1851 Madison Street

also 769 Onderdonk Avenue | Ridgewood | built 1930

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

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

1913
Little-known architect R. George Smart files plans for 1851 Madison Street
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Unlike most Mathews tenements in the district, the corner building at 1851 Madison Street (also 761-769 Onderdonk Avenue) was filed in 1913 by R. George Smart of Ridgewood, the architect of record for all 14 Mathews buildings on this side of Madison Street. The Landmarks Preservation Commission found little about Smart and could not say why Mathews switched architects; the exterior details match those of the company's other buildings in the district.
“R. George Smart of Ridgewood as the filing architect for the 14 buildings constructed by Mathews on the northwest side of Madison Street.”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1915
The city's Tenement House Department holds up Mathews Model Flats as a housing standard
In 1915 the New York City Tenement House Department chose the Mathews Model Flats, the type built here at 1851 Madison Street, as its example of the most modern way to house working families cheaply. Other builders went on to copy the design.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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