Heller, Simeon | Honorable Mention | Demolished | Flushing | Residence | 1950 | Now demolished, the Leroy Adams Residence was built to highlight the increasing need for residential construction for low and middle income families. Built on a small lot, the house was incredibly basic, a concrete slab base, 4 1/2 rooms with additional attic space, a shingle exterior, and asphalt shingle roof. The original sale price was $9,750. Today the site includes a slightly larger more recent structure, although two houses away still exists a small dwelling that could be the Leroy Adams Residence’s twin.
Goldsmith, Saul | Honorable Mention | Extant | Long Island City | Industrial Building | 1950 | Thypin Steel is still in business within this massive structure, its signage on the roof visible from the nearby elevated highway. The building is a massive open interior space for handling steel. In one corner, offices and other smaller spaces are built within the larger shape.
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.
McGill, Henry J. | Bronze Plaque for Public Buildings | Extant | Jackson Heights | Religious Building | 1950 | The Church of the Blessed Sacrament continues to be a beacon in this community with its graduated striped facing and blend of exotic and contemporary design on its tower. The architect Henry McGill was a prolific church designer and this is one of his most distinctive and also one of his last. He died in 1953 just two years after it was completed. However, according to the AIA Guide to New York City, the church design predates its construction by a decade, which would not be all that surprising given the strong moderne elements. McGill also did the other two earlier buildings on site, the auditorium (1933) and convent (1937).
