The building above located at 89-01 Queens Boulevard, in Elmhurst, Queens was built between 1966 and 1968 for the Jamaica Savings Bank was designed by William F. Cann of the William F. Cann Company / Bank & Equipment Corp. of America).
It was constructed with the ethos of modernism, a cultural and artistic movement that spanned roughly from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century that arose as a direct response to rapid industrialization, urbanization, technological advances, secularization, and the trauma of World War I.
One of the core characteristics of modernism is, “The Machine Aesthetic”: in design and architecture, the belief that "form follows function," leading to clean lines, steel, glass, and concrete without superficial clutter.
And the Jamaica Savings Bank or the Bank of the America building, which some folks call it today, is the perfect example of a building matching the machine aesthetic.
The building features a striking, jet-age hyperbolic paraboloid (saddle-shaped) thin-shell reinforced concrete roof with a copper-clad span resting on two concrete piers, creating a dramatic, column-free interior.
The structure was ultimately designated an individual NYC landmark in June 2005, though the designation was subsequently overturned by the NYC City Council later that year.
It is ONLY one of 5 buildings in New York City to get its landmark status revoked.
Local officials had been convinced by the building’s owner, New Ba Property LLC, which still owns the property today, that it would face significant hardship by landmarking.
The owners, who had hired legal counsel on the issue and formally testified against landmarking, cited the building’s supposed tendency to flood, danger to pedestrians during rain, and the general difficulty of maintenance.
Words & photo by: Adolfo Steve Vazquez