Phipps Garden Apartments, 1932. The Phipps Garden site had been set aside for development by the City Housing Corporation, a limited-dividend company responsible for the construction of the adjacent Sunnyside Gardens community between 1924-1928. Remaining lots were sold off, including the future Phipps Garden site — two square blocks between 50th (then Fitting) and 52nd Streets (Dickson), north of 39th Avenue (Middleberg) — which was purchased by the Society of Phipps Houses, a “model tenement group.” Henry Phipps, a steel magnate, envisioned a development for “white collar clerical workers” and hired Clarence Stein, the Sunnyside Gardens architect, to design the complex. Phipps Garden is a notable early example of “superblock” architecture; the developer was allowed to close 51st Street (Stone) to accommodate a larger building. The first Phipps building was constructed between 1931-2, with a second building added in 1935. In 2007, the Landmarks Preservation Commission included Phipps Garden in the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District.

Phipps Garden Apartments, 1932. The Phipps Garden building is notable for architect Clarence Stein’s use of decorative brick in the facade, inspired by German and Dutch housing developments of the 1920s.

“This is one of the many small homes in the Sunnyside Gardens model community built by the City Housing Corporation,” ca. 1928. Architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright incorporated a variety of architectural motifs, floorplans and block layouts, promoting visual interest by creating unique sight lines throughout Sunnyside Gardens development. The sole uniform characteristic of Sunnyside Gardens was the consistent use of Hudson brick as a building material.

Between 1924 and 1929, sixteen blocks of Hudson Brick row houses and co-op apartments rose along the edge of the Sunnyside train yards. The development, called Sunnyside Gardens, was inspired by the Garden City movement, the brainchild of English planner Ebenezer Howard. Only 30 percent of the land was developed, the rest was reserved as shared green space. Instead of private yards, residents enjoyed communal courtyards running between rows of houses. Garages were located on the neighborhood’s periphery. At its border, they built Sunnyside Gardens Park, still the largest private park in New York City. When the 40-year deed covenants expired in the mid-1960s, some owners rushed to add driveways, decks, fences, and even swimming pools. To preserve its character, the city designated Sunnyside Gardens a Special Planned Community Preservation District, one of only four in New York, along with Fresh Meadows, the Harlem River Houses, and Parkchester, making new alterations illegal without a special permit. Finally, in 2007, after years of contentious back-and-forth among residents, the neighborhood was officially landmarked.