Found In Blissville, Made In Greenpoint!

I found the above at the Van Dam Street yesterday. Needless to say I found its use (abuse) of grammar amusing. Upon closer inspection I found a nugget of Greenpoint goodness.

BROOKLYN VAULT LIGHT CO. 262 Monitor St. Brooklyn, N.Y.

It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten my Greenpoint geek on. Today I did. Here’s what 262 Monitor Street looks like nowadays.

To say the least I was disappointed.* But I did find a few nifty items about Brooklyn Vault Light Company online. Here they are:

The above hails from the 120th Volume of American Architect. It would appear that I have stumbled upon a state-of-the-art coal hole cover! By 1921 standards, anyway.

This classy piece of correspondence comes courtesy of Glassian.org.

And last, but hardly least, what would a piece of Greenpoint history be without a lawsuit? Involving high society, no less! From the March 13, 1921 edition of the New York Times:

To get a peek of Mrs. Vanderbilt’s digs click here.

To see what has happened to Mrs. Vanderbilt’s manse (666 Fifth Avenue) click here.

Miss Heather

*There are no sidewalks to speak of on Monitor between Greenpoint Avenue and Norman Avenue. Just a bunch of pot holes and a bunch of parked/idling cars mostly. Northside Car Service seems to be particularly fond of parking/hanging out on the “sidewalk” in this area.