Lama Proskauer Prober | Honorable Mention | Extant | Douglaston | Commercial Building | 1962 | The former Shell station consists of a plain brick building with four bays and a hipped roof at the rear of the lot. The site is now used as parking for a nearby restaurant. While not particularly interesting, the service station was designed by Lama, Proskauer, Prober, a prolific but largely unheralded firm, that designed hundreds of buildings, mainly service stations, but also apartment complexes across the city. The firm was active for a long span of time, from the 1920s until at least the 1980s. As real estate prices have continued to rise and service stations, especially in Manhattan, have been replaced by new development, this firm’s body of work is rapidly shrinking.
Weston, Martyn N. | Honorable Mention | Extant | Jackson Heights | Apartment Building | 1956 | Another ubiquitous late Jackson Heights apartment building, this one is of dark red brick and an entrance that originally shown with white marble and a turquoise mosaic, both now gone.
Wuest and Bailey | Honorable Mention | Extant | Long Island City | Industrial Building | 1958 | This two story pale brick elevator company building has subtle brick designs and simple angles that make it seem like it could date from the early 1940s instead of the late 50s. It is very dissimilar to the larger Armor Elevator headquarters built three years later or even the Otis Elevator building built the same year, both of which evoke their period more typically.
Brown, Guenther and Booss | Honorable Mention | Extant | Flushing | Religious Building | 1955 | The orientation of this church is puzzling. Sited on a corner lot, the rear of the church and the apse are located closest to the street while a small, side entrance and the nave are set back along a walkway. The end facing the church incorporates a large cross as decoration. The firm of Brown Guethner Booss designed at least one other religious building in New York, a convent done this same year.
Mathieu, Joseph | Honorable Mention | Extant | Queens Village | Religious Building | 1955 | Joseph Mathieu, this church’s architect, designed another chapel at this same time which won a Queens Chamber Award. Both buildings have stone facade veneer elements that gives texture to the overall design. On the church itself, a stained glass window tops the entrance doors within a recessed frame of polished red granite. The facade has elements of art deco design with streamlined angel carvings and the facade is topped by an image of the church’s patron saint framed with golden rays. The roof is peaked and clad in slate. The neighboring school also incorporates deco elements including a vertical recessed metal window element above the entrance and black bricks patterns in contrast to the lighter colored primary stone. The complex contains numerous other buildings including the rectory, social hall, and separate chapel.
