Brooklyn Army Terminal Tours

The Brooklyn Army Terminal entrance is located at the junction of 1st Ave and 58th St in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. Tours meet in front of Building A, which is the building on the right when you enter the gate (closer to the water), in the large patio area with benches. The exact street address is 140 58th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Click here for Google Maps directions or view our neighborhood map.

• SUBWAY: The nearest station is 59 St (N,R), located about a 10-minute walk from the meeting location. This is a wheelchair-accessible station. Please note that these trains run on a more limited schedule on weekends, so allow for additional travel time. After exiting the station, walk in the direction of traffic along 59th St for two blocks until you reach 2nd Ave, then take a right onto 2nd Ave. After one block, turn left onto 58th St and continue walking straight until you reach the junction of 1st Avenue. The main gate of the Terminal will be on your left. When you enter the gate, you will be facing two large buildings – Building A is the one on the right. Visit mta.info for maps and service alerts.
• FERRY: NYC Ferry serves the Brooklyn Army Terminal on the Rockaway and South Brooklyn routes. To reach the tour meeting location, just walk up the hill and turn right underneath the arches. NYC Ferry does not accept MetroCards or OMNY. All ferries are wheelchair accessible. Visit ferry.nyc for schedules and info and download the NYC Ferry app.
• BUS: The B11 stops directly in front of the Brooklyn Army Terminal on 58th St and 1st Ave. All NYC MTA buses are wheelchair accessible, and all accept OMNY with a contactless bank card or smartphone.
• DRIVING & PARKING: 
  • Driving directions from I-278W (and I-495, East River bridges, Battery Tunnel, Prospect Expressway): Take exit 23 for 39th St. At the end of the off-ramp, take a left onto 2nd Ave. Drive on 2nd Ave until you reach 58th St. Turn right onto 58th St and continue straight. Head straight through the gate to reach the parking lot.
  • From I-278E (Verrazano Bridge): Take exit 21 for 3rd Ave. Continue straight on 3rd Ave until you reach 58th St. Take a left on 58th St and continue straight. The entrance to the parking lot will be straight ahead.
  • From the Belt Parkway W: Take exit 1 towards 65 St/67 St. Stay left and follow signs for Ridge Boulevard. Turn left onto Ridge Boulevard. Ridge Boulevard becomes 2nd Ave. Take 2nd Ave to 58th St and take a left, continue straight on 58th St. Head straight through the gate to reach the parking lot.
  • PARKING is available for tour participants in the free municipal parking lot on Pier 4. Follow signs at the intersection of 1st Ave and 58th St to the ferry stop to reach the lot.
• BICYCLE: Bicycle parking is available at the Brooklyn Army Terminal near the entrance to Building A. Sunset Park and the Brooklyn Army Terminal are served by Citi Bike.

Each tour covers approximately one mile of walking over the course of two hours, and the tour may involve climbing stairs, walking over uneven ground, and across dirt and mud, so we recommend wearing a good pair of walking shoes. Our guides strive to make everyone as comfortable as possible, so we try to provide places to sit or stand in the shade during the tour stops.

The tour route is about half indoors, half outdoors, and we run the tour rain, snow, or shine (see our policies on weather and cancellations above).

The Brooklyn Army Terminal Tour is fully accessible to people who use wheelchairs. We strive to lead the tours over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

The Brooklyn Army Terminal was constructed in 1918-19 as a supply base for the US Army during World War I. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert (Woolworth Building, Custom House), it served as an intermodal shipping port that could bring in troops and supplies by rail and move them onto ships. During its peak of operations in World War II, the Terminal served as the headquarters of the New York Port of Embarkation and employed more than 25,000 military and civilian personnel. It continued to serve as a major military supply depot until its decommissioning in 1966, including shipping off Pvt. Elvis Presley in 1958. Since 1981, the Army Terminal has been owned by the City of New York, and it is operated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Today, it is a bustling industrial park, and more than 100 companies occupy space in the Terminal, employing more than 4,000 people in industries including manufacturing, technology, and life sciences.

Yes, the campus of the Brooklyn Army Terminal is open to pedestrians and cyclists during daylight hours, and parking is available in the municipal lot on Pier 4. Visitors are welcome to explore the esplanade along 58th Street and the first floors of Buildings A, B, and the Annex. On weekdays, grab a bite to eat at Pete’s Brooklyn Eats (Building B) and Momo Test Kitchen (Annex), and step inside the dramatic railroad atrium of Building B. BioBAT Art Space is a public gallery of science-inspired art (hours may vary based on the current show), and there are frequently events, festivals, and public art shows at BAT. Many tenant businesses are open by appointment or for special events, including fabric recycler FABSCRAP, where you can volunteer to sort fabric or come to their public fabric sales, and MakerSpace NYC.

On weekdays, Pete’s Brooklyn Eats (Building B) and Momo Test Kitchen (Annex) offer great lunch options on site. Located on the border of Sunset Park and Bay Ridge, there are many great eateries nearby. Heading up 58th St from the Army Terminal, 4th and 5th avenues are the center of Brooklyn’s Mexican community, and 8th Ave is home to Brooklyn’s Chinatown. Industry City’s food hall is also a short walk north, and heading south down 3rd Ave in Bay Ridge has many great places. A few that we recommend are:

• Rosas Bakery, 5824 4th Ave (Mexican)
• Ricos Tacos, 505 51st St (Mexican)
• Lucky Eight, 5204 8th Ave (Chinese)
• East Harbor Seafood Palace, 714 65th St (Chinese dim sum)

Yes, the Sunset Park waterfront is lined with industrial properties that are historically linked but separate. The oldest of these is the Bush Terminal, which was the world’s first intermodal shipping port when it was built by industrialist Irving T. Bush at the turn of the twentieth century. Spanning from 29th St to 51st St, it was a massive complex of warehouses, piers, rail yards, and factories that Bush leased to other companies. Following the success of his terminal, Bush was appointed head of the War Board of the Port of New York during World War I, where he authorized the construction nearby of a separate but similarly-designed intermodal facility just for the US Army, the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

As the working waterfront went into decline, the City of New York acquired the southern portion of Bush Terminal (south of 41st St) in 1970, while the northern portion remained in private hands. The city later acquired other waterfront sites in the neighborhood, including the Brooklyn Army Terminal in 1981. Today, the publicly-owned portion of the historic Bush Terminal is called the Bush Terminal Industrial Park; it is managed by NYCEDC and is being renovated manufacturing space and a film and television production and training center. The historic piers of Bush Terminal are now Bush Terminal Park, which has public entrances at 43rd St and 51st St along 1st Ave. Other city-owned properties along the Sunset Park waterfront include the Brooklyn Wholesale Meat Market and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. The northern portion of the historic Bush Terminal is known as Industry City and is an industrial, office, and retail park owned by a consortium led by Jamestown Properties.