Empire Stores
55 Water Street | also 2 Main Street | DUMBO | built 1900
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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.
- 1869
Fire destroys the early warehouses on the Empire Stores lot
Shipping merchant James Nesmith acquired most of the land for the Empire Stores in 1856, when brick warehouses from the early 1800s stood on it. A fire in 1869 destroyed those older buildings, and Nesmith began putting up new four-story warehouses at the Dock Street end of the site.
“The major portion of the land on which the stores are situated was acquired in 1856 by James Nesmith... in 1869, a fire destroyed these early buildings…”
- 1870
Nesmith & Sons' Empire Stores open to store coffee, hides, sugar and molasses
The four-story warehouses at the western end were finished in 1870 and known as Nesmith & Sons' Empire Stores. Cargo ships brought coffee beans, animal hides, grains, raw sugar and molasses from Africa, South America and Cuba for general storage there. During the 1890s the stores also housed customs inspection offices for two Brooklyn districts.
“These were completed in 1870 and were known as "Nesmith & Sons' Empire Stores." ... general storage of raw materials such as coffee beans, animal hides, grains…”
- 1885
Thomas Stone designs a five-story eastern section for Henry Nesmith
In 1885 James Nesmith's son Henry, a partner in the family firm, hired the Brooklyn architect Thomas Stone to plan and build a five-story eastern section at the Main Street end of the stores. Stone kept the general character of the 1870 warehouses but varied the window pattern. All seven warehouses are dark red brick with rows of round-arched windows and doors, and they give the impression of one monumental building.
“Henry E. Nesmith... commissioned the Brooklyn architect Thomas Stone to design and build the five-story eastern section of the stores at the Main Street end.”
- 1963
Consolidated Edison takes ownership of the Empire Stores
The Landmarks Preservation Commission's Fulton Ferry Historic District report records the Empire Stores as owned by Consolidated Edison since 1963. It calls them one of the few survivors of Brooklyn's post-Civil War waterfront, which by 1870 was so lined with private docks and warehouses that the borough was nicknamed the "walled city."
“The Empire Stores, owned since 1963 by Consolidated Edison, are among the few survivors…”
- 2013
Midtown Equities is chosen to redevelop the abandoned Empire Stores
In 2013 Brooklyn developer Midtown Equities was selected to turn the abandoned warehouses into commercial and office space, with plans by Studio V Architecture and S9 Architecture. The design kept the schist walls, iron hoisting wheels and coffee chutes. Because the buildings sit directly on the waterfront, the complex got deployable flood barriers, a backup generator and transformers on the seventh floor.
“In 2013, Brooklyn developer Midtown Equities was selected to redevelop the abandoned Empire Stores warehouses…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2017
Brooklyn Historical Society opens a Dumbo exhibition space in the Empire Stores
The Brooklyn Historical Society was chosen to run a 3,200-square-foot museum celebrating Brooklyn's industrial history. Its BHS Dumbo space opened in May 2017, after the flagship West Elm store became the first tenant in August 2016 and stood alone in the complex for a year.
“The flagship West Elm store, opened in August 2016, was the first tenant... followed by the BHS Dumbo exhibition space in May 2017.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2019
Time Out Market opens a food hall in the Empire Stores
Time Out Market New York was announced in early 2018 as a food hall with 20 restaurants and three bars inside the Empire Stores. It opened in May 2019.
“In early 2018, it was announced that Time Out Market New York would open a food hall in Empire Stores with 20 restaurants and three bars. The market opened in May 2019.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Empire StoresWikipedia
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