Brooklyn Flea Market Moves

Souvenir Building Collectors now have a chance to find a vintage souvenir replica inside a building of which there is a miniature model. Reader and collector Howie G. sent me this link about the Brooklyn Flea Market which recently moved into the Williamsburgh Savings Bank. Renting 20,000 square feet on the ground floor, the flea market will now be in a classy location unlike many flea's which live in parking lots, empty fields and old dogs. As you may know, a ceramic pen holder desktop replica of this bank's clock tower exists. The replica may have been produced in the 1960's and stands 7.25 inches tall. The white ceramic replica, which has a pen holder attached to the base, depicts just the clock tower portion of the skyscraper. The real Williamsburgh Savings Bank building is now called One Hanson Place. It dominates the area's skyline at 37 stories and 512 feet (156 m) tall. It was built in 1927 by the architectural firm Halsey, McCormack and Helmer in a modernized (Art Deco) Byzantine Romanesque style. The dramatic 63-feet-high vaulted lobby is faced with limestone and marble with mosaics and huge tinted windows containing silhouetted iron cutouts of workers and students. The building also features a gilded copper dome, carved lions, turtles and birds on the exterior, 40-foot windows, elaborate mosaic and two observation decks and clock tower. Despite the grand design and expensive materials, the architect wrote at the time of the building's opening that he wanted the building "to be regarded as a cathedral dedicated to the furtherance of thrift and prosperity." The building was renamed and changed hands many times from the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, then Republic National Bank and HSBC Bank. In 2006, Magic Johnson converted the building to luxury condominiums. In 2008, CJ Follini and Noyack Medical Partners purchased the commercial half of this skyscraper. The building was declared a landmark in 1977. Today, One Hanson Place is renting the former bank lobby space for large events and selling condos. So, you could not only own a souvenir replica of this structure, but also own a piece of the real building by living there.