Friday, August 21, 2009

Astoria's Matthews Model Flats & more

From the Newtown Pentacle:

This is an interesting neighborhood, and it is where our Newtown Pentacle is headquartered. 44th street between 30th and 31st avenues is bookended by 1928 vintage Matthews Model flats- “model new law tenements” which fill nearly half of the block in an unbroken line of Kreischer yellow brick. There are 6 units in each building, with the 4 story bookends on each corner. It is a working class section of the ancient village, and it always has been. The surrounding blocks were farms as late as the early 20th century, and despite a long period of abuse and neglect beginning in the late 1950’s the current property owners are performing careful maintenance on these historic structures.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

My family lives on that block and bought the building back in the 20s.

Thanks!

Built by an immigrant for immigrants. Never a foreclosure. Always profitable to own. Built like iron.

A formula lost.

Anonymous said...

Why is a mention of profit obligatory in commenting on housing? This mentality is behind the mortgage crisis - exchange value trumps use value.

Queens Crapper said...

Because when you own a 6-family house, you hope to make a profit.

Anonymous said...

Cute, historic but generally ugly ass buildings compared to others...a Welsh mining town in Queens.

But built to last indeed...so it's a great value to those that live in them...not like those multi family cardboard boxes they build today.

Unknown said...

i live in one of the "matthew flats" buildings. windows in every room which was unusual for a railroad apt. during the early1920's. they are all still standing!!!