Wallabout Market was located just north of Flushing Avenue, between Washington Avenue and Ryerson Street, and developed in the late 1800s because of its location close to the docks in Wallabout Bay, as well as the factories and warehouses that populated nearby streets. The distinctive market buildings seen in the photograph were built in the mid-1890s, and were designed by architect William Tubby, also responsible for many buildings in the nearby Pratt Institute. At its peak, Wallabout was the second-largest market in the world.
Wallabout Market was closed in 1941, when the Navy Yard took over the land in order to support the war effort, moving market activity to the new Brooklyn Terminal Market in Canarsie.
Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery. Use this database to search for individual photographs. Currently a small number of our images are available online, but we regularly add new photographs. You can also visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1-5 p.m. to search through our entire collection of images.

