Courtesy the New York Landmarks Conservancy
Gage & Tollner’s restoration to be honored with prestigious award
The historic chophouse is one of 14 projects to be honored by the New York Landmarks Conservancy—and the only in Brooklyn
The renovation of the historic Gage & Tollner steakhouse has earned a prestigious award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
On April 20, the annual Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards will be given (in person!) by the nonprofit organization to celebrate “outstanding preservation work” of buildings and spaces around the city. Gage & Tollner is one of 14 projects chosen to be honored and the only in Brooklyn.
The full list—which also includes the Empire State Building Mooring Mast and the Helmsley Building in Manhattan and Astoria Park Pool and Play Center in Queens and the Noonan Plaza Apartments in the Bronx, among others—can be seen here.
The historic chophouse first opened its doors in 1879, a quintessential Gilded Age New York restaurant right in downtown Brooklyn. It had a pretty good run until a gradual decline set in about a century later, around when Fulton Street became a pedestrian mall in the 1970s.
Originally built as a private residence, the four-story late Italianate style brownstone building included of-the-era features like elaborate gas lamps, cherry wood detailing, a portico with Doric columns. The interior was sheathed in Victorian lincrusta wall covering.
A trio of well-known Brooklyn restauranteurs scheduled to reopen the space in March 2020, but had to move that back a year because of the pandemic. Gage & Tollner became an immediate hit in the neighborhood, even earning high praise from the New York Times.
The renovation process is detailed in a Brooklyn Magazine podcast with Gage & Tollner co-owner St. John Frizell. He talks about the research that went into resurrecting the restaurant and the sensitivity with which he says the team is approaching the fabric of the neighborhood.
