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Photos: The Mysterious McMansions Of Mill Basin, Brooklyn
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 3, 2015
Modified Aug 3, 2015
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 3, 2015
Modified Aug 3, 2015
Share
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Mill Basin was once best known for its abundant shellfish—crabs, oysters, and clams were aplenty in Jamaica Bay, the body of water the Brooklyn neighborhood overlooks. In the early 1900s the area took an industrial turn, and the landscape reflected that for decades. Sometime after WWII, however, residential development increased, and brick bungalows popped up all over the place. Presently, Mill Basin looks a lot more like Miami than Brooklyn, and that's because these quaint bungalows were replaced with custom-built, and completely insane, McMansions. One is owned by a disgraced former state Senator currently in prison for corruption.
Photographer Nate Dorr recently shot some of the more interesting edifices in the neighborhood, noting that some of the architecture seems to come from "a sculptural confusion of design elements that suggests the owners just opted to combine all possibilities in one facade rather than make any attempt to decide between them." And that pretty much sums up the look of the area, which at one time counted a Russian industrialist as a resident (who lived in the white waterfront fortress)—click through for a glimpse.
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architecture
mill basin
nate dorr
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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