Another Fourth Avenue Gem: The Great Wall of Gowanus

This is the Con Edison building on Fourth Avenue that has been under construction forever. The horrendous brick wall at street level could be in a planning and architecture textbook as an example of what not to do in terms of streetscape and street-level design. We're certain there's a reasons for this fortress-like exemplary use of brick at street level, we're not certain what it is, however. The building is slightly--but not entirely--less atrocious once the eyes rise above the first floor. However, it's expanse of brick, broken only by solid steel doors, at street level that boggles the mind. This is the stretch of Fourth Avenue that developers of buildings like the Crest on Second Street, directly across Fourth, and the Novo Park Slope are trying to market as the Park Avenue of Brooklyn. Upon further consideration, it may fit in quite nicely.