Two architectural highlights of the village

Hi, all, and welcome back to the past. A big thanks to some of our very hard-working volunteer trustees! They have spent a significant amount of time doing comprehensive research on different events, people and properties from the past that have helped to shape our village. These stories are posted on our website and social media platforms.

As we dive into the history of the village, we will examine some of these items in more detail, part of the “Then and Now” series. Unfortunately, due to space constraints here, we can’t display the accompanying photos for the stories. Please visit our website, rvchs.org, to see the photos for these and more stories from the village’s past.

Here I wanted to focus on two important properties, the Tudor Apartments and the commercial building at 50 N. Park Ave.

The Tudor Apartments were built on the site of the Rockville Centre Institute, a college prep school that was founded in the 1870s. After extensive construction, the apartments were completed in 1929. Originally known as “the Wedge” because of the building’s triangle architecture, it claimed to be the most luxurious apartment house on Long Island when it was built, touting “electric refrigeration, elevators and instantaneous hot water.”

Many notable residents were purported to live there, such as airplane pilot Capt. Frank Hawks. Hawks flew a glider from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and beat Charles Lindbergh’s speed record for a coast-to-coast flight. Interestingly, that flight took off from the Valley Stream airport. (Who knew there was an airport in Valley Stream?) During World War II, the Rockville Centre Civil Defense Unit was housed in the basement of the Tudor, and used its roof to search for enemy planes and submarines.

50 N. Park Ave. — the office building on the corner of Sunrise Highway and North Park — was sold recently by the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Following the sale, construction began to renovate the building into modern office space. But before it was owned and sold by the church, it led an interesting life as the First National Bank of Rockville Centre.

The bank was originally established in 1907 on Village Avenue, between Observer Street (later Sunrise Highway) and the railroad. It launched as a competitor to the Bank of Rockville Centre (founded in 1890), at the corner of Village Avenue and Merrick Road. First National enjoyed much success, and by the late 1920s began construction on its new headquarters at Park and Sunrise. The new building opened in June 1929, just four months before the stock market crashed.

The 68-foot-tall “skyscraper” was built using the newest methods of fireproof construction — a steel frame and limestone façade — and had a detailed interior of marble, iron gates, automatic elevators, 25-foot-high ornamental ceilings and travertine floors. Unfortunately, timing wasn’t great for this expensive investment, and it became a drain on the bank’s finances at the outset of the Great Depression. The bank experienced significant challenges finding tenants to lease the upper floors.

As the economy crashed, the bank could no longer finance the expenses on the building. In the early 1930s, First National became one of the nation’s first banks to succumb to the Depression and close its doors. All of its assets were liquidated, and its deposits were assumed by the Bank of Rockville Centre, later Chase. Thankfully, the new developer seems to have preserved the exterior of the building while ushering in a new era of commercial use for this “skyscraper.”

There are so many more interesting stories on our website and social media. As we continue to work to build awareness of the Historical Society of Rockville Centre and the Phillips House Museum, we want to tell you about two of our upcoming events. On Saturday, May 18, from 5 to 7 p.m., we will host a fundraising cocktail party at the Phillips House, at 28 Hempstead Ave. Please join us for a Night at the Museum. The following day, from noon to 4 p.m., we will host our annual Appraisal Day at the museum.

Visit our website, or Instagram, @rvchistoricalsociety, for more details about these events, and please join us at them. Until next time . . .

Jim Belling is a member of the board of trustees of the Phillips House Museum and the Rockville Centre Historical Society.