21-49 45th Avenue

Long Island City | built 1879

Open on the map2 entries

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

1. 1870

   December 22

   Spencer Root and John Rust buy the land that becomes White Collar Row

   Spencer B. Root, from Greenfield, Massachusetts, and Brooklyn's John P. Rust purchased this stretch of old Twelfth Street (now 45th Avenue) from Union College on December 22, 1870, and began building rows of houses on it. The block became the neighborhood's showplace, nicknamed "White Collar Row," and its first residents came from old American families. The two developers reportedly went bankrupt before they could meet their obligations.

   “Spencer B. Root of Greenfield, Massachusetts and John P. Rust of Brooklyn, New York who bought the land from Union College on December 22, 1870.”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

2. 1968

   Landmarks survey finds this narrow Root & Rust rowhouse still has its stoop and iron handrails

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   No. 21-49 belongs to a group of six brick houses, Nos. 21-41 to 21-51, that the developers Root & Rust built in the 1870s in a much plainer version of the Italianate style. Three stories over a basement, they sit on 16-foot lots, narrower than their neighbors, which makes their windows look taller; lintels and sills are unornamented. When the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Hunters Point Historic District in 1968, this house still had its stoop and cast-iron handrails, and its roof cornice was intact.

   “This group of six brick houses, also built by Root & Rust in the 1870's, is a much simpler version of the Italianate style.”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

• 21-51 45th Avenue1 entry
• 21-47 45th Avenue1 entry
• 21-53 45th Avenue1 entry
• 21-45 45th Avenue2 entries
• 21-43 45th Avenue2 entries
• 21-41 45th Avenue2 entries

All 61 buildings with stories in Long Island City