Madison Court North
39-40 44th Street | Sunnyside | built 1927
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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.
- 1927
Madison Court North turns its rows inward to show few houses to the builders' rows outside
Madison Court North was built in 1927 at the edge of the Sunnyside Gardens property, where the planners wanted to show as few house fronts as possible to the uniform rows of outside builders and to give residents a sense of enclosure. Its houses stand at right angles to the street, in six rows of eight paired off around central gardens. The land falls from 44th Street toward 43rd, so residents climb brick steps from 44th Street to gardens raised behind a retaining wall. Built as part of a single Madison Court, it became a court of its own when the original easements ran out in the 1960s.
“Built at the edge of the property in 1927, with the "purpose to front as few houses as possible toward the outside builders' monotonous rows…”
- 2007
No. 39-40 still has its unpainted copper bay in 2007
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When the Landmarks Preservation Commission described No. 39-40 in its 2007 designation report, the house still had its historic copper bay, left unpainted, though a plywood hood had been put over the door and a bracketed air conditioner sat in a second-floor window. Its front windows were aluminum one-over-one. At the rear, paired sliding doors filled a widened opening onto a wood or composite deck behind a tall wood fence.
“…unpainted, historic copper bay; non-historic plywood door hood; bracketed thru-window ac unit in 2nd floor window…”
Nearby
- Madison Court North39-38 44th Street | 3 entries
- 39-36 44th Street2 entries
- 39-10 44th Street2 entries
- 39-34 44th Street2 entries
- Madison Court North39-42 44th Street | 1 entry
- 39-12 44th Street2 entries