The faded remains of a Brooklyn shoe factory

Obscured under a fire escape, it’s not easy to see. But squint hard in front of the four-story, 19th century brick walkup at 74 Greenpoint Avenue, and you’ll make out the faded lettering that marks this address as the one-time home of Walsh’s Shoe Factory.

It’s a phantom sign from perhaps the early decades of the 20th century—when the new borough of Brooklyn was a manufacturing powerhouse. That was especially true in Greenpoint, home of breweries and shipyards, of the Astral Oil Works and countless machine shops.

The faded letters are all that remain of the factory, and information about who Walsh was and when the factory shut its doors is hard to come by.

“In the 1879/1880 Lains Directory, several Walshes are listed as shoemakers, working at 74 Greenpoint Ave and living at 106 India Street (Alvin S. Walsh, Charles A. R. Walsh, Edward Walsh Jr., Everett B. Walsh),” notes the Instagram site Gethookedbrooklyn, in a 2021 post. Which Walsh brother started the factory, if any, isn’t known.

The sign is now a ghost, but 74 Greenpoint Avenue is a hot property; the building was recently renovated as a 13-unit rental. In the small space where factory workers once sewed, assembled, and shipped shoes, renters can now enjoy a two-bedroom unit for $4000 a month, per Streeteasy.