19. Wunsch Building: 311 Bridge Street, Downtown Brooklyn
The Wunsch Building now belongs to NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering in Downtown Brooklyn, though it used to house the Bridge Street Methodist Church. Located at 311 Bridge Street, the church was erected in 1844 in the Greek Revival style, operating at the time as the First Congregational Church. From 1854 to 1938, it was the African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the first independent Black church in Brooklyn, and it is believed to have been a stopping point on the New York Underground Railroad. Some believe that tunnels connect the former church to 227 Duffield Street. It was said that fugitive slaves, who would sleep in a subcellar and may have left wall markings, were housed and fed in the basement.
The building was designated a historic landmark in 1981, and today houses the admissions department for undergraduate and graduate students. In the AIA Guide to New York City, the building was described as “A Greek Revival temple in brick with wood columns and entablature: chaste, excepting the later Victorian stained glass, which is exuberant even from the outside.”