Brewster & Co.

The large brick structure you are approaching, known as the Brewster Building, was completed in 1911 as a state-of-the-art factory for the renowned carriage and automobile coachbuilder Brewster and Company. At the time, the site was a strategic choice because the newly opened Queensboro Bridge made it possible to transport vehicle chassis and finished products between Long Island City and Manhattan in just a few minutes. The building served as a critical hub for the transformation of American travel, moving from the horse-drawn carriage to the motor age. During its peak, the factory floor was used to craft custom bodies for high-end automobiles, including luxury vehicles for Rolls-Royce of America. The company’s influence on Gilded Age society was such that its carriages were considered the Tiffany of the industry, famously transporting titans of finance like J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilt family. As the industry shifted toward aviation, the factory pivoted again to support the war effort. The facility became the production base for the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, which manufactured the Brewster Buffalo. This all-metal, carrier-based fighter plane was one of the first of its kind to see action on the front lines of the Second World War. The building once featured a prominent clock tower with ornate tracery that stood as an industrial landmark above the Queens Plaza area. Although the tower was dismantled in 1950 as the building entered a long period of use by various garment manufacturers, the original factory remains an anchor of the neighborhood's industrial heritage. Today, the space has been repurposed into a modern office complex, housing companies like JetBlue and Estée Lauder, while retaining its historic status as a site where early twentieth-century engineering dreams were physically realized.