158 Bruckner Boulevard
McKim, Mead & White
1936–37

The Bronx Grit Chamber was built as a sewage disposal plant for The Ward’s Island Sewage Treatment Works, New York City’s first major effort to alleviate water pollution. As one of the world’s largest and most modern facilities of its kind, it was capable of treating one fifth of the city’s sewage. Designed in McKim, Mead and White’s signature neo-Classical style, the building’s architecture recalls other contiguous civic works. Its symmetrical front façade centers on a large arched window flanked by four rusticated pilasters with alternating courses of Roman brick and limestone. Other ornaments include limestone moldings and a foliated keystone at the top of the arch.

The Bronx Grit Chamber is a designated New York City Individual Landmark.