Structural Engineering Bureau of Con Edison | Honorable Mention | Extant | Douglaston | Other | 1952 | This honorable mention is mostly a minimally landscaped plot. Con Edison used evergreen trees and shrubs to shield the substation equipment from the surrounding residential neighborhood. Today the evergreens have grown substantially with no branches at the bottom, making the equipment considerably more visible behind smaller shrubbery. In addition, the neighborhood has continued to expand, with houses and a later mid-century Jewish Center directly abutting the Con Ed property. This makes the need to hide this equipment possibly less of a necessity than when the area was more remote and bucolic.
Morris Rothstein and Sons | Honorable Mention | Extant | Jamaica | Retail or Shopping Center | 1950 | Jamkay Realty is named for the developer and not the actual structure which is in effect, a large indoor mall taking up several blocks in downtown Jamaica. The building is mostly of a uniform height and frontage all the way around, using limestone and granite as cladding, which gives it a solid appearance. All parking is on the roof level so that there are store windows fronting onto the street. Even some signage and minimal detailing still exists on the exterior, which is surprising given Jamaica’s ongoing downtown redevelopment.
John O'Malley and Associates | Honorable Mention | Extant | Woodhaven | School or College | 1962 | This three-story school building is sited on a corner lot with the entrance on the side street. Like many religious schools of this time period, the materials are simple. The aluminum windows are surrounded by concrete framing and a large concrete cross dominates the corner brick stairtower. To the right of the entrance staircase is a perpendicular concrete wall with abstract cross motifs and to the left of the entrance doors is a striking mosaic of St. Elizabeth.
Gracer, Herbert | Honorable Mention | Extant | Richmond Hill | Office Building | 1962 | This complex is a standard suburban style medical center, common in other parts of the country but less so in New York City. The elements are a dark brown brick with white trim and a flat roof.
Shenton, William L. | Honorable Mention | Extant | Maspeth | Bank | 1962 | This bank branch is a one story structure with a flat projecting roof. The exterior incorporates full height windows, yellow brick, and dark marble cladding at one corner and on a vertical column that separates the banking space with the back offices. The building is set back from the street and surrounded by off street-parking. The architect worked in-house for First National City Bank’s Premises Department.
