Rego Park Descendant Marion Legler Tells All

By Michael Perlman

Marion Legler, granddaughter of Rego Park developer Joseph Thone, points to Marion Court's 1929 terra-cotta relief & heavily encrusted archways, Photo by Michael Perlman

Signed photo of Real Good Construction Company developers circa mid-1920s, Courtesy of Bruce Powell

Back in 1923, the Rego Construction Company, also known as the Real Good Construction Company, acquired land in Forest Hills West and named “Rego Park” after their advertising slogan, “REal GOod Homes.” The typical story that is told is how the firm was founded by two natives of Germany; president Henry L. Schloh and secretary and treasurer Charles I. Hausmann, but now a piece of the puzzle long forgotten has been rediscovered.

In June 2016, Rego Park native Marion Thone Legler (born 1932), who resides in New Hyde Park, visited the neighborhood after 3 decades and explained the accomplishments of her grandfather Joseph F. Thone (1870 – 1955), another founding party and developer of the Rego Construction Company, who lived at 63-35 Bourton Street in Rego Park. Legler, who was raised at 61-30 Booth Street (now demolished), shared a detailed account of her childhood and early adulthood. She communicated with much passion and sentiment in the lobby of Marion Court at 62-98 Saunders Street (completed 1929), which her grandfather built 3 years before her birth. Legler was named after the building situated on Marion Avenue (now 63rd Avenue) and due to her grandfather’s interest in the name, according to her beliefs. 

Queens Blvd towards Remo Hall on Saunders St, Courtesy of Marion Legler & by Capitol Photo Service Commercial Photographers, 140 5th Ave

Rego Park homes, office, & stores to be erected circa mid-1920s, Courtesy of Bruce Powell

The firm developed 525 eight-room single-family “Rego Homes,” railroad style Colonial frame houses with porches between 63rd Drive and Elliot Avenue along Saunders, Booth, Wetherole, and Austin Streets, which sold for an approximate $7,500. Three apartment houses followed, which 70 families each called home. They were the Tudor-style Remo Hall at 61-40 Saunders Street (1927) and the Spanish Mission-style Jupiter Court at 62-64 Saunders Street (1927) and Marion Court. 

Marion Court, 1928 rendering, Courtesy of Queens Chamber of Commerce

Remo Hall circa late 1920s, Courtesy of Bruce Powell, Henry Schloh's grandson

Jupiter Court circa late 1920s by Times Square Photo Service, Courtesy of Bruce Powell, Henry Schloh's grandson

Designed by Benjamin Braunstein, they offer recessed facades and courtyards to maximize fresh air, light, and landscaping, which such developers considered an advantage over the urbanized city. Architecturally, Marion Court boasts terra-cotta reliefs of animals, leaded glass depictions of castles, and a roof garden where residents would once recreate and keep cool come summer. 

Terra-cotta reliefs of animals & florid vines, Photo by Michael Perlman

Other family members were active in civic matters. In 1928, her uncle named Joseph H. Thone of 62-87 Booth Street, became president of the newly founded Rego Park Tennis Club, and around 1929, became secretary of the new Men’s Club of Our Saviour Lutheran Church. 

Lutheran Church of Our Saviour circa 1936 photo from 10th Anniversary Book

 “Rego Park was a playground for children,” said Legler. “We used to sleigh ride down 63rd Avenue. We never had to worry about cars because there were very few.” On Queens Boulevard, her father William Thone owned a hardware store, which was one of a few shops concentrated on the south side, west of 63rd Drive. “On the other side, there were lots and swamps over where your big apartments are now,” she said. Small shops stood along 63rd Drive, as well as PS 139 (erected 1929), where she graduated from. She said, “We went from Kindergarten through 8th grade. They taught arithmetic, the sciences, English… grammar, and penmanship. In the upper grades, the boys took shop and the girls took home ed, which was learning how to cook, making beds; how to be a housewife and a mother.” Children went home for lunch. 

Victory gardening on 99th Street with Queens Boulevard Gardens complex in the background, June 1944

 
Victory gardening was prevalent during WWII and her school participated. “We grew carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, and celery.” Furthermore, she explained, “We would bring money and buy what was called stamps, which was like a savings account. You learned how to cook in the school, how to grow food outside, and how to save your money at the same time.”

She graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1950 and remained in Rego Park until her marriage in 1956 at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, which was followed by a reception at the popular Rego Park Community Club at 62nd Road and Wetherole Street. 

