bought a new building in Maspeth, Queens, in 1955 and moved all of its operations there. The warehouse, by then known as 184 Kent Avenue, was used by small manufacturers for about the next three decades. In 1986 it was bought by 184 Kent Avenue Associates, though by the 1990s it had fallen into disrepair.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2005
City Council overturns the landmark designation of the Austin, Nichols warehouse, then overrides the mayor's veto
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the warehouse in September 2005, with 27 people and groups speaking in favor. The owners, the Kestenbaum family, called it an eyesore and wanted to demolish or heavily alter it, and Council member David Yassky also opposed designation. In November a majority of the City Council voted to overturn the designation. Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed that vote in December, and the Council overrode his veto.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2005
Critic Ada Louise Huxtable defends the warehouse as the work of a great architect during the landmark fight
During the landmark fight over 184 Kent Avenue, the architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable responded to Council members Yassky and Felder, who had dismissed the building. She said it should obviously be landmarked because it was the work of Cass Gilbert, and that the people attacking its value knew nothing about it. Brownstoner reports the building was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2010
JMH Development finishes converting the old warehouse into 338 rental apartments
After the 2006 sale to Jason Halpern's JMH Development, the building made it onto the National Register of Historic Places, and in December 2008 the company announced that the exterior would be preserved in perpetuity. JMH completed the conversion into 338 rental apartments in 2010. The rap lyrics site Genius, formerly Rap Genius, was also headquartered in the building.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2016
Kushner Companies, LIVWRK and Rockpoint buy 184 Kent Avenue and rebrand it the Austin Nichols House
In April 2016 the property was purchased by Kushner Companies, LIVWRK and Rockpoint Group, who planned to turn the rentals into condominiums, with Morris Adjmi Architects leading the redesign. Several fires of unexplained origin broke out that year, though no one was hurt. A 2018 lawsuit accused Kushner of harassing rent-regulated tenants, whose number had dropped from 316 to 71.
“Kushner Companies, LIVWRK and Rockpoint Group bought the property in April 2016, intending to turn the rental units into condominium units.”
Source: Wikipedia
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