This one-story library is a severe sight with an exterior of dark brick, a narrow band of grey aluminum clerestory windows, and a flat roof also of grey aluminum. There is a simple concrete and leaded glass window mosaic next to the entrance.
The rehabilitation of this bank structure was done to address “serious deficiencies in design” according to the Queens Chamber program. The original bank was built in 1960 before zoning in the area changed so the bank management was limited in what changes they could make and were unable to extent the building substantially. Instead the space was opened up and stone walls and large glass windows with bronzed aluminum trim were used to frame the exterior.
This three-story warehouse is clad in a glazed brick and framed by the concrete supports. The minimal windows are aluminum with bronze glass. With its restrained entrance incorporating white marble or granite panels, it could be mistaken for a school or office building. Its location between two roadways of different heights means that vehicles can enter the rooftop parking lot and third floor from the rear access road. Today it is used, at least partially, as the New York Public Library Services Center.
Designed by the prolific firm of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, this one-story bank branch has a long wall of white travertine panels facing Hillside Avenue. Originally this wall was unrelieved but a set of doors have since been added. The building is topped by a striking, geometric roofline of double tees. Both ends of the building are enclosed in a full glass wall and a now-closed drive through teller window is located on the interior side wall.
This building shows the continued move toward the minimalism of the 1970s with its largely unadorned facade of brick with plain window treatments and bold geometry of the sloped roofs above the entrance housing skylights for the interior spaces below. It was originally built as an Jewish Orthodox high school. However by 1981 the school had closed and today it is home to the Beth Gavriel Center, a Bucharian Jewish congregation.