Silvercup Studios

42-25 21st Street | also 21-02 Queens Plaza South | Long Island City | built 1931

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1930

    Gordon Baking Company finishes its Silvercup bread factory

    The Detroit firm planned the plant at 42-25 21st Street to bake its Silvercup brand, awarding a $1 million construction contract in 1929 and finishing the building the next year. At its height it reportedly made about a third of the bread eaten in the New York area and supplied the city's schools. Its rooftop neon sign, dating from around 1961-62, could be seen from Manhattan.

    “After the award of a $1 million contract for its construction in 1929, the building was completed the following year.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1975

    The Silvercup bakery shuts after a dispute with the Teamsters

    Long Island City was a center of commercial baking for much of the 20th century, and the Silvercup plant had supplied New York City's schools. The factory closed in 1975 following an industrial dispute with the Teamsters union.

    “It closed in 1975 as a result of an industrial dispute with the Teamsters union.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1983

    Brothers Alan and Stuart Suna open Silvercup Studios in the old bakery

    Brothers Alan and Stuart Suna founded the studio complex in 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery building. The studio first hosted mostly music videos and commercials, with occasional film work such as Garbo Talks. Highlander staged its 1986 finale here, including an action sequence on the rooftop sign. Later the space shifted to television, serving as the main stage for Sex and the City, The Sopranos and Hope & Faith. Gaffer Norman Leigh of Midnight Cowboy ran the studio in its early years.

    “The studio complex has been operating since 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery building. It was founded by brothers Alan and Stuart Suna.”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 61 buildings with stories in Long Island City