StuyPark House
77 New York Avenue
John Louis Wilson, Jr., 1975
While not a particularly distinguished architectural contribution to the neighborhood on first glance, Stuy Park House, a senior housing complex, holds an important cultural significance to Crown Heights North. Its architect, John Louis Wilson, Jr., was the first black architect to graduate from the Columbia University School of Architecture. Throughout his 50-year career, he served as a mentor to black architects, helping many to get their start in the field. In the mid-1950s, he founded the Council for Advancement of Negroes in Architecture, which eventually merged with the American Institute of Architects (AIA). In 1984, the AIA honored Wilson with the Whitney M. Young Jr. citation. His most famous work was the Harlem River Houses at 151st Street and the Harlem River Drive in Manhattan, the first federally financed housing project, completed in 1937.