19 Duryea Pl
1930

In 1825, the Brooklyn Gas Light Company was established to light the town’s streets with methane. Although it was short-lived, the idea was revived in the mid-1840s, and the Company signed a contract with the city.

In 1897, they acquired the Flatbush Gas Company, which had been recently awarded a contract for the street lighting in the area. This two-story, classically designed building was erected as their sales office.

The red brick-clad structure has large window bays at the ground floor, which contain the original decorative metal transoms. These windows are separated by paired fluted stone pilasters, which support a Doric stone cornice that extends across the façade. The entrance is surmounted by a broken stone pediment, framing a decorative shield.

In the 1960s, the building housed a Loehmann’s Department Store, and in the late 1990s, it became offices for the Federation Employment and Guidance Service (FEGS). It currently serves as sheltered housing for the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.

Photo courtesy of the NY Municipal Archive.