The simple brick and glass facade of this branch is of Astoria Federal is still extant although extended another lot along the streetwall. The interior originally featured a large mural of Manhattan. The award program specifically calls out Muzak as a special feature, undoubtably a rarity this time.
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 the original mosaic floors and teakwood walls although 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.
Designed by the prolific firm of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, this one-story bank branch has a long wall of white travertine panels facing Hillside Avenue. Originally this wall was unrelieved but a set of doors have since been added. The building is topped by a striking, geometric roofline of double tees. Both ends of the building are enclosed in a full glass wall and a now-closed drive through teller window is located on the interior side wall.
This building was at the corner of Queens Boulevard and Broadway, a location especially chosen to give the bank prominent placement. It is unclear why a round bank was designed although the award”s program states that the round shape was informed by the corner lot and need for an entrance facing the intersection. However, with Skidmore Owings and Merrill’s complex of round buildings for Macy’s and National City Bank just down Queens Boulevard, it is possible that this bank was inspired by its nearby neighbors, completed just the year before. The bank was constructed with a precast concrete exterior while the disengaged roof was held up on interior columns. The interior also included a symmetrical arrangement of teller stations and a Venetian terrazzo floor. The building was demolished in 2004 and the lot is currently empty.
Flushing National Bank today is the National Bank of New York City, which has it own quirky 1970s era logo, but otherwise, has made minimal changes to the exterior of the building. The design feels later than 1965, with its low, horizontal design, and varied colors of muted brown brick and tinted glass windows. A second story has been added on one end of the building and some mosaic tiling has been removed.