Astral Apartments

The Astral Apartments
Astral Apartments, August 2008
Location 184 Franklin St., New York, New York
Coordinates 40°43′54″N 73°57′28″W / 40.73167°N 73.95778°WCoordinates: 40°43′54″N 73°57′28″W / 40.73167°N 73.95778°W
Area less than one acre
Built 1885
Architect Lamb & Rich
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference #

82001178

[1]
Added to NRHP October 29, 1982

The Astral Apartments is a historic apartment building located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, New York.

The Astral was built in 1885–1886 as affordable housing for employees of Charles Pratt's Astral Oil Works. It is a massive brick and terra cotta building in the Queen Anne style.[2] It features a central projecting section with a deep, three story high round arch recess.[3] The roof features inward-looking decorative gargoyles.

Originally, a branch of the Pratt Institute Free Library operated from the ground floor of the Astral.[4]

The building was designed to echo red-brick apartments built for workers by George Peabody in London.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982[1] and designated a City Landmark in 1983.

In popular culture

The building is the fictional setting for Kate Christensen's 2011 novel The Astral.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "New York Architecture: The Astral Apartments". nyc-architecture.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  3. ↑ James T. Dillon and Anne B. Covell (July 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Registration:Astral Apartments". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-02-20. See also: "Accompanying four photos".
  4. ↑ Ostrander, Stephen M. (1894). A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume II. Brooklyn, NY: Subscription.