The F and G lines of New York City’s subway system traverse an elevated section of track overlooking Gowanus, a historically industrial section of Brooklyn, developed after the Gowanus Canal was dredged through swampland in the 19th century. From the elevated perspective, the canal can be seen snaking northward through low-lying warehouses and manufacturing shops, forming the foreground to views of Brooklyn’s brownstone neighborhoods and the distant high-rises of downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan beyond. Commuters have watched the cityscape evolve from this unique vantage point for almost a century.

During the past five years, they’ve witnessed the transformation of a conspicuously forlorn industrial icon in that landscape—the former Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) Power Station—foreshadowing the reinvention of its surrounding neighborhood by new residential development. In its new incarnation as Powerhouse Arts, the power station stands as an important embodiment of the area’s cultural heritage while retaining much-needed fabrication facilities for artists in New York City long into the future.

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read the full article: Retrofit Magazine