Mathews Company rowhouses, ca. 1995

Gustave X. Mathews was one of Queens County’s most prolific rowhouse developers in the early 20th century. The Mathews Company’s Elmhurst properties were designed by fellow German immigrant Louis Allmendinger, and built between 1930-1942.

Allmendinger’s designs incorporated contemporary architectural influences — including Art Deco, Art Moderne, and Bauhaus — and are notable for their use of the distinctive yellow-orange Kreischer bricks, a Mathews Company staple produced in Staten Island.