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WALHEIM HISTORIC DISTRICT
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WALDHEIM NEIGHBORHOOD PROPOSED HISTORIC LANDMARK DISTRICT
A Brief History of Waldheim, Flushing
Introduction
The Waldheim Neighborhood, an estate subdivision in Flushing constructed primarily between 1875 and 1925, is a small district of high quality "in-town" suburban architecture that preservationists have tried to save for at least twenty-five years. Waldheim, known for its large, interesting structures laid out in an unusual street pattern, was the home of some of Flushing's wealthiest residents until the 1960's. To the disappointment and dismay of preservationists, local residents and Community Board 7, Waldheim has been continuously compromised since the late 1980's, like much of the Flushing area, due to lack of landmark protection and incompatible zoning. Although about 85 percent of the architecture in Waldheim is intact, it will continue to be compromised unless action is taken to preserve the remainder of the district. Franklin Avenue, the street to the north of Waldheim, must be examined for both its history and architecture and as an extension and buffer for Waldheim from the high-density (R4-R7) residential zones to the north of Sanford Avenue and to the west of Bowne Street.
Sanford Hall and the MacDonald Family
The significant history of the Waldheim tract began in 1822, when Nathan Sanford, then Chancellor of the State of New York, bought up several farms, with west frontage on Jamaica Avenue (Kissena Boulevard), north frontage along the midblock boundary of Franklin and Ash avenues, east frontage on Parsons Boulevard, and south frontage on what is today Delaware Avenue. In 1836, Sanford built what came to be known as Sanford Hall, an imposing mansion that had most of its interiors surfaced with imported marble. Sanford died in 1839, when the property was acquired by Drs. John and James MacDonald, who established an insane asylum for the very wealthy. James MacDonald was the father of Eliza MacDonald, who was a critical player of the fight for women's rights in the Suffrage movement, from before the turn of the century until her death in February of 1937 at the age of 90. At one time, the MacDonald family owned an enormous area of Flushing, stretching from the Flushing River on the west to Parsons Boulevard on the east, and from Sanford Avenue on the north to what is today Kissena Corridor Park on the south.
Mid-19th Century Speculation
The Waldheim portion of the property was known in the 1850's as the "Backwoods" area, known and loved by Flushing residents who used it as an unofficial nature preserve. It was a heavily forested tract of about ten acres, in an area of Flushing mostly made up of farms and estates. In fact, those ten acres had been sold by the MacDonald family at about that time to a Franklin R. Wallace, and the "Backwoods" land was actually his estate. Wallace then sold this property to George S. Appleton and W. B. Richardson, real- estate developers who built luxury estates throughout the north shore of Queens. Appleton wanted to take advantage of the site, which was well-drained; he was also interested in incorporating many of the larger trees into the subdivision, hence the name Waldheim, which means "A Home in the Woods" in German. The current boundaries of the original estate subdivision correspond with Bowne Street on the west; mid-block north of Ash Avenue on the north; Parsons Boulevard east up to Cherry Avenue, then the mid-block between Cherry and Delaware avenues; and Delaware Avenue and mid-block between Cherry and 45th avenues to the south. There are three mid-block "places"; Syringa Place runs northwest to southeast, Magnolia Place runs northeast to south west, and Phlox Place runs north to south for one block each. Also, Smart and Burling Streets cut into the southern portion of the tract, ending at Cherry Avenue.
Wallace-Appleton Development
The Waldheim tract was (and is) an easy commute, being only a ten-minute walk to the Long Island Railroad stop (constructed in 1840) in downtown Flushing, and then a twenty minute ride by train to Manhattan. Appleton and Richardson, through the auspices of their Wallace-Appleton Corporation, designed the streets to be winding and picturesque, with curved corners, yet formal enough to encourage excellent sight lines along Ash, Beech and Cherry avenues. Enormous curb trees, remnants of the forest tract, line the streets and, combined with the significant structures, create a scale that is pleasing to the eye; this visual effect was designed by Appleton's landscape architect. Visually, the substantial structures look like cottages because the street trees are so large; some of the trees are well over 150 years old. The structures are all set back from the street to allow for significant gardens in both the front and the rear. The housing in Waldheim was originally for the substantially wealthy, and all structures were custom-built for the contractees who bought the property. In doing so, the quality of the housing remained extremely high; only a few architects, under direct supervision of Appleton, designed most of the houses. In fact, Appleton and Richardson designed many of the houses, and lived in Waldheim as well.
