{"nrhp_refnum":"81000405","name":"Coney Island Fire Station Pumping Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2301 Neptune Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.57873679800008,"lon":-73.99152295299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-12-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, elliptical Art Moderne fire and high-pressure water pumping station at 2301 Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn, built in 1938 and designed by Irwin S. Chanin.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as an excellent and rare example of Art Moderne architecture, which was unusual for a municipal building at a time when most public buildings imitated classical models. It marks a shift in architect Irwin S. Chanin's work from large Art Deco skyscrapers to a low, functional design. It is also described as one of few municipally owned pumping stations built in this style.","narrative":"Coney Island's high-pressure water pumping station, at 2301 Neptune Avenue in Brooklyn, was built in 1938 to maintain steady water pressure for part of the neighborhood. Designed by Irwin S. Chanin, it is a one-story, elliptical building faced in limestone over a granite base, with continuous prismatic glass windows, nickel-silver grillwork and curving lines typical of Art Moderne. Inside, a gallery overlooks a central well fitted with tracks and beams for cranes that moved pumping units. Chanin was best known for tall apartment buildings on Central Park West, so this low, severe design marked a change in his work. The building was praised in its day as an alternative to classically styled municipal architecture and is described as one of the few municipally owned pumping stations in this style. At the time of listing it stood vacant and sealed after vandalism, and its sculpted horses had been placed in the Brooklyn Museum of Art.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1938)","architect_builder":"Irwin S. Chanin","architectural_style":"Art Moderne (late Art Deco)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant, vandalized and sealed; metal letters were stolen, most windows broken, and the four pairs of horse sculptures were removed to the Brooklyn Museum of Art for security.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.570233-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/81000405.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000405/7378d76e52-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000405/7378d76e52-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CI_fire_pumping_station_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CI_fire_pumping_station_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318353","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island_Fire_Station_Pumping_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5159598"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/coney-island-fire-station-pumping-station-81000405/"}