buildings of distinction
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“Having the fire department and police running around the neighborhood helped,” Nathans says.
From the beginning, he intended to use the church for a nonprofit arts and entertainment center
but couldn’t secure public financing. It was returned to the city, and put up for private sale.
Nathans purchased the building, and stuck to the original plan.
“My mission was to turn it into an arts and entertainment facility,” Nathans says. “That’s what I
wanted to do.”
The church was restored to its original appearance as much as possible, and the Brooklyn Arts
Center opened in March 2011. It became the centerpiece for the Brooklyn Arts District, the area
of North Fourth above Red Cross Street.
With everything from historic red brick to art deco to gray concrete to modern, the street is
eclectic, to say the least.
“North Fourth is a blank slate,” Herring says. “It’s open to different criteria and different inter-pretations.
It became a very vibrant, urban texture. I don’t want it to look like a warehouse district
with all the red brick. I’d rather err on the side of too much freedom than not enough.”
Above left: A brewery now occupies the old fire station building. Above right: Historic St. Andrews
Church, originally constructed in 1888, was renovated to house the Brooklyn Arts Center, which
opened in March 2011.
With everything from
historic red brick to
art deco to gray con-crete
to modern, the
street is eclectic, to
say the least. “North
Fourth is a blank
slate,” Herring says.
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