Samuel Paul and Seymour Jarmul | Honorable Mention | Extant | Forest Hills | Hotel or Motel | 1961 | 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.
Weschsler and Schimenti | Honorable Mention | Extant | Hollis | Office Building | 1961 | The Toy & Novelty Workers building is a two-story complex of beige brick with striking decorative elements of sky blue enamel panels and a yellow metal decorative screen. The original signage remains on the building but it seems to house a daycare center now. It is a fitting repurposing of a toy-making union and the decorative details harmonize well with the playground equipment now present in the entrance courtyard.
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.
Raymond Irrera Associates | Honorable Mention | Extant | Richmond Hill | Office Building | 1959 | The Leo Kearns series of funeral home facilities are unique within the Queens Modern lexicon, featuring elements of West Coast modernism and showing the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, both rarities in the borough’s mid-century design. The former executive office building, now a daycare center is much more restrained than the two extant funeral homes, and is largely a brick cube with simple limestone and granite detailing. Raymond Irrera did this building and one of the two funeral buildings, with Meisner doing the other, so its unclear why the Kearns company employed a more restrained style here.
LaPierre Litchfield and Partners | Honorable Mention | Extant | Jamaica Estates | Bank | 1958 | This one story bank is a stripped-down version of the Colonial Revival. The Georgian and Colonial styles were popular revivals in the 1950s and 60s, continuing to be even more popular around the Bicentennial in 1976. But unlike more high-style versions such as the Queens County Savings Banks in Kew Gardens Hills and Little Neck, here the building only nods to the style with a tiny cupola and brickface.
