Greenpoint Terminal Market Fire

This morning we awoke to news of the five-alarm fire at a warehouse in Greenpoint. The sky was incredibly black and we could see giant billowing clouds of smoke from across the Newtown Creek. We puzzled over which warehouse it was. (I was hoping that it was El Stinko Candle Factory, but the smell wasn't nauseating enough.)

Unfortunately, it's the Greenpoint Terminal Market, which is was a group of several buildings in northeast Greenpoint. (Read here for some interesting historical background.) For anyone who loves urban spelunking, these buildings were a motherlode; I never made it inside, but this was truly my favorite part of the neighborhood. (The narrow, tree-lined Guernsey Street is a close second.) One of the neatest things about these buildings were the skybridges. (See more photos here.)

It's probably because I grew up in the middle of nowhere--with very little inorganic material to look at--that I think abandoned factory buildings are far more compelling than trees and fields. I'm keen on all decrepitude and decadence, though...falling-down barns and ancient Buicks parked half-underwater in corn fields. I love the art(ifice) of Gordon Matta-Clark. I prefer the smell of attics and basements to any kitchen.

There was something truly gorgeous about the Greenpoint Terminal Market buildings; the colors, the angular shadows cast, and the reflection of the sun off the crumbling windows. It was an elegiac experience to walk around them--a symbol of the death of Brooklyn industry.

People have remarked that they would make perfect condos. Total infeasiblility aside, I believe the beauty lay in the decay. (Qualifier: I am not a Ruskinite; I want to see many spaces preserved. But not everything needs to be made into condos in the process.)

Anyhow. Just as they postulated here, I wouldn't be surprised if this was arson. It sure got really big, really fast.

Photo courtesy of Randy, whose photos of the fire can be seen here.

Updates: It's now a ten-alarm fire; Randy is keeping us updated; lasadh has some gorgeous photos of the Greenpoint Terminal.

Also, this might be the best quote ever, from the AP story: "They're going to save a lot of money on demolition," said Yuda Geller, a real estate agent who lives in Greenpoint.