When Appleton began marketing Waldheim, there was only one structure extant: an early Victorian country house at the southwest corner of Beech Avenue and Parsons Boulevard. The structure was incorporated into the housing estate, and was therefore subject to the same restrictions that were placed in the deed to protect the value of the entire development. The first structures built in the project were on the north and south sides of Ash Avenue, from Bowne Street to Parsons Boulevard. Most of these structures remain, except for one mid-block site on the north side of Ash Avenue, and the northwest and southwest corners where Ash Avenue meets Parsons Boulevard. Ash Avenue is perhaps the most aristocratic streetscape to be designed within Waldheim, with formal settings and very imposing structures. Many of these houses are designed in unique interpretations of Colonial Revival, Gothic, Greek-Revival, Romanesque and other styles popular in the last quarter of the 19th century. There are a number of large brick houses, and a number of Arts and Crafts-style 'cottages,' with bumpety-stone porches, chimneys and trim. The styles of the structures range from Queen Anne to Classical Revival, with everything in-between being represented. All the structures along Ash Avenue were present in the Beers Atlas of Queens (1909), with the exception of three. Beech Avenue and the eastern portion of Cherry Avenue were also built during the Appleton-Richardson years, with similar housing built, stylistically speaking.
The Panic and J. W. Doolittle
After the boom of 1906, when many lots were sold and structures built, there was a serious depression in the housing market in Flushing, and Appleton and Richardson's company, known as the Wallace-Appleton Company, fell upon hard times. In February of 1916, the Dime Savings Bank won a foreclosure suit against the Wallace-Appleton Company for the remaining 79 and 1/2 undeveloped lots and unsold houses. Dime paid $15,000 for property that was estimated to be worth over $100,000 at that time. In 1916, at the time of the suit, only 25 structures had been built, each for between $8,000 and $10,000 (a significant amount for the late 19th and early 20th centuries).
The Waldheim holdings were then purchased by J. W. Doolittle, who had recently developed the Douglaston Park area of Douglaston.. He continued the custom-built guarantee that Appleton had promised. In a 1917 sales brochure, prices for existing homes ranged from $7,500 to $40,000; land in the housing estate started at $1875 for 50' frontage (two lots), and houses could be constructed for $5,000 and up. However, war clouds would dampen the demand for J. W. Doolittle's investment.
Development Pressures in the Gilded Age
From 1917 to 1921, during the war years of WWI, there were major restrictions on building throughout the United States. However, after the war ended, there was a tremendous demand for all kinds of housing. In Waldheim, house building began again, with several houses built in a more typical Colonial style, though no less fashionable or sumptuous. Within a few years, the first danger to the solidity of Waldheim came into being: five apartment houses were built between 1926 and 1930. The first structure, a four-story apartment building constructed at the corner of Cherry Avenue and Smart Street, created such an uproar among homeowners that they signed a "preservation action" to prevent any more multi-family development, and guarantee that their community would remain an exclusive enclave of private homes in Flushing. However, soon after this, another building went up. A full blockfront between Beech and Cherry Avenues, dotted with 28 mature Maple trees and used as a private park by residents in Waldheim, was developed in 1928 as a six-story, 66-unit apartment building. The developer took full advantage of the semi-circular lot, and the eclectic Tudor-style apartment house remains in excellent condition to date. Three other apartment buildings were constructed, one on the corner Beech Avenue and Bowne Street, one mid-block between Cherry Avenue and Bowne Street, and the final building on the corner of Cherry Avenue and Bowne Street. The last building, a Spanish-style stucco structure, was actually never completed as planned, due to money problems at the beginning of the Depression. No more apartments were built; however, a lot on the north side of Cherry Avenue, east of Bowne Street was earmarked for a four-story, sixteen unit building as early as 1925. In 1952, the house on the southwest corner of Cherry Avenue and Burling Street, originally designed, built and occupied by Appleton himself, was threatened with demolition. It was moved 150' down the street to the empty lot on Cherry Avenue, and a ranch-style house with a professional office replaced it. This was the last major development within Waldheim until the 1980's. While areas to the north, west and south were becoming increasingly urbanized after World War II, Waldheim remained a stable community.
