The Monterisi residence has more of a West Coast vibe than many of the other homes in the immediate area. The building consists of a two story wing with a garage below and a recessed entrance on the left side of the house. The predominant elements are wood and stone and the house is surrounded by mature plantings which were the work of Alfred Gusman of Little Neck.
Dr. Kestler’s residence is one of several mixed use sites featured on Queens Modern and still serving as both a medical office and residence today. The building is built into a sloping corner hillside so that the medical office is approachable at grade from the main thoroughfare of Crocheron Avenue while the residential entrance is on the second level, hidden from street view and accessible from the side street. Building materials include brick, stone and wood shingles. The overall feeling is one of horizontality and melding well within the landscape.
This narrow two-story residence sits on a steep bluff with the rear of the property looking out over Alley Pond Park. The front elevation is distinguished by a one story wing projecting toward the street and clad in Featherock, a natural volcanic stone. There are minimal windows visible from the street. The frame of the house is cantilevered, both the walls and floors over a reinforced poured foundation to account for the siting.
Unfortunately a rarity even by 1970, the Rose Ann Shearin Residence is an extant example of a woman-designed building, in this case by a woman named Rose Ann Shearin who designed it to evoke a West Coast aesthetic. The house is clad in white brick known as White Marsh designed to give it an an aged patina and the top floor incorporates a mansard roof. Wood-fronted balconies on both upper floors supported by columns have subsequently been removed.
Giving the appearance of a ranch dwelling (and called essentially the same thing in the awards writeup), the majority of award winning features seem to be on the interior of this residence, among them a curved entrance stair, a two-story ceiling height at the entrance, and a combined living room/dining room with windows overlooking the rear garden. The main takeaway from the exterior is the placement of the garage under the building due to the structure’s siting on a slope.