POTW: Art Deco Jewel on Montague

Most days on my way to work, I pass a building which is a beautiful exemplar of the Art Deco style. The façade looks at first glance to be abstract, but on closer examination its symbols emerge - warriors in spartan helmets with large fanned crests, and fierce geometric eagles.

It used to be one of the largest anchors to “bankers row” on Montague, a street that still holds quite a few banks, but fewer than in the past. In the artist’s rendering, we can see a truly ornate neighbor to the immediate right in the image, which sadly no longer exists. The Greek-style building on its left still remains as a Citibank. There were also several banks across the street at that time, but they have all given way to other businesses or residential buildings.

One of the features that adds grace to the design is the use of setbacks on the upper part of the structure, a response to the 1916 Zoning Resolution, the first citywide zoning code in the United States, which required setbacks on the upper floors in relation to the size of the street and the building’s lot. 

This diagram gives an idea of the calculus that led to the proliferation of crystal-like skyscrapers in the decades following the zoning restriction.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.