"At The Corner Of Third And Third": Documentary About Landmarked Coignet Stone Building Premieres In Brooklyn This Friday

The Coignet building in all its glory. An etching from 1873.

Historic photo of the Coignet Stone Company Building

To chronicle the past, present, and future of the landmarked Coignet Stone Company Building in Gowanus, writer and filmmaker Max Kutner has made a wonderful documentary entitled "At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd".
The film will be have its Brooklyn première this Friday, September 20th at part of the Greenpoint Film Festival, which just awarded it 'best documentary short."

After the screening, Max Kutner will be joined by writer and historian Joseph Alexiou for a Q& A.

Purchase tickets in advance here.

"At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd presents the first comprehensive look at the mysterious New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company Building, a landmark in Gowanus, Brooklyn that has been largely abandoned since the 1960s. When Whole Foods breaks ground on a market just a few feet away from the building, the community looks to the future while fighting to preserve the past."

More information is available at maxkutner.tumblr.com/3rdand3rd

"At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd": A Documentary On The Coignet Building By Max Kutner

The Coignet building in all its glory. An etching from 1873.

Historic photo of the Coignet Stone Company Building

In many ways, the decrepit Coignet building at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street exemplifies the industrial history of the Gowanus area. The building was designed by William Fields & Son and built in 1872-73 on a five-acre site. It housed the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company and was meant to showcase the durability and the versatility of the structural prefabricated and iron- reinforced concrete developed by industrialist François Coignet in Lyon, France in 1846.

The Coignet Stone Company factory closed in 1882 and the building next housed the offices of Edwin Clark Litchfield’s Brooklyn Improvement Company. In more recent years, it was used by the Pippin Radiator Company.Though the Coignet building was landmarked in 2006 by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, it has been allowed to crumble.

To chronicle its history and changing fortune, writer and filmmaker Max Kutner has made a wonderful documentary entitled At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd on "the past, present and future" of the Coignet Stone Company Building.  Kutner has just released a trailer, which you can see above
(And yes, that's me in some of the clips. Kutner also interviewed good friends Joseph Alexiou and Nathan Kensinger.)

At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd

Directed/Filmed/Edited by Max Kutner

(2013, 20 minutes)

At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd, a new documentary by Max Kutner, explores the evolving character of Gowanus, Brooklyn and the mysterious New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company Building that captivates all who pass it. Constructed in 1873, the building at 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street is a historic landmark, but has been mostly abandoned since the 1960s. The Coignet Building got back in the news when Whole Foods broke ground on its first Brooklyn market just a few feet away from the landmark. Through archival materials and interviews with historians, activists, artists, photographers, and local residents, the 20-minute film presents the first comprehensive account of the past, present, and future of the Coignet Building and how a community looks to the future while fighting to preserve the past.

View the trailer for the film at vimeo.com/maxkutner/3rdand3rd.
More information is available at maxkutner.tumblr.com/3rdand3rd.