Photos: Inside the Raw Spaces of the Brooklyn Army Terminal

The raw industrial spaces of the Brooklyn Army Terminal are perfect settings to capture stunning urban photographs. On a recent behind-the-scenes tour of the terminal with Untapped Cities Insiders, where guests got an extra special peek into the terminal’s basement corridors, photographer Aaron Asis captured some of the complex’s most visually compelling spaces.

If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can join our next behind-the-scenes tour inside the Brooklyn Army Terminal on December 12th. This tour will be led by John Hong, the Assistant Vice President in Asset Management at NYCEDC, who will lead you through the massive atrium where freight trains once pulled in to directly unload supplies, new raw spaces in Building A, the food manufacturing hub in the annex, an enclosed bridge way that has lain untouched for 40 years, and a rooftop with views of Manhattan.

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Inside Building B

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is an impressive 4 million square foot complex that was built in Sunset Park at the end of World War I. It was designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert, the architect behind the Woolworth Building, U.S. Customs House and other famous buildings throughout the country. It was used as a supply base and military depot through both World Wars. At the height of activity during World War II, the main atrium of Building B is where freight trains would pull in and unload their cargo. The terminal was also a point of departure for soldiers going off to fight. Most famously, Elvis Presley was deployed from the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Decommissioned in 1964, the terminal is now run by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) as a commercial and industrial complex. The terminal is one of New York City’s initiatives to provide affordable manufacturing space for local businesses. The companies that occupy the terminal range from flavored ice-cream cone makers to 3D-printed garment producers. Some of the companies inside the complex include Mudo Fashion, a garment firm that sews, cuts, fuses and prints labels onto clothing, Green Mustache, a local, woman-owned smoothie and snack maker, and Pour Steady, maker of commercial coffee equipment.

The Basement

On our most recent tour of the terminal, Hong took our Insiders down into the basement. The basement corridors are not usually part of the tour, or accessible to the public in general, so it was an extra special peek behind-the-scenes.

From the Roof of the Food Hub

Every behind-the-scenes Insider tour includes a trip up to the roof of the annex, a formerly empty space that has been transformed into a food manufacturing hub. Not only do you get to see a whole new perspective on the massive terminal complex, but you are also treated to views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.