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Waldheim is an historic neighborhood located in Flushing, in the New York City borough of Queens. Dating back as early as 1875, it is the first estate subdivision in that borough, and one of the oldest in New York City. The neighborhood is known for its eclectic mix of Victorian-era and early 20th Century homes .

History

The 15 acres of land that make up Waldheim were originally part of New York State politician Nathan Sanford's estate. The land was eventually purchased by architects George Appleton and W.B. Richardson, builders of luxury homes on the North shore of Queens, Long Island. Until that time, the land was heavily forested and used by Flushing residents as a sort of unofficial nature preserve. Appleton and Richardson began construction of Waldheim, which is German for "houses in the woods," in 1875.

The average cost of a home in the Waldheim neighborhood at the turn of the centry was about $15,000. The homes were custom-built, and reflected varied achitechtural styles, including Arts and Crafts, Colonial Revival (NYT 1/8/06), as well as elegant Tudor, Gothic and Victorian mansions . Stained glass windows, ornate columns and pillars, as well as pudding-stone facades and porches, are just some of the features that can still be commonly found on the homes built under the supervision of Appleton and Richardson thoughout the neighborhood.

Waldheim's architects, both of whom also lived in the neighborhood, developed the area in an unusual but aesthetically pleasing street layout of somewhat meandering and sometimes diagonal streets, with rounded corners, that evoke a bucolic image.

By 1917, after a depression in the housing market, less than 80 lots remained undeveloped in Waldheim. The Dime Savings Bank had won a foreclosure suit against the Wallace-Appleton Corporation, and J.W. Doolittle, who had recently developed the nearby Douglaston Park area, purchased the remaining lots at a significant discount. According to a sales brouchure from that time, existing homes in Waldheim homes were selling from $8,000 to $40,000, though things would soon slow down again because of building restrictions in place during World War I.

The area became home to many wealthy and rather famous residents, including members of the Steinway family, the founder Buster Brown shoes, the founder of Hellmann's Mayonaise (NYTIMES 2006), A. Douglas Nash who was a Designer for Tiffany's Gassworks as well as many prominent Doctors (the bryan times). In fact, Waldheim was sometimes referred to as Doctors' Row, and is still home to many Doctors from Flushing Hospital, located on the South end of the neighborhood.

File:PhloxArmsBeechAve.jpg

View of North side of Phlox Arms building

The first threat to Waldheim's homogeneous identity as an enclave of exclusively single-family homes came in 1926 in the form of two four-story tudor-style apartment buildings. Residents signed a Preservation Action to prevent any further construction of apartments or multi-family housing. Although Waldheim was already a short commute to Manhattan thanks to the Long Island Rail Road, along with the extension of the New York City Subway's Number 7 line to Flushing-Main Street came a larger luxury apartment building, The Phlox Arms, built between 1926 and 1928, located on Phlox Place. This structure was built on land that was originally set aside as a private park for Waldheim's wealthy residents. Though these were all multi-family structures, the aesthetics were very much in keeping with Waldheim's Tudor-style mansions. The Phlox Arms building also catered to a wealthy set with a classically beautiful structure that offered doorman service and other amenities that only the affluent enjoyed in the 1920s. All three buildings remain in very good condition to this day.

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