The world’s largest former hat factory almost looks as beautiful today as it did in 1890s Brooklyn

Some buildings in New York are so stunning, they make you stop in your tracks. The Knox Hat Factory, at Grand Avenue and St. Marks Place in Prospect Heights, is that kind of building. It almost looks like a castle, with the yellow brick factory walls fortified to protect the interior, and a corner watchtower to help spot and vanquish invaders. But of course this is Brooklyn, and in 1890 when the hat works opened as the world’s largest hat factory, it was just one more manufacturing building in a city filled with companies that made things. As companies go, however, Knox Hatworks has a long history in Gotham. “Founded by Irish immigrant Charles Knox, the Knox Hat Company began operations in lower Manhattan, selling beaver hats in a small store he opened in 1838,” states the Brooklyn Public Library. “Through promotion and word of mouth, the business built an impressive clientele, including Abraham Lincoln, who purchased a new Knox stovepipe right before his 1860 speech at the Cooper…