Apartment Buildings at Saunders Street

After the success of Remo Hall, Jupiter & Marion Court, apartment buildings became the preferred typology for the development of the northern section of Rego Park. By the late-1930s, the south side of Queens Boulevard and Saunders Street were lined with six-story brick structures, which featured a variety of classical and more contemporary features.

The Savoy, also known as Savoy Gardens (1936, 62-82 Saunders St), is an interesting example of Tudor Revival, with a recessed façade that features towers inspired by castles and pitched roofs. The main entrance has a three-point-arch and decorative stone, highlighted by a carved coat-of-arms-inspired ornament.

The Sterling (1939, 61-41 Saunders St) and The Oxford/Cambridge (1939, 63-07 Saunders St & 95-08 Queens Blvd) were also designed by Benjamin Braunstein, and although they feature less ornamentation than their neighboring predecessors, they maintain the characteristic recessed facade with a courtyard. The main entrance of both buildings is highlighted by Corinthian columns/pilasters and an arched pediment. They also included corner windows, bay windows on the second floor, arched brick accents and stone bands.

Parker House (63-84 Saunders St) and The California (64-20 Saunders St) were built in the 1950s, maintaining the overall characteristics of earlier structures, but include mid-century modern elements to the design of the main entrance. This would become a distinctive feature of the apartment buildings of this area, which appear to be uniform as a group, but have very unique entryways.

Less