Mathews Model Flats are artistically designed buildings with variations of light and dark brick, elaborate cornices and charmingly intricate brick patterns. While each block looks pleasingly similar, variety and creativity is found on separate streets in the details of the lintels, cornices and railings. Advertised as “Solving the Housing Problem” they were so innovative that they were exhibited at the Panama Pacific Fair in 1915 as one of the most significant accomplishments in housing from New York City. Built by the creative developer Gustave X. Mathews, they were in such demand that in 1917, it was said that if laid side by side, these houses would make a line more than 4 and one half miles long. A notable architectural feature in their original model is the incorporation of Romanesque Revival Arched windows on the third floor. These houses can be found in Ridgewood (listed on the National Registry of Historic Places), Long Island City, Woodside with later developments in Elmhurst.
The largest concentration of this housing in the city, was built in sections
from 1915 to 1923 on 48th Street . It was featured in the movie ‘Ragtime’,
and 44th Street and 30th Avenue was featured in the movie 'A Bronx Tale.'
