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.
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.
Luongo, Vincent D. | Bronze Plaque for Rehabilitation | Extant | Ozone Park | Religious Building | 1960 | St. Stanislaus was considered an award-winning rehabilitation, but in actuality only the foundation was left standing when the original frame church was taken down and expanded. Built in Ozone Park for a growing Polish population, the new church accommodated 500 parishioners and the walls were rebuilt in brick over a steel framework. The exterior design is restrained with brick cladding and limestone detailing. The belltower above the entrance was also an addition to the new building.
Civkin, Victor | Honorable Mention | Extant | Belle Harbor | Religious Building | 1956 | This synagogue is located in the quiet residential setting of Belle Harbour. The building is faced with quarry stone and brick and includes some interesting temple details like the row of front doors shaped like an open book. The complex includes the main sanctuary, a balcony, a school, a chapel, a roof terrace, and a ballroom. Badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy with major flooding of its lower floors, the building only partially reopened in 2014 and has still not fully recovered. Victor Civkin, the synagogue’s architect was not particularly well-known especially in New York. However he also designed a temple using similar materials in Fairfield, Connecticut, as well as numerous residential structures in southwest Connecticut.
