Hosted each year by the Architectural League, one of the city's oldest building appreciation and preservation groups, the ball is a major fundraiser that bounces from one unusual landmark to another each fall. Last year, it took place at the National Arts Club in Washington Heights, the year before that it was the American Can Factory in Gowanus—clearly, these guys have a thing for industrial architecture. Designed by Cass Gilbert, of Woolworth Building fame, the terminal was once of throbbing hive of activity, according to League-affiliated blog Urban Omnibus:

56,000 military and civilian personnel were employed at the BAT during WWII, and an additional three million troops and 37 million tons of supplies traveled through. The activity often spilled into the neighborhood’s streets and sidewalks. “My father used to say that, once workers began to go home in the evening, you couldn’t come near this area until 10pm,” [Carmine Giordano, the BAT Facilities Director for the past 23 years] recalled from his childhood. “It took hours for the cars and the people walking to pass through.”

Tickets are available online, and while the League warns of a sell0ut, something tells us there will be plenty of room.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC