Williamsburg Art & Historical Center
Located at
the corner of Bedford, right next to the Williamsburg
Bridge:
135 Broadway, Williamsburg Brooklyn 11211
How
to get to the WAH Center
Gallery Hours:
Saturday & Sunday Noon-6pm
or by appointment
(718) 486-7372
or
(718) 486-6012
wahcenter@earthlink.net
The WAH Center was founded
by artist Yuko Nii in a landmark structure dating
back to 1867 and located at the corner of Bedford
Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn. It serves the general
public as well as the ever expanding community of
artists in North Brooklyn and beyond by presenting
art exhibitions, performances and cultural events
of special interest. |
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NEWS
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Items will be available for viewing
at the WAH Center from May 5th thru May 23rd, 2004.
Auction runs from May 14th thru
May 23rd 2004 at the WAH Center and on eBay.com.
PLEASE DONATE ART, ANTIQUES, JEWELRY —
TAX DEDUCTIBLE !
We are initiating a special fund-raising auction to
supplement the $100,000 grant provided through the auspices
of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz with the
help of City Council Woman Diana Reyna. The grant is
to help restore the exterior of the MAGNIFICENT KINGS
COUNTY SAVINGS BANK BUILDING, which is on the National
Register of Historic Places and the seventh building
in New York City to be landmarked. This building houses
the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, an important
new art institution in New York providing opportunity
and exposure to many artists and performers.
We are looking for contributions
of:
Fine art: old or contemporary
Antiques: furniture, porcelain, silverware, etc.
Jewlery
Rare Books
Automobiles
Services: Housecleaning for a year, a trip to Greece, etc.
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Thanks to the request of Brooklyn Borough President Marty
Marlowitz with the support of City Council Woman Diana
Reyna, the City of New York Department of
Cultural Affairs has given the WAH Center a capital
grant of $100,000 in FY 2004 for exterior renovation of our
great building. This is the cornerstone of the $750,000 needed
to fully restore the exterior. We encourage the community of
New York to help in any way to raise additonal funds for this
great project. Your support will be very much appreciated!
>>MORE
Major Gifts to WAH Center
Mr. and Mrs. Craig Morrison have pledged $14,000
to a special fund for preservation of historic furnishings. Mr.
Morrison is Chairman of our Architectural Restoration Committee,
and his wife Debra Kinzer is our Vice President.
The Morrisons are also lending us an 1873 rosewood
Chickering grand piano for the Grand Reception Hall.
The Morrisons are offering this as a challenge to
encourage others to give for historic preservation of the WAH
Center's building, the magnificent Kings County Savings Bank Building,
which is on the National Register of Historic places and a New
York City Landmark.
The History of the Kings County Savings Bank and
why it should be preserved:
This splendid building, the Kings County Savings
Bank, was designed by the New York Architectural firm of King
and Wilcox. Gamilial King was a prominent architect in the New
York area whose most memorable works were designed in conjunction
with John Kellum. King and Kellum designed such noteworthy buildings
as the Brooklyn Borough Hall (1851), the Friends Meeting House
in Gramercy Park (1859) and the Cary Building in Lower Manhattan
(1856). Williams H. Wilcox became partners with King late in King's
career, and unfortunately nothing further is known about Wilcox
at this time.
The Kings County Savings Bank is an outstanding
example of French Second Empire architecture, displaying a wealth
of ornament and diverse architectural elements. A business building
of imposing grandeur, the Kings County Savings Bank "represents
a period of conspicuous display in which it was not considered
vulgar, at least by the people in power, to boast openly of one's
wealth...From its scale and general character there is nothing
on the outside, that would distinguish the Kings County Savings
Bank from a millionaires mansion."*
In the post-Civil War period in the United States
opulent Second Empire palaces like this bank building were quite
common. The buildings designed in this style were tall, boldly
modeled, and emphatically three dimensional in shape. The Kings
County Savings Bank, though studded with classical moldings, pedimented
windows and molded surrounds, does not take on the frivolous qualities
often associated with this "flamboyant" style. On the
contrary, the Kings County Savings Bank, through the dramatic
use of rusticated stone and emphasis on horizontality, expresses
the qualities of solidity, dependability and permanence —
qualities much more appropriate for a banking institution.
