kids encyclopedia robot

Gowanus Batcave facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Gowanus Batcave
Black and white photograph of the building and the Gowanus Canal
The Central Power Station and Gowanus Canal shortly after completion
General information
Address 153 2nd Street
Town or city Brooklyn, New York
Country United States
Coordinates 40°40′36″N 73°59′20″W / 40.676629°N 73.988899°W / 40.676629; -73.988899
Completed 1903; 122 years ago (1903)

The Central Power Station of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company building, often called the Batcave or Gowanus Batcave, is a cool old building in Gowanus, Brooklyn, New York City. It sits right by the Gowanus Canal. This building used to be a huge power station, which means it made electricity.

It was built a long time ago, between 1901 and 1904. At that time, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company was making its train and streetcar services much bigger. The power station helped run all those trains and streetcars.

The building stopped working in 1972. It was empty for more than 20 years. In the early 2000s, some people who didn't have homes started living there. They were called squatters. The owners of the building wanted to build new apartments there, so they had the squatters leave in 2006. They also made the building more secure.

But the plans for new apartments didn't happen. After a short time, the building became a popular spot for graffiti artists and secret events.

In 2012, a generous person named Joshua Rechnitz bought the building for $7 million. He wanted to turn it into The Powerhouse Workshop. This new space would be for artists to create and build their art projects. A group called the Powerhouse Environmental Arts Foundation now manages it. In 2019, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission said the Gowanus Batcave was an important city landmark. This means it is protected and its history is recognized.

Images for kids

  • Central Power Station diagram (Murray, fig. 47)

    Architectural drawing showing a cross-section of the building

  • CentralPowerStationDynamos

    Three of the eight dynamos with which the Central Power Station was equipped

  • Old Gowanus Power House (cropped)

    The Gowanus Batcave in 2007

  • Gowanus batcave new addition (74959)

    Rear view in March 2021, with newly built 6-story addition visible

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gowanus Batcave para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Gowanus Batcave Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.