Astral Apartments

The Astral Apartments is a massive, six-story apartment house faced with brick and terra cotta, occupying the entire blockfront on the east side of Franklin Street between India and Java Streets in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. In 1885-86, Charles Pratt, oil merchant and philanthropist, built the Astral Apartments for workers in Greenpoint. Designed by the New York architectural firm of Lamb & Rich, the building was considered highly innovative at the time of its construction. It raised contemporary standards for workers’ housing by including a kitchen in each apartment with a scullery alcove from which a separate room with toilet opened, bathrooms with large tubs with hot and cold water, steam heat, marble floors and wainscoting, and polished ash woodwork.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

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The Neighborhood

Greenpoint

Spurred by a period of economic growth and an influx of European immigrants during the 1850s, more than a dozen shipbuilding firms turned the neighborhood into a major shipbuilding center. While shipbuilding declined after the Civil War, Greenpoint’s other industrial enterprises, which included porcelain making, glass making, and...

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Local Voices

“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

Local Voices

“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx