68th Avenue-64th Place Historic District
Why it's listed
This district in Ridgewood, Queens, is a group of 46 buildings along 68th Avenue and 64th Place, covering about 3.5 acres across parts of four city blocks. Nearly all are two-story brick row houses with one apartment per floor, built between 1909 and 1913. Developer Charles Groesch hired one architect, Louis Berger, to design every row, which produced consistent setbacks, scale and materials. Alternating shades of yellow, amber, brown and burnt orange brick break up the length of each row. Other features include brownstone stoops, elaborate ironwork, pressed metal cornices and cast-stone bands, sills, lintels and keystones, with Romanesque, Neo Grec and Renaissance Revival ornament. Small front gardens sit behind the setbacks, while corner buildings reach the lot line to anchor each row. The district was listed because it survives as a cohesive example of working-class housing from early twentieth-century Ridgewood. All metal cornices remain, as do most original doors, stoops and ironwork, and no non-contributing buildings lie within its boundaries.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is an intact, cohesive neighborhood of distinctive working-class row houses from early twentieth-century Ridgewood. A single developer and a single architect gave it uniform setbacks, scale and materials. It retains almost complete integrity of plan, scale and design, including all of its pressed metal cornices.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83001763, listed September 30, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly 64th Pl. from Catalpa Ave. to 68th Ave. from 64th St. to 65th St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Queens |
| Listed | September 30, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001763 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1909-1913 |
| Architect / builder | Louis Berger (architect); Charles Groesch (developer) |
| Architectural style | Romanesque and Renaissance Revival ornament, with Neo Grec detail on some rows |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Buildings remain largely intact; all pressed metal cornices survive, along with most original double doors, ironwork and stoops. Awnings have been added and corner storefronts on 68th Avenue rebuilt. |
| Acreage | 3.5 |
| Coordinates | 40.70577, -73.89396 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83001763.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4642348
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.