Canarsie

Beckers Aniline Dye Factory, Canarsie

Beckers Aniline Dye Factory, Canarsie
© Frank H. Jump

Beckers Aniline & Chemical Works
East 83rd Street and Ditmas Avenue, Brooklyn New York
Source: The Washington Post, July 5, 1916

courtesy of Robert Baptista’s Colorant History Website

Robert Baptista (05:01:34) : January 28, 2008

These photos document the beginnings of the U.S. synthetic dye industry. After WW I broke out, dyes could no longer be imported from Germany, creating the so called “dye famine”. Dr. William G. Beckers, a German chemist who had emigrated to America, built a large dye plant along Ditmas Ave. near 83rd St. The plant was designed by architect Benjamin Forrester and had 40 buildings on the 15-acre site. It was one of the largest dye plants in the U.S., employing 1,200 people.

Allied Chemical and Dye Corp. acquired the business in 1920 and transferred the production to an even larger plant in Buffalo. Beckers, now one of the wealthiest industrialists in the U.S., built a 40-room palatial estate on Lake George, NY and became owner of the Sagamore Hotel. An unfortunate environmental legacy of the dye manufacturing operation was the pollution of Jamaica Bay, resulting in a ban on oyster harvesting.

The Brooklyn plant was closed in 1922 and the property was purchased by the Brooklyn Union Gas Co. Several of the buildings are still in use today by KeySpan Energy.

The top photo shows the 4-story red brick building which was erected in 1917 as the dye firm’s warehouse. The architectural details in the facade, the archway keystones, and elaborate brickwork make this an impressive building to this day.

The bottom photo depicts a former dye manufacturing building erected in 1916. The building was later remodelled with architectural details matching those of the 4-story building nearby.