May 3, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 18

Ever wonder how the letters in alphabet soup are made? Across the country they are created with extrusion dies made at Maldari & Company (pictured) in Gowanus.

“Any food that comes out in a shape, they probably made the die,” said Christine Mackellar, co-curator of “Gowanus Transformations,” an exhibit opening May 8 at the Brooklyn Historical Society in Brooklyn Heights.

“It’s about those working there,” said Mackellar. “What they are doing and how it effects us.”

Maldari & Company is the oldest of the 11 unique businesses featured in this show, which celebrates 150 years of manufacturing in the canal-side neighborhood.

“We were aware there was a lot of industry in Gowanus, and we were curious [about] what was going on behind closed doors,” said Mackellar. “It seemed appropriate [now], since there is so much talk about development in the area.”

Other featured companies include the Ready-Mix Concrete Plant, which makes concrete for construction at the World Trade Center site, and J & M, which is a full service special effects biz serving the city’s TV and theater community.

“They have a wide range of skills and an amazing amount of — for lack of a better word — ‘stuff,’ which enables them to respond to diverse requests from the performance community, from renting weaponry to blowing up cars, to fog, rain, snow and wind,” said Mackellar.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper