Historic S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse

What had remained from the continuing demolition with the BQE highway in the background.

🌾 S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse Update — July 2026

The historic S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse, a landmark of Red Hook's industrial waterfront since 1886, was demolished in September 2019. The demolition followed a significant fire that had severely damaged the structure, and was carried out over Labor Day weekend without a city permit or demolition order.

As of July 2026, the site at 595-611 Smith Street is now a construction storage lot, serving the ongoing development and redevelopment projects in the surrounding Red Hook and Gowanus neighborhoods. The property remains owned by the Chetrit Group.

🌾 The S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse once stored 600,000 bushels of grain for New York City — now only a construction storage lot remains, awaiting the next chapter of Red Hook's ongoing transformation.

Consisting of a two-block complex, this four-story 200 by 80-foot brick building featured end-gabled structures with a central transverse firewall and eight round-arched window bay openings. This storehouse was accompanied by a feed mill removed in 1904-1915 and a feed storage building also on the lot.

A warehouse that once fueled New York City's four-legged transports throughout the area. The warehouse was established in 1886 as a storehouse for grain, feed, and hay processing, which also included a feed mill. The large property owner and independent operator Samuel Winter Bowne became noted on the New York Produce Exchange as having the commercial capacity to store 600,000 bushels onsite.

Eventually, the storehouse complex no longer became a major economic engine for the City once in the 1930s, the city moved away from horses to cars and trucks as canal grain traffic started to dry up as grain processing started to shift away from canals to containerization, large-capacity grain floating elevators, and bulk railroad cars. For a time, the property was being used for cargo and stevedoring companies but became abandoned by 1960.

In 2018, a fire broke out on the property, causing severe damage to the storehouse. Unbeknownst to the city and preservationists, the building was demolished over the Labor Day weekend without a permit or demolition order from the city.

Today the property is owned by the Chetrit Group, which has developed several projects throughout Brooklyn, including Hotel Bossert in Brooklyn Heights, 9 DeKalb in Downtown Brooklyn, and M500 Hotel in Williamsburg.

Source(s):

1. Kensinger, Nathan, "In Gowanus, one last vestige of Brooklyn's industrial waterfront", March 16, 2017, NY Curbed
2. Wong, Pamela, "Fire Tore Through Historic S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse Thursday Night", June 15, 2018, Bklyner
3. Corcoran, Cate, "Is Red Hook's Historic S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse Being Demolished without a Permit?", June 24, 2019, Brownstoner
4. Kensinger, Nathan, "As Red Hook's industrial history is demolished, what comes next for the neighborhood?", June 27, 2019, NY Curbed
5. Croghan, Lore, "Red Hook's S.W. Bown Grain Storehouse has been torn down", September 4, 2019, Brooklyn Daily Eagle
6. Corcoran, Cate, "Owner Demolishes Red Hook's Historic Bowne Warehouse After Arson Fire", October 11, 2019, Brownstoner
7. History of S.W. Bowne Store House, Red Hook Water Stories

📋 Reader Records

🌾 Did you work at or remember the S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse?

The storehouse at 595-611 Smith Street in Red Hook was established in 1886. If you worked there, or have photographs or memories of it, I would like to hear from you. Full credit given to all contributors.

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🏙️ More Brooklyn Waterfront & Industrial History

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🎨 Before Amazon: Red Hook's Forgotten H. Kohnstamm and Company The Brooklyn plant at 55 Bay Street was active as early as 1912 and didn't close until the early 1980s. › 🍺 Former Crown Heights Consumers Park Brewery The brewery complex opened on January 6, 1900, and merged into the Interboro Brewing Company in 1913. › 🥛 Empire State Dairy: The Decay of a Historic Brooklyn Milk Plant (Photos) Borden acquired the company in 1924, and the complex became a New York City landmark in December 2017. › 🏗️ Williamsburg's CitiStorage Warehouse Demolished After the 2015 warehouse fire, more than 243,000 boxes of documents were scattered along the waterfront. › 🛢️ Bayside Fuel Oil Depot Corporation (Part 1) The city bought the Bayside Fuel property for $53 million; the last remnants were removed in July and August 2019. › 💀 The Last Stand of the Greenpoint Skull The former American Manufacturing Company complex covered 14 acres and was described as the largest rope-making factory in the United States. ›

🌾 Samuel Winter Bowne became noted on the New York Produce Exchange for the capacity to store 600,000 bushels on site.