Brooklyn Trust Company
Encyclopedia
The Brooklyn Trust Company was a New York City
bank.
The company was chartered in 1866. In 1873 it had difficulties resulting in a brief suspension of operations. Between 1913 and 1930 the company acquired five other banks through mergers. The company merged into the Manufacturers Trust Company on October 13, 1950. At the time of the merger the Brooklyn Trust Company had 26 branches.
. The Italian Renaissance-inspired headquarters was built between 1913 and 1916 by the famous architectural firm of York and Sawyer
. It was modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona
.
The building was built on the same site as the bank's previous headquarters. Marc Eidlitz & Son Builders N.Y.C. constructed the building in two phases. The first half was begun at the corner of Clinton and Pierrepont Streets in late 1913 and was finished in September 1915. The second phase began in October 1915 and was completed in August 1916. The entire construction process was photographed monthly by Irving Underhill.
The main interior space is inspired by ancient Roman and Italian Renaissance architecture. The banking hall has large chandeliers hanging from vaulted, coffered ceilings, arched windows, and a Cosmati
-style mosaic marble floor. The building was landmarked in 1996. The interior is also landmarked. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2009.
The building was sold for $9.7 million in 2007 by JPMorgan Chase, the successor to the Brooklyn Trust Company through the Manufacturers Trust Company. It was bought by Brookfield Asset Management who in turn sold it to Stahl Real Estate Company. The building is occupied primarily by a law firm but Chase Bank still leases the ground floor to maintain a retail banking branch.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
bank.
The company was chartered in 1866. In 1873 it had difficulties resulting in a brief suspension of operations. Between 1913 and 1930 the company acquired five other banks through mergers. The company merged into the Manufacturers Trust Company on October 13, 1950. At the time of the merger the Brooklyn Trust Company had 26 branches.
- George Vincent McLaughlin was president of the Brooklyn Trust Company starting in 1940.
- Charles J. Mason (1900–1990) joined the Brooklyn Trust Company in 1939. He was an assistant vice president when it merged with Manufacturers Hanover in 1950. He became an assistant vice president in 1953 and vice president in 1955, retiring in 1964.
- William Boone Nauts (1903–1990) joined the Brooklyn Trust Company in 1925. During the DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
he joined the Manufacturers Trust Company. He retired in 1967 as a vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Trust.
Headquarters building
The former headquarters of the Brooklyn Trust Company is a historic bank building located at the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn HeightsBrooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...
. The Italian Renaissance-inspired headquarters was built between 1913 and 1916 by the famous architectural firm of York and Sawyer
York and Sawyer
The architectural firm of York and Sawyer produced many outstanding structures, exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York and Philip Sawyer had both trained in the office of McKim, Mead, and White...
. It was modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
.
The building was built on the same site as the bank's previous headquarters. Marc Eidlitz & Son Builders N.Y.C. constructed the building in two phases. The first half was begun at the corner of Clinton and Pierrepont Streets in late 1913 and was finished in September 1915. The second phase began in October 1915 and was completed in August 1916. The entire construction process was photographed monthly by Irving Underhill.
The main interior space is inspired by ancient Roman and Italian Renaissance architecture. The banking hall has large chandeliers hanging from vaulted, coffered ceilings, arched windows, and a Cosmati
Cosmati
The Cosmati were a Roman family, seven members of which, for four generations, were skilful architects, sculptors and workers in decorative geometric mosaic, mostly for church floors...
-style mosaic marble floor. The building was landmarked in 1996. The interior is also landmarked. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2009.
The building was sold for $9.7 million in 2007 by JPMorgan Chase, the successor to the Brooklyn Trust Company through the Manufacturers Trust Company. It was bought by Brookfield Asset Management who in turn sold it to Stahl Real Estate Company. The building is occupied primarily by a law firm but Chase Bank still leases the ground floor to maintain a retail banking branch.