Brooklyn Edison Building

345 Adams Street | also 11 Willoughby Street, 374 Pearl Street | Downtown Brooklyn | built 1960

Open on the map8 entries

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

  1. 1922

    Brooklyn Edison buys the lots beside its headquarters, and Loew's Royal Theater is demolished for the new building

    In 1922 the Brooklyn Edison Company, still headquartered at 360 Pearl Street, bought the adjacent lots to the south, including the corner of Willoughby and Pearl streets. A theater, Loew's Royal Theater, stood on that corner and was demolished to make room for the company's new building.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1922

    McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin design a 13-story Renaissance Revival headquarters meant to be the 'last word' in offices

    The architects gave the building a rusticated stone base, a brick and stone middle and a crown with setbacks and hipped roofs, to meet the 1916 zoning rules. Customer service and the Edison shop occupied the first two floors, and the third through eleventh held offices for 1,800 employees. The top floor served as a cafeteria and recreation room with low-cost lunches.

    “The first and second floors of the new building housed customer service and the Edison shop, while the third through eleventh floors housed various department offices for 1,800 employees.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1926

    Company president Matthew S. Sloan calls for the building to expand northward for another 1,500 workers

    Sloan told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Brooklyn was growing by 50,000 people a year and that Brooklyn Edison had to meet the borough's demand for electric service. The 1926 northern extension, also by McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin, copied the original's style and added office space for 1,500 more employees.

    “Brooklyn is growing at the rate of 50,000 people a year ... The 1926 expansion added office space for an additional 1,500 employees…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1930

    Fashion shows, charity fundraisers and a 'Wonder House' of home electricity fill the Edison building

    From the 1920s into the 1950s the building's auditorium hosted conferences, fashion shows, charity fundraisers and philanthropic meetings, according to old newspapers. In the 1930s its ground-floor showroom staged a 'Wonder House' exhibition showing what electricity could do in a home. The landmark report says it attracted public interest.

    “…regularly hosted conferences, fashion shows, charity fundraisers, and philanthropic meetings in its auditorium between the 1920s and 1950s ... exhibitions such as the 'Wonder House' in the 1930s…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1955

    Clearing of the block's western half in the mid-1950s exposes the building's west side and later moves its entrance

    When the Brooklyn Civic Center was built and Adams Street widened in the mid-1950s, the buildings on the western half of the block were torn down, leaving the lower floors of the Edison building's west facade visible. In the early 1960s the main entrance moved to Adams Street, and the building took the address 345 Adams Street. Con Edison, which Brooklyn Edison had merged with in 1943, kept using its 380 Pearl Street address until the early 1970s.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  6. 1982

    The city's Department of Finance relocates to 345 Adams Street, and the city buys the building in 1989

    In the 1980s Mayor Koch's administration promoted moving private companies and city agencies out of Manhattan. One of the first and biggest moves was the Department of Finance's relocation to the former Edison headquarters in 1982. In 1989 the city's Department of Administrative Services purchased the building.

    “One of the first and biggest moves was the relocation of the Department of Finance to 345 Adams Street in 1982.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  7. 2013

    Hill Country Barbecue plans an 11,000-square-foot restaurant in the building's renovated ground floors

    Muss Development bought the first two floors from the city and renovated them, and Potbelly and Panera Bread opened there first. In 2013 Brownstoner reported that Hill Country Barbeque, then with two Manhattan locations, would open an 11,000-square-foot restaurant in the building. The barbecue joint is known for its live country music. Bright Horizons was also coming, with a 15,000-square-foot child care center.

    Source: brownstoner.com

  8. 2024

    June 18

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Brooklyn Edison Building an individual landmark

    The commission calendared the building in February 2024 and held a public hearing on June 4. Two people spoke in favor, including speakers for the Downtown Brooklyn Association and for the Historic Districts Council, and no one testified against. Councilmember Lincoln Restler and the Brooklyn Heights Association sent letters backing designation. The commission designated the building on June 18, 2024.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 28 buildings with stories in Downtown Brooklyn