The Kings County Savings Institution was chartered
April 10, 1860, with business being carried on for the first seven
years in the eastern part of Washington Hall, a civic building
located at Bedford Avenue and South 7th Street. In 1868, a lot
was bought on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Street (now Bedford
Avenue) and the fine Second Empire building of Dorchester stone
was erected at a cost of $100,000.
In 1921, the name of the bank was officially changed
from the Kings County Savings Institution to the Kings County
Savings Bank. On January 1, 1969, the United Mutual Savings Bank
was formed by a merger of Union Square Savings Bank and the Kings
County Savings Bank. Later the bank became the American Savings
Bank, which continued through the 1980s. The building was used
as a bank until the late 1989 after which it remained vacant,
except for occasional non-banking occupants.
In October 1996, recognizing a lack of exhibit or
performing space locally in Williamsburg Brooklyn, one of the
largest art communities in New York, Yuko Nii founded the Williamsburg
Art and Historical Center (WAH Center), based upon her "Bridge
Concept". a multifaceted, multicultural art center whose
mission is to coalesce this diverse artistic community, and create
a bridge between local, national and international artists, emerging
as well as established artists of all disciplines.
The electiveness of Yuko's leadership and her strategic
implementation of concept is dramatic. Borough President Howard
Golden said that the WAH Center's activities have resulted in
"tremendous cultural and economic activity throughout northern
Brooklyn." The racially and ethnically diverse working population
here has taken new pride in community and keep it
clean, safe and presentable to visitors.
In 1996 Governor George Pataki congratulated Yuko
on "turning the historic Kings County Savings Bank into a
multi-purpose art center that serves the needs of artists and
art aficionados of diverse backgrounds." In 1998 Yuko Nii
was named one of Brooklyn's "Women of the Year" by Borough
President Howard Golden for her "unparalleled devotion to
her art and commitment to the artist community of Williamsburg/Greenpoint.And
in March 2001 Yuko was named a "Woman of Excellence, Vision
and Courage" by New York State Governor George Pataki for
creating a significant new cultural institution for the pole of
New York and battling to preserve this great architectural heritage.
The restoration of the Kings County Savings Bank
clock tower, undertaken in 1999, is nearly complete, thanks to
the generosity of the New York City Landmark Commission and the
New York City Landmark Conservancy,
However, we lack the funds to move forward to complete
restoration of the exterior of the building which is in a critical
state of deterioration. We ask that you give generously to support
restoration of one of New York's greatest pieces of architecture.
We currently need to raise $800,000. PLEASE HELP.
* Harmon H. Goldstone and Martha
Darymple, History Preserved: New York City Landmarks and historic
districts (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974), p. 414.
Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden
Names Brooklyn Artists' Space Needs Task Force
Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden names a task force
to address artists' space needs in Brooklyn as a result of a housing
and space needs survey distributed to more than 3,000 local artists.
The event took place at the Williamsburg Art & Historical
Center on Wednesday March 21, 2001 at 11 A.M.
"Long time residents who are the backbone
of Brooklyn's art communities—communities such as Red Hook,
DUMBO, Williamsburg, Park Slope, and Fort Greene—are facing
real estate pressures that jeopardize their ability to pursue
their art and in some cases to remain in Brooklyn. If Brooklyn
wishes to retain the vibrancy of its art community then their
concerns need to be carefully considered and addressed,"
said Borough President Howard Golden.
For further information, contact
Office of the Brooklyn Borough President: (718) 802-3832.
Daily News Article:
Left to right: Terrance Lindall, Executive Director of the WAH
Center, Yuko Nii, Founder & Artistic Director of the WAH Center
and Howard Golden, Borough President, discussing the problem of
artists' space
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