Metropolitan Ave & Unionport Rd

As the main thoroughfares of the Complex, Unionport Road and Metropolitan Avenue were conceived as mixed-use corridors. The largest shopping center is located at the southwest corner of Metropolitan Avenue, and includes a Macy's Department Store, the first branch after its 34th Street flagship store in Manhattan, a USPS office, and the former Loew's American Theater, designed by prominent architect John Eberson in 1940. The rest of this commercial area was planned to have roughly 200 stores i Moderne-style buildings with glazed terra cotta panels, curving facades, and stylized signage. Until 1985, this was also the location of the Parkchester branch of the New York Public Library. Through a partnership established in 1942, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company gave the library, rent-free, a fully furnished 4,600 square-foot space at 1384 Metropolitan Avenue, becoming the first sub-branch in the city to be located in a housing development. By 1950, circulation outranked many of the city's full branches, and several requests were made to extend the initial 32-hour weekly operation.