What Will Take Over the Old Kensington Library?

Now that we have a beautiful new Kensington Library, we are left wondering what will happen to the old one, which is standing empty at 410 Ditmas Avenue. A sign hangs in front for potential businesses to contact Hoffman Realty at 718-332-4000, but what kind of business could fill that 10,000-square-foot space?

Perhaps it could revert back to what it was before 1960, when the library moved in. According to the Brooklyn Public Library, the Ditmas Ave building was perviously known as the Manor, a hall that was used for weddings and other events. Does anyone out there remember when it was the Manor, did you ever go to an event there?

When the library moved there, it was, much like our 2012 building, pretty newsworthy. The renovation of the Manor included adding air conditioning – the first library in Brooklyn to have it! – and creating a children’s room with “furniture other than that designed specifically for libraries.”

And if you’re keeping track, this is the fifth site for the Kensington branch:

• It started in 1908 as a deposit station in a store at 746 McDonald Avenue.
• Moved to 108 Ditmas Ave in 1908.
• Moved to 771 McDonald Ave in 1912.
• Moved to 410 Ditmas in 1960.
• Moved to 4207 18th Avenue in the fall of 2012.

So what do you think can fill the most recently vacated library building?