Bush Terminal on the north and the Brooklyn Army Terminal on
the south is separated by seven blocks of active waterfront.
5200 1st Avenue is an abandoned warehouse on the southwest corner
of at 52nd Street. It is perhaps most memorable for the unique script
of the 1892 date marker on its imposing eastern wall.
Interestingly, the western half of the warehouse appears to be maintained
and used as studios.
Enticingly, 53rd Street west of 1st Avenue is named "Whale
Square", which seems to imply some kind of relationship to
New York's long defunct whaling industry. However, a
NY Times report from March of 2007 indicated that the street
was renamed by the Whale Oil Company, a fuel oil distributor
that built an office on the waterfront in 1948. The company was
later acquired by Standard Oil, although the fuel oil depot seems
to still be quite active (and unbranded).