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.
“Gowanus Transformations” runs May 8 through Aug. 24 at the Brooklyn Historical Society (129 Pierrepont St. at Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights). For information, call (718) 222-4111 or visit www.brooklynhistory.org.
