Vitagraph Studios

Evidence of the crown shifting south can be seen here. © Frank H. Jump

I first heard about the Vitagraph smokestack from Kevin Walsh in the late 90s. For some reason I though it was only visible from the subway and I never got around to photographing it. With prodding from a new NY history friend (TYVI), I decided to go check out the smokestack for myself and I’m so glad I did. From the looks of the top of the stack, it is about to crumble. There are missing bricks near the top. Underneath, there is a parking lot for a religious high school. I wouldn’t park under this crumbling relic.

If there was a case for the urgent need for historic preservation here in Brooklyn, this is the smoking gun. This remnant of the nascent motion picture industry before it moved out West is worth preserving. What do you think?

Midwood Blog

Other Vitagraph Co. Smokestack documentation:

The film business’s Brooklyn birth – Midwood Blog
Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn – Avenue M – Movie Capital of the World? – Subway dot com.ru
Midwood, Brooklyn – Wikipedia
Vitagraph Studios – Wikipedia
Vitagraph Smokestack – Forgotten-NY