Brown, Jack with Perlstein, Jerome W. | Bronze Plaque for Apartments | Extant | Forest Hills | Apartment Building | 1964 | The architecture of this apartment building speaks much more to architect Jack Brown rather than his co-designer Jerome Perlstein. Whereas Brown, the LeFrak’s in-house architect, was largely responsible for large commercial and residential towers in brick or metal, Perlstein’s designs tended toward showy facade materials such as stone veneer, decorative screens, and enamel panels. The site here is a steep slope so that the front includes private concrete slab balconies whereas the back includes a communal patio space overlooking an athletic field below.
Beatty and Berlenbach | Bronze Plaque for Schools and Colleges | Extant | Elmhurst | School or College | 1964 | Cathedral Prep expanded into Queens from Brooklyn, previously located in a Gothic Revival building complete with gargoyles in Clinton Hill. The L-shaped school was meant to accommodate the growing population of students for the seminary and along with the later Cathedral College of 1968 in Douglaston, represented the Brooklyn Diocese’s continued efforts to rapidly expand its facilities. However unlike the later Cathedral College, Cathedra Prep is a much more traditional take in terms of its design aesthetics. By this time, the firm of Beatty & Berlenbach was dwindling down, having had their heyday earlier in the century. The materials here are red brick, limestone, and granite and the details are restrained with only window surrounds and some limestone and granite framing. Overall a much more traditional look that speaks more to the 1950s than 60s.
Ketchum Gina and Sharp | Bronze Plaque for Schools and Colleges | Extant | Flushing | School or College | 1962 | An open plan facility, the Queens College Dining Hall features multiple dining spaces around a central kitchen. The building is one story with floor to ceiling windows throughout within aluminum frames. The entire exterior is enlivened by brickface in a variety of colors including red, brown, yellow, and grey. There is also an outdoor dining area. It is unclear how much the interior treatments remain, but it is expected they have been updated over time.
Stein, Julius | Bronze Plaque for Industrial | Extant | Woodside | Industrial Building | 1961 | One of two Armor facilities to be honored, this is the much larger plant that encompasses an entire block (the other building is a tiny administrative showroom in Long Island City). The 70,000 square foot building is two-stories of orange brick and a prominent entrance of aluminum and enamel panels. Originally these panels were turquoise but have since been replaced with brown. The front of the building houses offices and executive spaces on two floors, while the rear of the facility is the same height but all one level of factory space with clerestory windows.
Boegel, William J. | Honorable Mention | Extant | Long Island City | Religious BuildingSchool or College | 1954 | Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Church dates from 1873 and had an elaborate French Gothic facade added in 1915 to designs of Thomas Henry Poole. The large school and convent next door however are comparitively fairly restrained. Both buildings are clad in yellow brick and have minimal detailing. Architect William Boegel tended to keep his designs somewhat spartan or traditional. The main decoration on the school (now covered by contemporary signage) is a large cross over the entrance, rising two stories in limestone.
