Birchwood Towers

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These striking towers stand out from the red brick apartment houses in Forest Hills. Instead of the usual, here we get 3 30-story buildings in tan brick with curvilinear baconies stretching across the main facade fronted by blue glass railings. There is also underground parking and an above ground swimming pool surrounded by an eye-catching blue and yellow patterned patio. The buildings were given the names The Bel Air, the Toledo, and The Kyoto with each one having lobbies that originally referenced the buildings name in an over the top decor. An unusual and still elegant response to luxury housing in Forest Hills.

Water’s Edge Exhibit Building

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The Water’s Edge Building is one of the few intentionally temporary structures in the Queens Modern pantheon. It was constructed by the Birchwood Park Organization as a showroom for the neighboring Water’s Edge community, a large planned development that also won its own award. The exhibit center included a landscaped garden, a model of the entire Water’s Edge community, and access to model homes. In the late 1960s it was replaced with a somewhat banal group of townhouses.

Schine Inn at Forest Hills

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The Schine Inn was part of the major Schine empire of theaters and hotels across the country, only of a few of which were named Schine Inns, most notably in Massena, NY and Chicopee, MA. In 1966, just five years after the Forest Hills location opened, the chain changed hands and it is unclear if this location lasted beyond then. Today it is a senior living facility and remains recognizable architecturally despite the loss of an undulating entrance awning. The brick-faced buildings also include stone veneer details and enamel panels. The architects were local and known for large brick apartment towers, so the design here is much less striking than some of the other Schine branches.

Water’s Edge Exhibit Building

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The Water’s Edge Building is one of the few intentionally temporary structures in the Queens Modern pantheon. It was constructed by the Birchwood Park Organization as a showroom for the neighboring Water’s Edge community, a large planned development that also won its own award. The exhibit center included a landscaped garden, a model of the entire Water’s Edge community, and access to model homes. In the late 1960s it was replaced with a somewhat banal group of townhouses.