Image Source: Pratt Institute Library, Digital Collection.

Ever wonder why the post office on Myrtle Avenue is called the “Pratt Station” post office?  The short answer: it used to be on Pratt’s campus in what is now known as Thrift Hall.

Thrift Hall, at the corner of Ryerson & DeKalb, was built in 1916 to house Pratt’s Thrift Association.  The Thrift Association was essentially a bank that promoted saving and money management among the neighborhood’s working class.

In 1940, the bank closed and the U.S. Post Office moved into their new “Pratt Station” location.  The name stuck with the post office when it made the move to its current location at 524 Myrtle Avenue in the late 1960’s. The post office is posed to move yet again and is currently looking for a new space in the neighborhood.  Learn more about their search or how you can give feedback on their move in this newsletter from Community Board 2.

There are plans to remove the building that post office currently leases and develop a multi-story building in its place.  A similar building is already under construction next door at 490 Myrtle Avenue, where Associated Supermarket will reopen, along with a TD Bank.

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Pratt Station Post Office, January 1958. Image Credit: Brooklyn Historical Society Online Image Gallery.