Odekirk Farmhouse, 1922. The construction date for this Rego Park farmhouse is a bit of a mystery. The notes by the photographer state that, "the home dates back to pre-Revolutionary days." A New York Times article published in 1930 just prior to its demolition states it was constructed in 1822. Known as the Robert Odekirk farmhouse, it was constructed (whenever that happened) using traditional methods of handcrafted wood slats and wooden pegs instead of nails. Once a private home, the building was used in its last years as the offices of the Rego Park Construction Company and Rego Park Investment Company.

Park City was completed in 1955 to designs by prolific architect Philip Birnbaum, probably the most prolific of all mid-century apartment building designers, both admired and reviled for specializing in stripped down and efficient designs. According to The New York Times ‘‘banal’’ was among the kinder words used to describe the more than 300 buildings he designed across the city. This complex was completed for Alfred Kaskel, one of Birnbaum’s main developer partners.

North side of Queens Boulevard, roughly opposite present-day 62nd Avenue; December 22, 1930. This photo was taken in advance of construction on the IND Queens Boulevard line, and also captures the early development of Rego Park, a neighborhood whose growth was driven by the extension of subway service. In the distance, right of center is a row of recently-completed free-standing houses along Saunders Street, between 63rd Avenue and 63rd Drive. Further right is the six-story Jupiter Court Apartments complex, at the southwest corner of 63rd Avenue. The wood-frame house in the foreground is adjacent to a Gulf gas station. The smokestacks above belong to the Citizens Water Supply Pumping Station No.1, about 200 feet east. The Department of Environmental Protection continues to operate a pumping station on roughly the same site today, but the facility now sits underground, beneath the Lost Battalion Recreation Center.