Gowanus Ballroom

This gargantuan 16,000-square-foot space was formerly a steel mill and before that a cannonball factory. These days it's home, most of the time, to Serett Metalworks, a metal crafting, fabrication, sculpting, building, and design firm.

And a few times a year, they push all the gigantic metalworking machines into a corner and open the cavernous space up for events, from massive art spectacles to a neo–science fair, from a circus arena to a music venue.

The group art shows, which feature emerging artists and designers, showcase huge paintings, photography, sculptures, and interactive installations from up to fifty artists at a time. Then there's the really crazy shit, including a piano dropped from 50 feet onto a tower of champagne glasses, and a flaming shopping cart catapult. 

The Ballroom was clobbered by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and while things were dicey for awhile, the space appears to still be going strong.

** article adapted with permission from this piece on Brooklyn Spaces.