Legler reminisced Rego Park as a neighborly small town. “If you had a party, everybody was there. We would get home from school and drop our books, go outside and play. The parents all sat on the stoop at night, while we played Ringolevio and Running Bases until the street lights went on.” Other popular games were diamond ball and stick ball.

Legler explained the social scene. “On Queens Boulevard, there were several outdoor barbecue places that would play music, and we would be entertained for free.” Memorable spots included Lost Battalion Hall, Boulevard Tavern, Howard Johnson’s, White Castle, Fairyland amusement park, and the Elmwood, Trylon, and Drake movie theaters. As for a typical weekend, she said, “For 5 cents, you would go to the movies. You had to sit in the children’s section and a matron would walk back and forth with her flashlight to make sure you behaved.” Screenings included a cartoon, newswreels during WWII, and two feature films. “Occasionally, there was a contest between the films, such as a Duncan yo-yo contest,” she recalled.

The neighborhood children’s fixture was “Buddy, the Bungalow Bar man.” “We kind of chased Good Humor off the block,” she chuckled. Home deliveries were also the norm. She said, “Dugan’s and Krug’s were the bread people. In the beginning, they came on a horse and buggy. The ice man would also come and chop the ice, since you had an ice box.” Another necessity was a coal chute in the basement, since there was no gas heat. 

Marion Ave with Rego Homes development, May 29, 1925, Courtesy of Marion Legler

Legler’s mother was born in Norway, her father in America, and her grandfather in Germany. To this day, she reflects on her strong family values. She said, “Everybody had to be at the table. If you were late for dinner, you were in big trouble. Before we would leave the table, we would say, ‘takk for maten’ (thank you for the food).”

Sunday dinner was after church at 1 PM. The menu was mostly roast beef and sometimes turkey. She said, “The vegetables… you ate them. Most were creamed and were German or Norwegian style.” She continued, “Mom always made dessert. There was custard bread pudding, homemade pie, pineapple rice pudding from Norway, and Brown Betty.”

Employment was sometimes a challenge, such as when her father gave up his hardware store during the Great Depression. Legler worked a key punch machine for General Motors. She recalled, “In 1950, my salary was $33 a week, and that was before they took everything out.” Nevertheless, she explained, “We had food stamps, but they were good years. The families worked together.”

Today, Legler maintains an active lifestyle. “I am a computer programmer and I have 4 daughters and 11 grandchildren,” she said. She inherited her grandfather’s photo collection of “construction from day 1,” consisting of over 100 views including Queens Boulevard as a dirt road to its paving, early shops, homes, apartment houses, PS 139, and the ribbon cutting for the LIRR station on 63rd Drive.

Public School 139, Photo by Michael Perlman

Marion Court, Savoy Gardens, & Jupiter Court, Photo by Michael Perlman

  

Saunders Gardens on left & Jupiter Court on right, Photo by Michael Perlman

Remo Hall, Photo by Michael Perlman

Marion Court, Photo by Michael Perlman

As she toured Saunders Street and Booth Street, Legler felt preservation is essential. “Every effort should be made to maintain it. My grandfather knew how to build,” she said. Legler keeps in touch with her classmates. “I come back here and it’s my childhood. We played in these buildings, especially Marion Court, since it has an elevator, which was a big thing.”

Rego Park's 90th Anniversary & A Need For Restoration

Rego Park developers Henry Schloh & Charles Hausmann & co, circa mid 1920s, Courtesy of Bruce Powell

Rego Park homes, office, & stores to be erected circa mid 1920s, Courtesy of Bruce Powell

The building of Rego Park July 13, 1926, Courtesy of Bruce Powell

A Real Good Community Turns 90 & Looks Ahead
By Michael Perlman of the Forest Hills Times/Queens Ledger

Rego Park is a “REal GOod” community to live in, and residents and history aficionados now have more reasons to learn why.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of Rego Park. In 1923, the Rego Construction Company, Inc. also known as the Real Good Construction Company acquired land in Forest Hills West, and named Rego Park after their advertising slogan, “REal GOod Homes.”

Their goal was to develop and market the area. On October 14, 1923, the New York Times announced that Rego Construction Co. was chartered for $75,000. The firm consisted of President Henry L. Schloh and Secretary and Treasurer Charles I. Hausmann, both of whom emigrated from Germany.

Schloh and Hausmann came upon farmland which was settled in the 17th century by Dutch and English farmers, who were followed by German and then Chinese farmers, who sold their produce in Chinatown. The sole road was Remsen’s Lane (now 63rd Drive), which was named after the Remsen family farm.

