Powerhouse Arts

Located along the Gowanus Canal, the former central power station of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company is a brick masonry and steel structure known as the Historic Turbine Hall. It was built around 1904 but has since fallen into disrepair. In the years since it was left vacant since the 1970s, the building was heavily graffitied and informally referred to as the Gowanus Batcave.

Recently completed redevelopment plans entailed transforming the building into Powerhouse Arts, a modern fabrication, production, and exhibition campus for use by artists across disciplines.

Three main volumes are structurally integrated into a single building. Two of the volumes are new six-story and three-story reinforced concrete buildings – the Boiler House and New Turbine Hall, respectively. Historic Turbine Hall was completely repaired and stabilized while keeping the original red brick facade. The New Turbine Hall sits within the historic structure.  The complex also houses a large multipurpose events space and includes subgrade parking.