History

120 Years of the Brooklyn Navy Yard's Medieval-Style Sands Street Entrance [Photos]

The Brooklyn Navy Yard may be undergoing massive changes, but one thing that has not changed much over the years is the Yard’s recently restored medieval-style Sands Street entrance.

A photo of the entrance circa World War II. Photo from the Brooklyn Navy Yard via amNY

by Hannah Frishberg

05/16/2016 3 minute 0

The Brooklyn Navy Yard may be undergoing massive changes, with plans to double its employment, complete its in-the-works food hall, and launch a free two-loop shuttle service, yet the more things change the more they stay the same — at least in the case of the Yard’s Sands Street entrance.

Composed of two gatehouses resembling small castles, the Sands Street entrance opened in 1896. There is no architect listed for the brick structures, although evidence points to the rectangular buildings having been designed in-house, according to the New York Times.

Pictures of the medieval-style entry over the following century show largely the same design with few visible alterations until a wooden exterior was added over the two gatehouses about a half century ago. For many years, the gate served as the entrance for the tow pound which long occupied the area behind it.

The entryway underwent a stunning restoration beginning in 2009, with workers taking down the entire wood skeleton, and restoring the brick and stone gatehouses to their original splendor.