On March 25, 1925, the New York Times published, “Work will be started at once on the houses to be erected on the lots off Queens Boulevard, while the property fronting this 200-foot highway will be developed with modern, high-class apartment houses as soon as the parking and paving are completed.”

With a Bank of Manhattan Company loan, Rego Construction Company began developing 525 eight-room one-family Colonial frame houses between 63rd Drive and Elliot Avenue, which sold for about $7,500. Prospective buyers would call NEWtown 6432.

Marion Court, 62-98 Saunders St developed by Rego Construction Co, Photo by Michael Perlman, March 2010

Remo Hall, 61-40 Saunders St, Photo by Michael Perlman

Jupiter Court, 62-64 Saunders St developed by Rego Construction Co, Photo by Michael Perlman

To complement the houses, the firm developed three apartment houses, which 70 families each called home. They were the Tudor-style Remo Hall at 61-40 Saunders Street (1927), followed by the Spanish Mission-style Jupiter Court at 62-64 Saunders Street (1927), and the Spanish Mission-style Marion Court at 62-98 Saunders Street (1929).

These significant buildings by Architect Benjamin Braunstein survive mostly intact. Architecturally, Marion Court boasts terra-cotta features depicting animals, leaded glass depictions of castles, and a roof garden where residents would recreate and keep cool come summer. For two to four rooms at Remo Hall and Jupiter Court, rentals cost $46 and up.

“When the Depression hit, my grandfather refused to go bankrupt, so a lot of the money invested in his developments came from family and friends,” said Bruce Powell, Schloh's grandson. “According to my mother, he didn’t buy a new suit for 10 years, since he tried to keep everything afloat.”

The children of Rego Park had their first public school, PS 139, in 1929. Then on March 9, 1930, Schloh told the Times, “With the completion of the Queens Boulevard subway now under construction, that section must continue to gain in valuation and in development.”

That came true, as other firms developed buildings along Saunders Street and Queens Boulevard, such as the Saunders Gardens complex featuring a private park, and the Oxford-Cambridge group. A model of urban planning south of the Long Island Railroad is the early 1930s Rego Park Crescents, named after alphabetical concentric semicircular roads. Tudor rowhouses were built by Rodman & English, and freestanding homes are also found.

The Tudor and Arts & Crafts charm at the Rego Park Crescents, Photo by Michael Perlman

 The 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows added to the need for residential development, such as the English-style Queens Blvd Gardens apartment complex, where four out of six acres offer lush gardens.

Commerce increased too, most notably with Art Deco limestone-appointed shops lining 63rd Drive, which once housed Woolworth and McCrory’s. Queens Boulevard shops included Bartons, Hamburger Train, Evelyn’s Bake Shop, Scott’s Seafood, and the longtime survivor Ben’s Best Delicatessen.

Howard Johnson's at 95-25 Queens Blvd with the Trylon & Perisphere monuments of the 1939 World's Fair in the background

“My favorite memory was when all the kids in the neighborhood would go to Howard Johnson’s (1940) for their birthday parties and get a free little white frosted cake,” said Jackie Kilberg of Rego Park, who fondly recalled the long-demolished Colonial mansion on Queens Boulevard, which was deemed the “Largest Roadside Restaurant In The World.”

Nearby, Boulevard Tavern hosted receptions, big bands, and singer Patti Page, while Fairyland offered amusements for children.

In 1939, the WPA funded the recreational center, Lost Battalion Hall, which honored the 77th Division of the U.S. Army for its WWI heroism. It included a firing range and drill hall for the Queens Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

After the 1939 World’s Fair, some major Mid-Century Modern planned developments followed with Walden Terrace (1949) and Park City (1955), as well as Alexander’s department store (1963).

Due to Rego Park’s architecture, urban planning, social spaces, and accessibility, even celebrities called it home. Some were composer Burt Bacharach, actor Eddie Bracken, comic actor Sid Caesar, actress June Havoc, dancer Gypsy Rose Lee, 1945 Miss America winner Bess Myerson, comedian Marty Ingels, and producer Fred Silverman.

Rego Park Jewish Center, 97-30 Queens Blvd, Photo by Michael Perlman

Rego Park Jewish Center's mosaic mural adorns its Art Deco facade with Old Testament scenes, Photo by Michael Perlman

Rego Park Jewish Center's prominence on Queens Blvd in the late 1940s

“We have been a beacon for more than seven decades as the largest spiritual, cultural, and recreational center, and a lifeline for the Jewish community and other denominations,” said longtime resident Ruth Loewenstein of Rego Park Jewish Center. “We congratulate Rego Park on its 90th anniversary.”

