8. There was a “Brooklyn Chocolate Flood” in the neighborhood
The Rockwood Chocolate Factory Historic District is a national historic district in Fort Greene consisting of 16 buildings built between 1891 and 1928. Many of the buildings have been converted to loft apartments, including the remains of the former Rockwood & Company Chocolate Factory. Founded in 1886, the company moved from Manhattan to the Brooklyn facility in 1904. Though just 15 years later, the factory building caught on fire, and the subsequent damage led to the “Brooklyn Chocolate Flood.” Hot butter and cocoa melted and ran into the street, falling down storm drains.
Rockwood was actually one of the largest chocolatiers in the country, operating at the plant until 1967. Afterward, the buildings sat vacant until they were sold in 1996 and were converted into the Chocolate Apartments. The historic district also contains other buildings, some in the Romanesque Revival style. The district has been incorporated into the larger Wallabout Industrial Historic District.