1821 Putnam Avenue

also 5721 Putnam Avenue | Ridgewood | built 1913

Open on the map3 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1913

   1821 Putnam Avenue is built as Mathews cold-water flats heated by coal and kerosene

   1821 Putnam Avenue, built by G. X. Mathews, follows his Model Flats type, which the company first planned and built. The type used 27.5-foot lots with two five-room apartments per floor, each with its own toilet, sink and tub and windows on central light shafts. These were cold-water flats with no hot water or central heat: each kitchen had a coal stove for warmth, and a kerosene heater served the living room.

   “…a coal stove in the kitchen and a kerosene heater in the living room were used to heat each apartment…”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

2. 1958

   Gustave X. Mathews, builder of 1821 Putnam Avenue, dies at 88

   Gustave Xavier Mathews, the developer behind this house, was born in Rodalben in Germany's Palatinate in 1871 and came to the United States with his family in 1886. He learned building from his father-in-law, Bushwick-Ridgewood builder Louis Kuntz, and in 1904 incorporated a building company with two of his brothers. He died in 1958 at 88, after more than fifty years of building in Queens.

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

3. 2010

   1821 Putnam Avenue keeps its paired doors, areaway railing and swagged cornice

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   1821 Putnam Avenue has a five-bay base with four bays above, recessed pale yellow brick panels at the first floor, and a cornice with swags and cartouches. The 2010 survey found historic paired wood-and-glass doors and an areaway railing with newel posts still in place. Later work replaced the windows with aluminum, added a brick and cast-stone stoop, put vinyl windows in the basement and painted parts of the base green or white.

   “…historic, paired wood-and-glass doors with painted finish ... historic areaway railing and newel posts with some details removed…”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

• 1823 Putnam Avenue2 entries
• 1819 Putnam Avenue3 entries
• 1825 Putnam Avenue2 entries
• 1827 Putnam Avenue2 entries
• 1829 Putnam Avenue2 entries
• 1822 Madison Street2 entries

All 1,266 buildings with stories in Ridgewood