Metropolitan Industrial Bank

[doptg id=”117″]

Address: 66th Road and Queens Boulevard
Neighborhood: Forest Hills
Architect:  Birnbaum, Philip
Year: 1952
Current Status: Extant
Award:  Bronze Plaque for Banks
Typology:  Bank

A true standout among the award winners, this design is as striking as when it was originally unveiled. The corner bank gleams with an exterior of stainless steel and granite. Floor to ceiling windows illuminate the three-story height space. Patrons enter through a curved corner entrance up a short flight of stairs. The interior still has the mosaic floors, teakwood walls but the mural featuring Forest Hills has been lost. The bank is surprisingly unlike most of architect Philip Birnbaum’s other designs; he was primarily known for his large apartment building towers in brick.

Sources:

Dunlap, David W., “Philip Birnbaum, 89, Builder Celebrated for His Efficiency,” The New York Times. 28 November 1996.

“Jamaica Savings Bank, Elmhurst Branch, Designation List 365, LP 2173” NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, 28 June 2005.

Perlman, Michael, “Birnbaum & Kaskel’s Legacy in Forest Hills, “Forest Hills/Rego Park Times 23 September 2014.