John O'Malley and Associates | Bronze Plaque for Residences | Extant | Corona | Religious Building | 1971 | St. Leo’s Rectory is more traditional than most of the O’Malley firm’s other work. The building is a long rectangle of buff brick topped by a streamlined mansard roof, originally complete with shingles.The dark shingles have now been replaced by light colored aluminum siding and the green shutters original to the ground floor have been replaced with red shutters on both the upper and lower floors. The building does its job in fitting in well with the heterogeneous residential architecture of this part of Corona.
S. J. Kessler and Sons | Bronze Plaque for Schools and Colleges | Extant | Flushing | Social Services Facility | 1970 | This nonprofit complex shows the increasing stripped down design of the late 1960s and early 1970s with very little decoration to speak of. The building is two stories and clad in pale brick and granite. There was a simple grillwork of cast stone screening a balcony to the right of the entrance that has been removed, making the structure even more spare.
Levine and Blumberg | Bronze Plaque for Artistic and Community Improvements | Extant | Forest Hills | Park | 1968 | Yellowstone Park is built on a sloping hillside amidst the apartment buildings of Forest Hills. At the base of the hill is the playground and larger recreational areas, while more passive spaces rise above. The design of the park uses curving ramps and retaining walls throughout to break up the steep slope into more informal areas. According to Ann Butter, who worked on the park, one lawn area was designed around a singular existing tree, now gone. However many of the existing plantings such as birch and hemlock trees still remain an integral part of the park, In addition, Ms. Butter noted the involvement of prominent landscape architect Clara Coffey in the design of Yellowstone Park.
Perlstein, Jerome W. | Bronze Plaque for Rehabilitations and Alterations | Extant | Long Island City | Industrial Building | 1967 | The Walter Lippmann Building’s rehabilitation is truly wonderful and unexpected, although now marred by modern alterations. During the rehab, to keep costs down, a large tile mural was added to several areas of the exterior, including over the entrance, providing a striking focal point for this industrial street. At some point windows were punched through the main mural, destroying its integrity but the design remains mostly intact and is an enjoyable sight to come upon.
Salkowitz, A. H. | Bronze Plaque for Public Buildings | Extant | Long Island City | Public Building | 1967 | Some of the Queens Modern winners feature the use of new materials and here at the former Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting hall (since a church and now a special events space), the cornice is made of Granolux, which was a mid-century composite coating of marble and granite. It seems to have been a difficult material and is not mentioned frequently. The doors and windows are mirrored and the facade is glazed brick. The elaborate eagle flagpole dating from the veterans’ days remains today.
