93-40 & 93-54 Queens Blvd
1941, Jacob M. Felson

In 1895, Sam Minskoff emigrated to the US from Ukraine, starting a construction business in 1908. In 1940, Minskoff set his sights on Rego Park, hiring prominent architect Jacob Felson to develop two apartment buildings on Queens Boulevard.

The six-story brick structures have Classical style features, including carved ornaments, balusters on the cornice, and triangular pediments. The three-center arched doorways at the main entrances are flanked by two columns. Unfortunately, recent renovations to the façades have removed many of the original ornamentation.

Born in Russia, Felson immigrated to the US with his parents in 1888. He studied at Cooper Union and began to practice architecture in 1910, becoming president of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. in 1938. Felson specialized in designing apartment buildings, but also created movie theaters and private homes. Examples of is work can be found in the Upper West Side/Central Park West, Upper East Side, Riverside-West End, and Grand Concourse Historic Districts.