Bushwick Nostalgia: The landmarked William Ulmer Brewery and other historic eye candy

Eye On Real Estate

April 1, 2015 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

This charming little building at 31 Belvidere St. was the office at the former William Ulmer Brewery. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan

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This Bushwick brewery is so beautiful that the city landmarked it.

The crown jewel of the former William Ulmer Brewery is the Romanesque Revival-style office at 31 Belvidere St. The stunning little red-brick building with a mansard roof was constructed in 1885.

The other three buildings, constructed between 1872 and 1890, are a brew house with an addition at 71-83 Beaver St.; an engine and machine house at 35-43 Belvidere St; and a stable and storage building at 26-28 Locust St.

The brewery closed when Prohibition was enacted and the factory buildings were sold. But the Ulmer family kept the office building until 1952 and housed its real estate business there, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report about the brewery complex.

Since 1985, 31 Belvidere St. has belonged to Jay Swift and Lisa Schachner, city Finance Department records indicate.

A pre-Civil War church, a headquarters for a singing society

Maybe in your mind, breweries and churches don’t go together — but we’re thinking about landmarked locations in Bushwick, so they do.

The Reformed Church of South Bushwick has been a city landmark since 1968. The main section of the building, which has an eye-catching spire, was constructed in 1853. Wings were added in 1883.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report about this house of worship, which is located at 855-867 Bushwick Ave., calls it “an exceptionally handsome example of late Greek Revival Church architecture.”

Another piece of historic eye candy we feel compelled to mention, though it is not a city landmark, is the former headquarters of the Arion Singing Society at 27 Arion Place.

The Romanesque Revival-style building that was the German choral group’s home was constructed in 1887. It has been converted to residential use and is now known as the Opera House Lofts.