New York is a very fast paced state that is always changing due to gentrification and other various things. This could be for the better or for the worse. Juxtapositions happen all the time especially in our state New York. A juxtaposition is basically the act of placing two things side by side and comparing them. There are a lot of similarities and differences for this juxtaposition. These past and present pictures may look similar but they are more different than you may think.

As I walked down Brooklyn Heights, which is right near the Brooklyn Bridge, I saw a lot of different looking buildings. I came across this Peculiar looking Brick Building. This building looked totally different from the others in the area. The building was “standing out” from all of the others in the area. At first glance I had no idea what it was but it looked like it was built in the early 1900s. The building is called the Brooklyn Eagle Warehouse and Storage company And it is located on 28 Old Fulton Street. There was a plaque on the building that was given to Walt Whitman, that intrigued me to do some research on it later that day. After doing research I learned that there was actually a lot of history behind this building.

This Old Brick Building used to be the home of the Brooklyn Eagle. This was a very popular newspaper company at the time. One of the papers editors was a man named Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman was an American Poet and journalist that had different views and beliefs on topics from others. His boss and the readers didn’t totally agree with his views. He didn’t become popular until a couple years after he stopped working there. He basically didn’t get the recognition he deserved at the time. The Newspaper company moved and was purchased by The Brooklyn Eagle and Warehouse and Storage Company. The Renovations were completed in 1894 and cost them around $300,000. In 1977 the building was turned into a Landmark. This is one of Brooklyns most Iconic structures. As you can see in the two past pictures, the times were definitely different. People back then were dressed in suits, in the first picture there is a local hat cleaning shop which you probably won’t ever see in Brooklyn today. In the Second picture you can actually see the warehouse after it was renovated in 1894. All of those local shops that were near the Brooklyn Eagle were gone to make space for the huge warehouse. Even back then Brooklyn was being modernized and changed. This juxtaposition actually reminded me of another juxtaposition that happened two years ago in Manhattan. It reminded me of the Old Toys R us building in time square. I remember going there as a kid ill never forget the Huge Ferris wheel that used to be there. This actually used to bring in a lot of tourists and now they turned the building into a lot of different retail stores. Colson Whitehead said this perfectly in his article From the Colossus of New York “You are a New Yorker when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now”.

In 1980 the Building was renovated into condominiums, this renovation cost them around $3 million. Currently the Apartment buildings are going for an “arm and a leg”. Right now there is a 2 bedroom that is going for $1.6 Million.This just goes to show how anything in New York can change in the blink of an eye. One Positive thing is that the Buildings outside look didn’t change from turning the warehouse into apartments. When we look at the building now we can still see some of the history behind it for those who know about it. I am also glad that they have that Walt Whitman Plaque up there to inform people what was once there before.