10. The R.G. Dun and Company Building, 239-57 Butler Street/206 Nevins Street

R.G. Dun and Company Building in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Picture courtesy of The Gowanus Landmarking Coalition

The lots on the corner of Butler and Nevins were purchased around 1900 by Robert Graham Dun, owner of the firm R.G. Dun and Company, originally known as The Mercantile Agency. Dun hired Moyer Engineering and Construction in 1914 to build a four-story, fireproof building for his printing company. What resulted was a 100 x 200 square-foot, concrete-reinforced masonry building, with terra cotta partitions, cement-finished floors and a tar and gravel roof.

The Bridges of Gowanus Tour

Gowanus Canal bridge

The building is in the style of industrial art deco and uses blue terra cotta detailing to delicately offset the gray concrete of its structure. In the 1960s the building briefly became the home of a plastic manufacturing company before remaining vacant for several years, and it has recently become zoned for residential use.