Waldheim's Rich and Famous
Central Flushing was, until after World War II, populated by descendants of original settlers, industrial barons, and others in the wealthy class. Most residents who bought houses in Waldheim were influential members of society, both locally and nationally. Some of the famous who lived there included the founder of Buster Brown shoes; the Hellman family, of condiment fame; the Wooden family, whose father was the Under- Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin Roosevelt; members of the Steinway family, who ran their successful piano factory in Astoria; members of the Fox family, descendants of George Fox, the Quaker preacher; John Nash, who designed windows for Tiffany; other wealthy businessmen; and doctors connected with Flushing Hospital. Indeed, this area was known as the "Doctor's Row" of Flushing.
Post-War Problems
Waldheim continued to be an attractive middle- to upper-middle class neighborhood until the 1980's, when there began to be a series of damaging incursions. Waldheim, like much of central Flushing, was zoned R3-2 in the 1961 Zoning Resolution, which allows for semi-attached or attached one-, two- and three-family structures not in scale or setback with Waldheim's housing stock. At the same time, an explosion in the Asian population in Flushing created a need for more houses of worship in the Flushing area. Consequently, one house in Waldheim were demolished and one house significantly altered for new houses of worship. The first, south of Ash Avenue on the west side of Parsons Boulevard, is the Nichiren Shoshu Temple, Daihozan Myosetsu-Ji,a Japanese Buddhist temple that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Guide to New York City describes as "Serenity without dullness: a testament to the expressive possibilities of thoughtful architecture, even when rendered in ribbed concrete block." It is a low, graceful building, and certainly an interesting replacement structure. The second, Won Buddhist Temple, Song Eun Building, is not anywhere near as pleasing to the eye, with the AIA Guide stating it to be "black and white in concept as well as coloration." However, both buildings are 'works of art' compared to the other incursions.
There have been five other demolitions in Waldheim, four of which have been followed by new multi-family housing (one house, demolished in December of 1997, is slated to become a parking lot). The first three are semi-attached one- and two-family homes which, although unattractive, were only on the edges of the district. The real problems are right in the heart of Waldheim. Where once there were to handsome residences on Beech Avenue, on the northeast corners of Syringa Place and Magnolia Place is what can charitably be described as housing for the masses. An unscrupulous and insensitive developer took advantage of the irregular, rounded lots and R3-2 zoning and created two sets of the ugliest, out-of-context multi-family housing Flushing has ever seen. One set of houses replaces a magnificent garden, the other set replaces the Nash house, regrettably the most impressive house lost in Waldheim. The properties, both about seven years old, look worn and messy, with unkempt properties and crumbling facades.
Waldheim's Future is the Protection of its Past
Waldheim's housing stock has become unstable due to the recent events which have taken place. These developments have caused some panic selling in the neighborhood, and now several of the houses are being rented by the room as SRO's (single room occupancy hotels) by absentee landlords. Now, remaining properties are beginning to suffer grievously: front gardens are being paved or concreted over for more parking; illegal curb cuts are taking away form the unified streetscape, and the original sidewalks and curb gardens are being filled in with concrete. On the positive side, out of 17 homes built before 1910, only 3 have been demolished. If one includes the apartment buildings, which did not displace any residential structures, 90% of Waldheim remains intact. Landmark designation would protect the remaining structures from further degradation, and much of the damage done to the neighborhood could eventually be reversed. As in other neighborhoods in New York City, landmarking would create the envelope for stabilization which could potentially have a positive effect on a much wider area of Flushing.
Franklin Avenue Addendum
Franklin Avenue predates Waldheim considerably, with some of the oldest structures left in Flushing. One of those structures is purported to be the Bowne family's coachman's residence, having been built around 1680. It is slightly askew to the street, and shows great age. The others were built between 1840 and 1915 - some are in beautiful condition, others are more worn. All in all, what is left of the block is in fairly good shape. It is worth designating these and a few other structures adjacent to Waldheim in order to create a context in which the estate subdivision was developed, as opposed to, ultimately, consign the whole area to a the fate of what Elliot Willensky would have called a "sea of red-brick forever."
Go back to PLANS FOR A BETTER FLUSHING
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