675 Central Ave, CB, PS

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Former Administration building at Evergreen Cemetery
Address: 675 Central Avenue
Cross Streets: Moffat Street and Evergreen Cemetery
Neighborhood: Bushwick
Year Built: Perhaps 19th century wood frame with Art Deco alterations. Or maybe 1930s new build.
Architectural Style: Art Deco
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: There used to be a television show on HGTV about people who lived in non-traditional buildings, which showcased the buildings themselves and what the owners did with them. It was my favorite show on that network. As much as I love row houses and mansions, a part of me would dearly love to find an odd old building and make it my own. I could put whatever I wanted in there, (assuming I had a lot of money, of course) mixing period styles and all the features I liked from different eras, and different kinds of buildings, all in a cool and unusual building that would be like nothing anywhere else. A building like this would work just fine.

This little gem sits alone on the last street before you get to the enormous Cemetery of the Evergreens on the Bushwick/Queens border. It’s literally the last building on the right. It appears to have beeen built sometime in the 1930s, as the administration building for the cemetery. It has two stories, and is the size of a row house in the neighborhood, 22×43.

Which brings up a mystery. There used to be a wooden monuments business at this very location. The last map I have shows it there in 1904. It’s footprint is the same size as this building. Could this Deco building be the wood framed building with a 1930’s concrete stucco exterior? Or did they tear the old building down and built this new one out of brick and concrete? I guess one would have to get inside and look at some walls to be certain.

At any rate, this building housed the people who kept track of the burial records; who was where, and when they were buried, and if they had perpetual care and all of that valuable information. That being invaluable, a concrete bunker would be a good thing to have. But as the cemetery continued to grow, throughout the 20th century, the surrounding neighborhood began to get run down, and this rather isolated area was not as desirable.

From the limited information I was able to find, the building ended up in the hands of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, aka the MTA, and then the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, which is in East Williamsburg. A little searching revealed that while they had it, it was the administration building for their cemetery, as well. Most Holy Trinity Cemetery is a small, very old Catholic cemetery tucked away in a corner of Evergreen Cemetery.

In 1999, Holy Trinity sold it for $20,000. It was sold again in 2008 for $80,000. The photographs I have here show the property for sale in 2013. It ended up selling for $220,000 to an LLC in 2013. When the building was on sale in the last couple of years, it was advertised as studio and artists’ space in a building characterized as a “warehouse.” Another ad called it “in the heart of ‘Artsy’ Bushwick,” and the same ad described the building as being in “Bushwick Brooklyn, an up and coming neighborhood. Mix of residential and commercial. On a corner of a quiet street.” There is parking on the side, always a perk.

I wonder who bought it, and what they plan to do with it. It’s far from the “arty” part of Bushwick, but really would be a cool building to mold into your own artistic vision. How many people get to say they live in an Art Deco Cemetery building? The neighbors are certainly quiet. GMAP

(Photo:Christopher Bride for PropertyShark, 2012)

1904 map. Property is located near center, alone, just before cemetery. NY Public Library
1904 map. Property is located near center, alone, just before cemetery. New York Public Library
1980s tax photo: Municipal Archives
1980s tax photo: Municipal Archives
Photo: Loopnet.com
Photo: Loopnet.com

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