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The former Jamaica Savings Bank on Queens Boulevard and 56th Avenue exhibits phases, like the moon, depending on where you view it. From 56th Avenue it resembles a verdigri’ed Stealth bomber, while its glassy triangle is unmistakable from other angles across the Boulevard of Death. When I last saw it, it was home to a branch of Capital One. It has always been a bank, designed by St. Louis architect William Cann in 1968.

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The arrival of the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows in 1964 was symbolic of the Swingin’ Sixties, space-race go-go attitude the country had at the time; the war in Vietnam had not yet become an albatross and there seemed to be a boundless enthusiasm about the future and the wonders it would produce. Architects seemed to get the message as well and it was then that several extraordinary buildings were produced along Queens Boulevard. George Jetson would feel at home zipping by the sweep-angled, glass-fronted edifice.

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Local Philistines in the City Council overturned the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision to designate it. Rumor has it that some neighborhood loons would like it torn down in favor of a more conventionally designed building. I hope it stands there forever.

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The trend came to flower in other cities as well. This building, since torn down, was in a Milwaukee shopping center.

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The Mark Twain Cinema in St. Louis, which was reinvigorated after a few years of neglect as the Two Hearts Banquet Center. It was constructed in 1968, same year as the Jamaica Savings Bank, a time when sharp angles were popular.


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