Today marks the beginning of the end for Admiral’s Row, the controversial nineteenth-century row houses located at the edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Engineers are finally expected to begin stabilizing the only two buildings deemed salvageable and demolishing the remaining structures. Admiral’s Row, or Officer’s Row, consisted of ten houses and a timber shed, which were built between 1864 and 1901. The houses were occupied until the late 1970s, even though the Navy Yard itself was decommissioned in 1966. As a result of years of neglect, only the timber shed and one house, Quarters B, will be the restored. A supermarket will rise in place of the remaining historic houses.
For those unable to take one last trip to see Admiral’s Row, the following photographs display what happens when nature reclaims its domain.
Follow Untapped Cities on Twitter and Facebook! For additional reading about the battle for Admiral’s Row, see the following articles by New York Landmarks, WNYC, Municipal Art Society, and the New York Times.
