Brooklyn Fire Proof began as a small gallery and a few artists’ studios located in the historic Brooklyn Fireproof Sash & Doors building at 101 Richardson St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This building was the progenitor and namesake of what has expanded to become many inter-connected companies in Bushwick/East Williamsburg, serving the creative community with thousands of square feet of artist studios, sound stages for film and television, art galleries and a (now defunct) cafe/bar.

Brooklyn Fire Proof opened at Richardson St. in 1998, after owners Thomas Burr Dodd and Pearl Son Dodd left the East Village for Brooklyn. They transformed the leased space into artist studios, later building out Burr’s studio to make a fully fledged gallery.