Gowanus Batcave

The Central Power Station and Gowanus Canal shortly after completion

The Central Power Station of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company building, commonly known as the Batcave or Gowanus Batcave, is a former transit power station in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus, by the Gowanus Canal. It was built in 1896, while the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was expanding its rail transit service. It stopped operating in the 1950s and sat abandoned for more than a half-century, becoming home to a community of squatters in the early 2000s. The owners had the squatters removed and increased security in 2006, but only temporarily, after which it became a popular space for graffiti and underground events. In 2012, philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz purchased the property for $7 million with plans to turn it into The Powerhouse Workshop, an arts space focused on the fabrication of artistic goods. It is managed through the nonprofit Powerhouse Environmental Arts Foundation.

Early history and construction

Architectural drawing showing a cross-section of the building

In the late 19th century, as the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company expanded, greater demand was placed on its power supply. In the time before the Central Power Station was constructed, the system had been operated entirely by direct current, with boosters used where long distances required them. As territory grew to be farther and farther away from the power stations, and as the company looked for ways to increase flexibility to adapt to future growth, it was decided that the best way to increase power capacity was to adopt a new system which would allow them to use large, single stations in central locations with convenient access to coal and water. Current could be distributed without excessive loss to any part of the system, and the high-tension feeders underground removed the need to string heavy overhead cables.[1]

The site at Third Avenue and First Street, on the active Gowanus Canal, had easy access to coal, water, and other supplies. Another power station had already been built there, but the plot of land for the new building was large enough to hold a large store of coal while also allowing for future expansion.[1]

The building was designed by Thomas E. Murray in the Romanesque Revival style. Construction was completed in 1903.[2] It is made of red brick with bluestone trimmings, atop piles surmounted by a concrete bed about 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. Its layout was divided into two portions: the southern portion used for the engine and dynamo room, and the northern portion, considerably higher, contained two stories of boilers, with coal storage above. The front, on Third Avenue, is 183 feet 3 inches (55.85 m) long, and the depth of the building 186 feet 9 inches (56.92 m), although the part which was occupied by boilers is 20 feet (6.1 m) shorter. The roof over the operating and boiler rooms is filled in between the T-irons with 3 by 12 by 24 inches (76 by 305 by 610 mm) hard-burned terracotta roofing tile laid in Portland cement, covered with a slag and cement roofing.[1]

The power station stopped operation in the 1950s, and the boiler house was demolished.[2][3]

Squatter community

The Gowanus Batcave in 2007

The Batcave became home to squatters in the early 2000s. The group of mainly homeless and runaway teenagers formed a community in the space, setting rules for conduct, including disallowing hard drug use, and organized tasks like composting and waste disposal. They set up toilets that operated with rainwater and even ran a power line from the Carroll Street Bridge to power a refrigerator and television.[4]

Around this time, within the squatting community and then other locals, the building had begun to be known as the "Batcave," named for the bats claimed to have once lived there.[5]

In 2006, the New York Daily News ran a sensational article about the space, characterizing it as violent, drug-addled, and dangerous. The reporter talked with people in their teens and twenties who told of doing drugs, panhandling, and stories about a homeless person thrown out a window and an addict who overdosed and was left on the street for police to find.[5][4] The property owner, Shaya Boymelgreen, had plans to build a large condominium project called Gowanus Village on the land occupied by the building and adjacent lots. In response to the news, he had building security improved, doors welded shut, and hired a guard to keep the building clear.[4][5]

Underground arts and urban exploration

As the Gowanus Village development plan failed to come to fruition, security again became lax. The Batcave became a popular location for graffiti artists, underground parties, concerts, and urban explorers in the late 2000s and early 2010s.[4] The top of the building, facing 3rd Avenue, has displayed a variety of politically oriented messages painted by activists and artists.[4][6][7]

Powerhouse Workshop

In 2012, Powerhouse Environmental Arts Foundation, a nonprofit founded by philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz, purchased the property for $7 million, with initial plans to turn it into studio space for artists.[8][2] For a few years after the purchase, Rechnitz and associates discussed the future of the building with local artists, discovering a greater need for a space focused on the production and fabrication of art rather than studio space.[9] Under the name Powerhouse Workshop, it is planned to include space and equipment for woodworking, metalworking, ceramics, printmaking, and fiber arts, as well as exhibition space.[3][9]

Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron is leading the renovation.[9] The firm is known for many high-profile projects in New York and internationally, including creating spaces for the arts like the Tate Modern in London, also built in a former power station.[3]

The firm plans to build a six-story addition on the site of the former boiler house, which will increase the building's square footage from 73,958 to 143,041.[3][10]

24/7 security, safety railings, and other security and safety measures have been put in place in preparation for redevelopment, but the building itself will remain standing and architects and developers have agreed to try to preserve as much of the graffiti on the interior as possible.[9] Powerhouse Workshop is planned to open in 2020.[3][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work now in the public domain: Murray, Thomas Edward (1910). "The Central Power Station of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company". Electric Power Plants: A Description of a Number of Power Stations. pp. 109–138.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Powerhouse Workshop. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Plitt, Amy (March 7, 2017). "Gowanus Bat Cave will transform into an art space designed by Herzog & de Meuron". Curbed New York.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Party's Over At Gowanus Batcave, But Mysterious Millionaire Will Make It "F*cking Cool"". Gothamist. March 11, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Sederstrom, Jotham (October 23, 2006). "Homeless Rule at the 'Bat Cave'". New York Daily News.
  6. ↑ "Gowanus Building Updated for Wall Street Meltdown". Curbed New York. September 24, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Gowanus Building Seems to Have Gone Anti-Corporate". Curbed New York. July 31, 2008.
  8. ↑ Goodman, J. David (November 23, 2012). "The Mysterious Mr. Rechnitz". The new York Times.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Chaban, Matt A. V. (March 7, 2017). "The Batcave, a Graffiti Landmark in Brooklyn, Grows Up". New York Times.
  10. ↑ Plitt, Amy (November 1, 2017). "Gowanus Bat Cave's tranformation into a shiny new arts space is moving forward". Curbed New York.

Further reading

  • Murray, Thomas Edward (1910). "The Central Power Station of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company". Electric Power Plants: A Description of a Number of Power Stations. pp. 109–138. – A detailed, technical description of the power station as of 1910, written by the builder, American inventor and businessman Thomas E. Murray

Coordinates: 40°40′35″N 73°59′19″W / 40.6765°N 73.9886°W / 40.6765; -73.9886

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