"480-500 Van Brunt Street" by Bojune Kwon, SJ Kwon,
Bojune Kwon

Sitting at the waterfront of Red Hook neighborhood, this Romanesque Revival warehouse was built in 1869 to mostly store coffee and other spices arriving from all over the world. The early memories are still noticeable from its sepia facade; rows of arched windows, red bricks with dark smudge and faded signages painted between windows. Today, this corner of Brooklyn is somewhat gentrified and yet not as glorified as Williamsburg or Dumbo. The renovated warehouse now houses a supermarket and lofty apartments above it. Fresh fruits are neatly displayed under the bright canopy. Some treadmills are quietly looking out from the second-floor windows. Every window tells different stories of whoever may be staying there now. Inside the supermarket at the ground level, there is a pleasant aroma of coffee and spice, just like its early days.