Of various factories that once lined the East River, the former Havemeyers & Elder Refinery, later known as the Domino Sugar Refinery, is the largest and most significant structure to survive. The three conjoined properties–the Filter House, Pan House, and Finishing House–are located on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, between South 2nd Street and South 3rd Street. The Filter House, which was once the tallest structure on the Brooklyn waterfront, rises to a height of approximately 155 feet.
The processing of the raw sugar began in this building, where it was mixed with water and filtered through canvas and charcoal. As foreign materials were removed, the solution flowed to the Pan House, a nine-story structure at the southwest corner of Kent Avenue and South 2nd Street. Then reduced to syrup, it was pumped to the Finishing House to be dried and graded for sale.
This building, as well as the Pan & Finishing House, was designed by the grandson of the company’s founder, Theodore A. Havemeyer. Like many contemporary industrial buildings, it was designed in the American round-arch style, a variant of the German Rundbogenstil and the Romanesque Revival style. Rooted in practical needs, the new refinery was conceived to be as fireproof as possible, with iron columns, beams and girders, as well as four hundred electric lights.
*Excerpt from the Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report
