St. Michael parish in Flushing predates the founding of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The parish's official founding was in 1848 (making it the third oldest in Queens County), but parish lore says that services began here in 1833. The church itself was constructed in 1962, designed by architect John O'Malley.
New Entries
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Parish Center and Institute for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Astoria, Queens.
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Convent in Astoria, Queens was originally constructed circa 1891. The convent was enlarged and refaced in a stripped down Moderne style in 1955 under designs by Diocesan architect William Boegel.
Person
James Rodwell was a builder who was very active in Williamsburgh and Bushwick from 1834 through the 1880s. In addition to his work as a builder, Rodwell was also a real estate speculator and served as Fire Commissioner for the City of Brooklyn and was a director for various banks and fire insurance companies in Williamsburgh.
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The two buildings at 316 and 318 South 5th Street (which were later renumbered to 318 and 320) were nearly identical to the rest of the buildings on the south side of North 5th between Marcy Avenue and Rodney Street. The only detail distinguishing these two buildings from the rest of the row is the treatment of the basement (brick with brownstones trim instead of rusticated brownstone).
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Real Estate Record lists this as two buildings on Grand Street, "ss, 80 w Bushwick av". The description would point to 806 and 808 Grand Street, however these are part of a larger row of Italianate buildings and 806 is only 25' wide.
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Block of 8 dwellings and stores, on the south side of Grand Street starting one building west of Leonard Street.
Article
I came across this photo posted in a local history group - the only information provided was the caption, "Leonard Street 1916". Based on the photo and caption, there was not a lot to go on. A stern gentleman - let's call him Nathan - standing in front of a rowhouse. Judging by the ironwork and windows, the buildings to the right appear to be 1850s transitional Italianate/Greek Revival. Nathan's building - based just on the ironwork (nothing else is visible) - is not part of the same development and is probably early 1840s. So where is this photo?
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Pair of transitional Greek Revival/Italianate stores and residences, probably circa 1850.
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Constructed in the early 1830s as a single-family residence. The original building was probably two-and-a-half stories and enlarged to three stories by the 1840s. As early as 1870, the building had been converted to multi-family use, with a Chinese laundry located in the basement. Other uses in the 19th century included an oyster bar.
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A rare (and perhaps early?) non-ecclesiastical building designed by Thomas Houghton.
Source: “Buildings Projected,” Real Estate Record & Builders’ Guide, (August 18, 1882): 783.
Place
Also called the "Gothic Church", the Second M. E. Church of Williamsburgh was organized on 4 September 1845 with ten members. The cornerstone for the church was laid on 4 December 1845 and the church was dedicated on 26 November 1846. The original trustees included Daniel Maujer, Lemuel Richardson, John F. Luther, Robert G.