Building of the Day: 495 Flatbush Avenue
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy. Address: 495 Flatbush Avenue, between Empire Blvd and Lefferts Avenue Name: Bond Bakery, now Phat Albert Warehouse Neighborhood: Prospect…
The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.
Address: 495 Flatbush Avenue, between Empire Blvd and Lefferts Avenue
Name: Bond Bakery, now Phat Albert Warehouse
Neighborhood: Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Year Built: 1925
Architectural Style: Industrial with Classic details
Architects: Unknown
Landmarked: No
For those growing up in Flatbush, and in the shadow of Ebbett’s Field, this was always the Bond Bakery building.
In researching this iconic piece of Brooklyn history, I’ve found that everyone who grew up here from before World War II to at least the Viet Nam era, remembers the tantalizing smell of baking bread emanating from the bakery.
Photo via Brooklynpix.com.
They also remember the clock tower keeping time for the neighborhood. The Bond Bakery supplied bread to the New York area, and was known for its special rye bread, sold under the Grossinger’s name, which it leased from that famed Catskill’s resort.
I wasn’t able to find out when they stopped baking here, but in 1997, the building was sold by the Denk Baking Corporation to the owners of Phat Albert’s.
It really is a fine building, especially the tower, and serves as the entryway to PLG, and to greater Flatbush. It would be great if the clocks could be restored, and all of the boarded up windows re-glassed.
The tower would make a great community space/museum/gallery. There is now a day care center and school on the second floor.
There have long been cries to landmark this building, for its architectural merit, place in the streetscape of Flatbush, and its history. I hope that happens, it’s certainly worthy.
[Photos by Suzanne Spellen]
From Sept. 1986 – April 1990 I worked for the accounting firm that audited the financial statements for Denk Baking. It was always great to visit because we’d leave with loaves of Grossingers rye, pumpernickel, etc. The controller used to show us around the factory & take hot loaves out of the oven for us to snack on while doing our work!
My dad grew up nearby and remembers it as the Bond Bakery.
When we used to go there for the audits, we were told that some of the night security people believed they saw the ghost of Horst Denk walking around. At that time, the building had an indoor parking deck; as 1990 approached, however, we were told not to park on it as it might be unstable.
As for Grossinger’s Rye, the last I saw it in the store (several years ago) the label said it was baked in Maryland.
@FlatbushMan23: Now that’s a good idea! Both a fitting gateway and something that would appeal to more than a handful of people.
The building would make an amazing Brooklyn Dodgers museum with recreated grandstands, exhibits on what the Dodgers meant to Brooklynites of all stripes, the Jackie Robinson story, the L.A. betrayal etc. It would provide a reason for tour buses to stop instead of simply circling around when they get to PLG as they currently do, and the Cyclones could sell tickets to visitors and run a shuttle to games.
I agree about loews kings.it should be saved.
if you want to do something good with phat alberts, convince a fairway or trader joes or equivalent to open. Better yet, open a food coop. It would do well, and it would serve the different communities.
PS phat albert could easily find space locally on empire between flatbush and bedford.
A few points:
§ FWIW the car wash and “booze” warehouse are in adjacent,but separate buildings.
§ Rental space on an upper floor (IF it’s available and we could raise the $$) could probably accommodate a performance/gallery space without interfering with Phat Albert (where, I confess, I sometimes shop).
§ In any case, a permanent home for PLG Arts is a long-term goal, not something likely in the very short term.
Any new institution focused on health and fitness in urban areas is way more successful at raising funds right now than arts and culture places. With foundations, donors and the city. And the White House.
I agree that a community center would be brilliant. However, I doubt that convincing the YMCA to open a new branch anywhere these days is any more realistic than hoping for PLG Arts to take up a capital campaign to buy this building.
I think the original point of the thread was to point out this building as a fine old structure that has some history and some nice architectural detail and that it would be great for someone to restore it and put the structure to wider use. At least that was my point in posting. It certainly was not to suggest that PLG Arts and other gentrifiers should mobilize to deprive the poor people of PLG of a decent place to shop. (Which, notwithstanding the opinions of hipster renter kids and all, I still don’t think Phat Albert’s is all that.)
Phat Albert’s is an eyesore but poor people have to buy their stuff somewhere. All the young hipster renter kids in the hood I know totally love the place.
If anyone knows anything about the dire situation for arts nonprofits the last kind of capital campaign the community should want to undertake is for a culture center. I really want to see the Loews Kings theater on Flatbush come to fruition so I would oppose competing for the same arts dollars the Loews Kings will be going after.
What the neighborhood really needs is a community center to serve all kinds of interests and needs. PLG should convince the YMCA to open a branch in this building. That would be brilliant.
Brenda i think you summed up what I’ve seen since moving to Brooklyn.The constant struggle between old Brooklyn and new Brooklyn.Such a pity!
Older timers of 20 and 30 years tell me it was a rough place back then and the changes they see now are a good thing.So why the animosity between the hoods?