The Bauhaus-style synagogue earned State & National Register of Historic Places status in 2009.

Ruth Mueller is a congregant of Our Savior Lutheran Church (1931), a charming wooden church on 63rd Drive. Mueller was born in 1922, and witnessed Rego Park’s rural to urban transformation. She lived in a frame house at 97-51 63rd Road, which had to be elevated to make the land level.

Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 92-14 63rd Drive, Photo by Michael Perlman

A charming early 1930s view of Our Saviour Lutheran Church

97-51 63 Rd with elevation, Courtesy of Ruth Mueller who born in 1922 in Rego Park. Park City now stands on this site.

Courtesy of Ruth Mueller

Courtesy of Ruth Mueller

“My life has been a very full life, and I am thankful I can remember all the history,” Mueller said. “I would see movies at the (1939 World’s Fair-inspired) Trylon Theater and the Drake Theatre (1935), go on a date with my husband and have butter crunch and pistachio ice cream at Winther’s Confectionery on Woodhaven Boulevard, swing on Weeping Willow trees, and walk five minutes to the new subway.”

“We’re a long-standing member, and we want to not only be a part of Rego Park history, but more and more a part of its heart and soul, and show simple acts of love and kindness to our neighbors,” said Pastor Matthew Popovits, a six-month Rego Park resident. “We have the world at our fingertips, since the world is in Rego Park, with its ethnic diversity, constant activity, and accessibility.”

The "World of Tomorrow" (NYWF theme) was depicted at the Trylon Theater at 98-81 Queens Blvd, which gave joy to its patrons from 1939 - 1999. Today, it is unfortunate that only a smaller quantity of its 1939 World's Fair-inspired Art Deco design exists. In Rego Park, what will the "World of Tomorrow" bring?

 
Today, Rego Park’s commerce continues to boom with the 2010 development of Rego Center featuring Century 21, Costco, and Dallas BBQ. Despite growth, it is important to preserve Rego Park’s vast concentration of historic architecture which grants a distinctive identity.

Dadras Architects, a firm led by partners Robert Dadras and Victor Dadras, participated in a Rego Park walking tour in 2012. They are the founders of the Downtown Revitalization Group, a collaborative which specializes in historic preservation, urban design, and adaptive re-use. They discovered a unique and rare Art Deco presence along 63rd Drive.

“With façade restoration work, the business district could be brought back to life, so its historic architecture will be fully appreciated,” they stated.

After touring residential Saunders Street, they commented, “This is reminiscent to a European approach to urban living in a garden community, and an excellent prototype of a design for New York City’s future.”

Looking ahead, they stated, “the 90th anniversary is a wonderful milestone, and it is our belief the Rego Park community should take this opportunity to preserve and celebrate their history as a vital part of their revitalization effort.”

More information about Dadras Architects & the Downtown Revitalization Group: http://www.dadrasarchitects.com/downtown.html

Rego Park photos courtesy of Michael Perlman & Rego-Forest Preservation Council: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157617606028777/

Rego Park & Its Superstitious Old Farmers by Historian Ron Marzlock

Queens Chronicle - I Have Often Walked
12/3/09

Farming and building near Queens Boulevard and 63rd Avenue in Rego Park, July 1925

Rego Park was founded and built on the old 27-acre Thomson farm. The agricultural operation had been willed through the family to a daughter, one Mrs. Howard, who left it to her son John Howard. He sold the land to the Rego Construction Company in 1923.

The Rego Construction Company — Rego being short for “real good,” hence the mural below the trestle on 63rd Drive — was a group of German Americans who operated out of an office on Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood. The firm was headed by President Henry Ludwig Schloh, whose partners were Charles Hausmann, Franz Muller and Herman Timmerman.

During the big building boom on Booth, Wetherole and Austin streets, Rego Park was just a real estate term. The original deeds to the properties read Elmhurst.

As development progressed, the community and media became aware that farming was soon going to be extinct in the area. In July 1925, local newspapers tried to do a story on the Chinese farmers still working the land south of Queens Boulevard and west of 63rd Avenue. The superstitious farmers attacked the photographers and drove them away with farm implements, believing their souls would be taken by the camera when their image was put down on film. This photo, in which some of the farmers are barely visible behind the billboard, was one of the few shots the lensmen managed to get.

Today, a great many people in rapidly growing China have cameras. But even now there are some elderly Chinese who believe that photographers capture not just images, but souls.

Origin: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20393026&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=575602&rfi=6
Featured with permission