Established as a
shipbuilding facility in 1801, the
Brooklyn Navy Yard employed 70,000 people at its peak during World War II and was then the largest employer in the borough. The
Missouri, the ship on which the Japanese formally surrendered, was built there, as was the
Maine, whose sinking off Havana led to the start of the Spanish–American War. The iron-sided Civil War vessel the
Monitor was built in Greenpoint. From 1968 to 1979
Seatrain Shipbuilding was the major employer. Later tenants include industrial design firms, food processing businesses, artisans, and the film and television production industry. About 230 private-sector firms providing 4,000 jobs are at the Yard.