 |
| 113-02 175th St, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| Sayres Ave rowhouses, Courtesy of LPC |
We are proud to announce the designation of Queens' 10th Historic District, known as the Addisleigh Park Historic District in St. Albans, which preserves 422 homes & natural landscapes. Addisleigh Park was calendared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on February 9, 2010, and heard on March 23, 2010. On February 1, 2011, nearly 5 years of surveying and advocacy by the Addisleigh Park Civic Association, Historic Districts Council, and help from preservation grants, CM Leroy Comrie, residents, Historians Maxine Gordan &Jane Cowan, & the Addisleigh Park Historic District came to fruition, when it was designated unanimously by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, in addition to 4 Individual Landmarks in Staten Island's Sandy Ground section. The timing of the designation commemorates Black History Month, and will preserve a fine collection of architectural and cultural landmarks for neighborhood residents and preservationists citywide for future generations. This marks the city's Historic District #102.
In the 1940s, prominent
African American 20th-century figures including jazz musicians and sports champions began to make their home in Addisleigh Park. If you took a leisurely walk, you may have crossed paths with legends including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Jackie Robinson, Percy Sutton, Milt Hinton, Roy Campanella, Illinois Jacquet, Lena Horne, W.E.B. DuBois, James Brown, Thomas "Fats" Waller, and Joe Louis.
The area consists of
Tudor and
Colonial Revival, and
Arts & Crafts freestanding homes with neatly landscaped lawns and mature tree-lined streets, rowhouses, the St. Albans Park, and places of worship. It is hard to grasp that homes were only available to whites when a number of properties were first developed circa 1910 - 1930s. This relates to the unrevised Forest Hills Gardens' Restrictive Covenants, which initially banned Jews and African Americans.
The collection of 10 designated Historic Districts in Queens, serves as a case study of potential Historic Districts in Forest Hills, Rego Park, and other deserving Queens neighborhoods. These are Queens designation reports to date:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/forms/reports_queens.shtml
For more information on the history, architecture, and clever urban planning of the must-visit Addisleigh Park Historic District, check out the LPC's press release announcing the new designation:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/press/11-02_african_american_sites_landmarked.pdf
This is a PowerPoint presentation from the LPC's Public Hearing, featuring a smorgasbord of historic homes, notables, and a proposed boundary map:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/ppt/addisleigh_hearing_ppt.pdf
The LPC's 374-page Designation Report:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2405.pdf
A history courtesy of the Addisleigh Park Civic Association:
http://www.addisleighpark.org/id15.html
 |
| 115-14 179th St, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| 173-07 Murdock Ave, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| 174-11 Murdock Ave to 113-10 175th St, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| 176-15 Murdock Ave, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| The Count Basie House, 174-27 Adelaide Rd, Courtesy of LPC |
 |
| 114-37 178th Place, Courtesy of LPC |
Posts
This Queens native (Corona & Laurelton) and African-American is pleased to see the designation of Queens' 10th Historic District, also known as the Addisleigh Park Historic District in St. Albans. This district includes an amazing number of architecturally distinctive, handsome, and well-kept homes, many of them the former residences of reknowned entertainers and athletes. Hopefully,the designation will help maintain these beautiful residences for years to come. Lord knows that Queens already has lost a staggering number of architecturally distinctive and historically signficant homes, particularly during the early 20th century. Many of the latter dwellings managed to last well into the 1940s before succumbing to thoughtless demolition, fires, or sundry other destruction.
ReplyDelete