The architecturally curious were able to finally get a glimpse inside the long-awaited reincarnation of Gowanus’ Batcave as Powerhouse Arts on Sunday.

Years in the making, the former Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company Central Power Station Engine House building at 153 2nd Street was transformed into an arts hub that retains some of the old, including graffiti, with a new addition.

entrance with check in desk
The check-in desk
new staircase
A new staircase up to the main space

The open house, organized in conjunction with Open House New York, allowed visitors to roam both old and new. The transformation was designed by architects PBDW Architects and Herzog & de Meuron.

Up a new staircase is the original space that once held the massive machinery for the engine house and was a canvas for artists in the early 2000s. Now dubbed the Grand Hall, the space is ringed by bits of old graffiti, while the enormous arched windows provide views of a changing Gowanus.

people in interior
The Grand Hall

wall detail

the ceiling

Spaces in the new addition include the Loft and the Small Hall. Art was on display for the open house while both spaces and the Grand Hall will be available for rent for exhibitions, fashion shows, and other events.

Also in the new addition are the fabrication facilities, including ones for printmaking and ceramics.

people inside a new gallery space
The Loft space in the new addition
art on display
An exhibition in the Small Hall

Outside, recently planted and yet to be landscaped spots along the canal were fenced off, but a stroll around the building showed traces of faded graffiti still in evidence.

graffiti on the outside of the building

exterior of the building from the canal

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