In the long hallway of the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Brooklyn, it’s hard not to notice the repeated blue and yellow tiles fitted prominently with the letter “L.” Yet, you might wonder what the “L” signifies as there’s no L train here (the A, C, and G stop here). And there’s certainly no “L” in Hoyt-Schermerhorn. The “L” actually comes from Loeser’s department store, which used to be on the superblock created by Fulton Street, Livingston Street, Elm Place and Bond Street. It had a direct entrance to the subway (just like Bloomingdale’s) and thus influenced the Art-Deco decor which remains today. Loeser’s department store, run by Frederick Loeser and the Gibb family, opened in 1897, with an extension built between 1899 and 1900 by architect Frances. H. Kimball. Kimball also designed the Montauk Club in Park Slope and the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill. Loeser’s in 1941 along Livingston Street/Fulton Street. Image from… Read More