What a beautiful book. It is filled with photographs from the old Sugar factory with a little text about the history of the place. Sit back and enjoy the time travel.

I love interesting history, a d this fits! The information was fascinating, and the photography was just brilliant.

The photos in this coffee table book are exquisite. The sugar factory, shut down in 2004, still brings to the fore echoes of voices, and you can almost smell the sweetness in the air. What a shame to see it go. What good fortune that Paul Raphaelson was able to capture for us this disappearing age.

I received a free electronic copy of this excellent book from Netgalley, Paul Raphaelson, and Schiffer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Having grown up not far from here and seeing the historic landmark daily in my travels it was very interesting to learn more about the history. I don't think I ever questioned its existence or history before coming across this book and now I feel ready for a trivia challenge.

Brooklyn's Sweet Ruin: Relics and Stories of the Domino Sugar Refinery by Paul Raphaelson tells the story of what was once the largest in the world, shut down in 2004 after a long struggle. Most New Yorkers know it only as an icon on the landscape, multiplied on T-shirts and skateboard graphics. Paul Raphaelson, known internationally for his formally intricate urban landscape photographs, was given access to every square foot of the refinery weeks before its demolition. Raphaelson spent weeks speaking with former Domino workers to hear first-hand the refinery’s more personal stories. He also assembled a world-class team of contributors: Pulitzer Prize–winning photography editor Stella Kramer, architectural historian Matthew Postal, and art director Christopher Truch. The result is a beautiful, complex, thrilling mashup of art, document, industrial history, and Brooklyn visual culture. Strap on your hard hat and headlamp, and wander inside for a closer look.

Brooklyn's Sweet Ruin: Relics and Stories of the Domino Sugar Refinery is a look at something I had never thought much about, even though I am well versed in the state of manufacturing in my local area. The Domino sugar factory, abandoned and in disrepair is something haunting to look at. I was very interested in the information about the factory and the struggles to keep it afloat, and the perspective of those directly involved in the factory. The idea that the building was set for destruction is sad, but the state of it and the empty rooms was simply depressing, but still somehow beautiful. The combination of photography and information is poignant and enthralling. It offers readers a look at the history and importance of the building and former business. The book is a great coffee table book for those that appreciate industrial art, and the stark beauty that can be found in these images of this factory after being abandoned, but before demolition.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Refinery, once the largest in the world, shut down in 2004 after a long struggle. Most New Yorkers know it only as an icon on the landscape, multiplied on T-shirts and skateboard graphics. Paul Raphaelson, known internationally for his formally intricate urban landscape photographs, was given access to every square foot of the refinery weeks before its demolition. Raphaelson spent weeks speaking with former Domino workers to hear first-hand the refinery’s more personal stories. He also assembled a world-class team of contributors: Pulitzer Prize–winning photography editor Stella Kramer, architectural historian Matthew Postal, and art director Christopher Truch. The result is a beautiful, complex, thrilling mashup of art, document, industrial history, and Brooklyn visual culture. Strap on your hard hat and headlamp, and wander inside for a closer look...

A fabulous array of photographs of the Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, closed more than a decade ago. It shows the decay and rot of an abandoned site that had long been an icon on the landscape. They were fascinating and sad at the same time, that something so massive could be just let go in such a way...

I would have marked this higher but for the arrangement of the book. The first 2/3 of the book are just photos - no descriptions, no context. It was a pain to keep flipping back and forth to find out what I was looking at. Also, I would have liked to have had the history presented early as I am not from the area, I didn't instantly know why certain photos would have carried the weight they did.


Overall a great collection of photos...just wished they had arranged this book in a slightly different way.

The Domino Sugar Refinery is an iconic figure of the Williamsburg skyline. At one point it was the world's largest sugar refinery, processing 4 million pounds of raw sugar a day. However production steadily decreased throughout later half of the 20th century and it eventually closed in 2004. Though it was granted historic landmark status in 2007, its fate has been in limbo since.

When I lived in Brooklyn, I'd run by it daily, always wondering what was going on behind those shuttered doors. After all, it stands on prime real estate in an area intent on gentrification, where posh waterfront studios continue shooting up at an alarming rate. "Brooklyn's Sweet Ruin" gives a final glimpse into the heart of the Domino Sugar Refinery before its demolition. There is a certain sadness in seeing relics of an industrialized era, but in the nostalgia there is awe and wonder at what architecture and workforce are capable of.

The photos are absolutely gorgeous (with an undeniable "Fallout" vibe) but what I appreciated most was the accompanying write up: interviews with workers, a brief history of the refinery, and context for its place in history.

Brooklyn's Sweet Ruin by Paul Raphaelson This is actually a very sad book. It is a photography book with no words but sad all the same. There actually are some words at the end of the book where the photographer Paul Raphaelson tells his story of the Domino Plant, how he researched the plant. The book is pictures from the Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn. It was once the world's largest refinery. Now it sets silently decaying and wasting away. The pictures in this book are so clear and give you a real picture of what was once very important part to not only Brooklyn but to the world. I was surprised that in the pictures there was no graffiti. There is an index of the pictures towards the back of the book explaining what you are seeing.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.