Although vacant for nearly 25 years, its ghostly silhouette still looms large over a corner of southwest Brooklyn. The grain terminal was built 1922 as an investment in the Erie Barge canal system, which delivered grain and other goods from the Great Lakes into eastern ports. As the years passed, the barge canal system fell out of favor as far more economic options were realized, including the St. Lawrence seaway. Additionally, by the mid 1960s, it cost nearly 400 percent more to load grain in Brooklyn then in Philadelphia and nearly 600 percent more compared to New Orleans. Economically speaking, it was a disaster. In 1965, the terminal was deactivated and in 1987 parts of the elevator were demolished. Currently, it sits empty, awaiting redevelopment. A recycling center and a concrete storage facility are both rumored options.
