Astral Apartments

The Astral Apartments
Astral Apartments, August 2008
Location 184 Franklin St., New York, New York
Coordinates 40°43′54″N 73°57′28″W / 40.73167°N 73.95778°W / 40.73167; -73.95778Coordinates: 40°43′54″N 73°57′28″W / 40.73167°N 73.95778°W / 40.73167; -73.95778
Area less than one acre
Built 1885
Architect Lamb & Rich
NRHP reference #

82001178

[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 29, 1982
Designated NYCL June 28, 1983

The Astral Apartments is a historic apartment building located at 184 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, New York.

The Astral was built in 1885–1886 as affordable housing for employees of Charles Pratt's Astral Oil Works. It is a massive brick and terra cotta building in the Queen Anne style.[2] It features a central projecting section with a deep, three-story-high round arch recess.[3] The roof features inward-looking decorative gargoyles. Original amenities of the building included a settlement house, library, and kindergarten.[4]

Originally, a branch of the Pratt Institute Free Library operated from the ground floor of the Astral.[5]

The building was designed to echo red-brick apartments built for workers by George Peabody in London.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982[1] and designated a City Landmark in 1983.

The building is the fictional setting for Kate Christensen's 2011 novel The Astral: A Novel.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "New York Architecture: The Astral Apartments". nyc-architecture.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  3. James T. Dillon and Anne B. Covell (July 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Registration:Astral Apartments". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-02-20. See also: "Accompanying four photos".
  4. Jackson, Kenneth (2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2.
  5. Ostrander, Stephen M. (1894). A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume II. Brooklyn, NY: Subscription.


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