It might be hard to remember a time when Brooklyn didn’t exude cool. Now, it's amped up by a recent explosion of new development and resonating with the excitement of an area that’s just starting to reach its potential.

At Bisnow, we’re always on the lookout for the biggest, baddest and best, so we consulted the CPEX team for a brief history of Brooklyn’s tallest buildings. CPEX has both observed and fueled the erection of some serious structures in its neighborhood. Below, we trace out nearly a century of skyscrapers.

For 80 years, from 1929 through 2009, the 512-foot-tall Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower (above) held the title of tallest building in Brooklyn. The building, which was landmarked in 1977, was an unrivaled icon visible from miles away for the better part of a century. The retail component of One Hanson Place, as the tower’s now known, is currently being marketed by CPEX.

In 2010, that record was broken by the Brooklyner, a rental building adjacent to MetroTech that rises 514 feet into the air. The Brooklyner sits directly behind CPEX’s office, and was able to reach its maximum height thanks to transference of the air rights from 81 Willoughby St.

Four years later 388 Bridge St, a rental, condo and affordable housing building, one block away from the Brooklyner, broke the record at 590 feet. Coincidentally, a building with the same number as the record at the time, 590 Fulton St (250 Ashland Place), was completed in the same year, and was a solid runner-up at 568 feet.

Just this year AVA DoBro (above), directly across the street from 388 Bridge St, raised the bar to 596 feet, before the title was claimed by The Hub (333 Schermerhorn, below), which currently wears the crown at 610 feet.

It seems appropriate The Hub should sit on the site of CPEX’s former office, 350 Livingston St, with the company’s past, present and future so closely enmeshed in the rich history of Brooklyn and its behemoths.

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