14 SHADES OF GRAY

Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City, New York, United States

An integral part of downtown Richmond Hill, the Richmond Hill Republican Club served as an important political club and a cornerstone of the Richmond Hill neighborhood where parades, public lectures, picnics, dances, and dinners were held. Built in 1908 to the designs of Henry E. Haugaard, a prolific local architect and builder, the building was constructed of Roman brick and wood in the Colonial Revival style. Original stylistic features of the building include an elaborate entryway with classical pediment, a denticulated and bracketed cornice, and a roof-line balustrade. The building was constructed as a political club and post office. However during World War I, it took on a larger community function when it became a social gathering place for local citizens and an entertainment center and retreat for the armed forces. As late as 1980, a presidential candidate delivered a campaign speech there. Vacant since the mid 1980s, the Richmond Hill Republican Club is an intact example of a clubhouse designed to serve the social, political and recreational needs of a local community and an excellent prototype of small-scale Colonial Revival style civic architecture.
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS



History of Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is a neighborhood located in east central Queens, adjacent to Jamaica and bounded to the north by Myrtle and Hillside streets, to the east by the Van Wyck Expressway, to the south by Linden Boulevard, and to the west by 100lh Street. Originally farmland, the area was developed by Albon Piatt Man, a wealthy lawyer in New York City; Oliver Fowler, a local developer; and landscape architect Edward Richmond. Designed as a middle class suburb, it was laid out in the vicinity of the new Long Island Railroad line.

Between 1868 and 1874, streets, a school, and a church were built; and 250 acres farmland were laid out into lots for private residents. Initial residents were mostly businessmen from Manhattan who erected large houses costing between 52,500 to $5,000. Some 400 shade and ornamental trees were planted, and the Richmond Hill passenger depot serviced the growing community. By 1895, the settlement was incorporated with Morris Park and Clarenceville as the Village of Richmond Hill and then in 1898, Richmond Hill became part of the consolidated Greater New York City.

The Arcaneum Hall Library was established in 1899 and in 1905, the Richmond Hill Library, one of the Carnegie libraries, was built on Lefferts Boulevard. By 1900 Richmond Hill consisted of smaller cottages as well as larger, luxurious houses costing upwards of S8,000. Many of these residences as well as commercial and institutional buildings were designed by the Haugaard brothers (William Haugarrd, Henry E. Haugarrd, and John T. Haugaard) who practiced architecture in Richmond Hill. By 1920, the population of Richmond Hill continued to grow and commercial activity flourished. With no more open land to develop, some of Richmond Hill's nineteenth century private houses were replaced by twentieth century apartment houses, and a population of mostly German and Irish descent gave way to an influx of Latin Americans.

Still, Richmond Hill remains a low-rise neighborhood of two-family houses and apartment buildings.

The Architect: Henry E. Haugaard

Born in 1867 in Brooklyn, Henry E. Haugaard was one of three brothers of Danish descent who made their mark as architects and builders in Richmond Hill. He opened his office in 1888 at Jamaica Plank Road and Lefferts Boulevard in the heart of Richmond Hill and by 1905 had made plans for over 1,000 houses. A 1905 article in the Industrial Recorder details Haugaard's architectural practice:

The residences of Mr. Louis Schroeder, at Myrtle avenue and Elm street, and Mr. Peter Zimmerman, on Division avenue, are examples of Mr. Haugaard's work, and he gives a careful attention to detail, which commands a wide appreciation. There is an especially active demand here for residences costing from $5,000 to $7,500, and Mr. Haugaard has succeeded in meeting this demand in a most satisfactory manner. He has been recently elected as supervising architect for the new Royal Arcanium building to be erected corner of Jamaica avenue and Elm street.

Initially, Henry Haugaard worked closely with his two brothers, William C. Haugaard and John T. Haugaard. In addition to his architectural practice, Henry Haugaard also owned a planing mill and employed from fifteen to thirty-five men depending upon the number of projects ongoing.

Little is known about the work or life of Henry Haugaard after 1917. A scandalous event in that year appears to have been a turning point in his career. On January 27lh, Henry E. Haugaard and his brother William were shot while working in their office in the Hillside Bank Building in Richmond Hill by Herbert M. Newcomb, a local builder. Mr. Newcomb, who was intoxicated at the time, accused Henry Haugaard of ruin

Riding my bike around
North Hollywood just west
of Lankershim, I saw him. He
was standing reading in the
shade of a big tree behind his
shopping cart of belongings.
When I came closer, I realized
I'd photographed him before - last
time was when he was sitting
at a bus bench. I didn't know
he was homeless then.

He was reading a book
about Catherine The Great. I greeted
him and he was happy to be
greeted, and we started talking.
Seeing the Catherine book,
I joked about her notorious
love of horses. "Yes," he said
smiling, revealing many missing
teeth, "and men."

With a gentle German accent,
he told me he was born
in Hamburg. Came here
about 40 years ago. Doesn't
like his life that much.

"I get depressed," he said,
"When you're homeless,
you don't really make any
friends."

So many people assume
homeless folks are on drugs
or drunk all the time. Here he is
reading history. And frustrated
by it. "This is my second
book about Catherine The
Great I've read," he said.
"And there's nothing new.
It's all the same as the first."

We got into a long talk about
history - about how so much of
it is false, but that in histories
of some recent American
heroes, such as Lincoln,
occasionally a new
perspective arises.

We spoke for a long time
about Columbus - maybe the
best example of an American hero
who in truth was anything
but heroic. Yet still gets his
own holiday. There is no
Lincoln day, but Columbus still
rates his own.

He told me life on the street
is not easy. Pushing around this
cart of stuff slows him down. And
he's been ticketed many times
for a stolen shopping cart.
Has a friend who gets
two checks a month -
social security and pension-
equaling $1200. And rather
than get a cheap room downtown
all the time with that, he
gets a motel room nearby
at 75 bucks a night for
one week out of the month,
and the other weeks he
panhandles. Roman -
who was born in Germany
of Polish and Ukranian descent-
marveled at an America where
a man gets two checks
a month yet still chooses
to panhandle.

We spoke for a while. I could
tell he needed someone
just to hang with, just to
talk. He had
some bottles of beer in his
cart under blankets that I saw,
and several over-ripe bananas.
People are upset with
homeless folks for drinking.
I'm not. Whatever gets you
through the night. And long
days.

He took a college course
a few months back at
Valley College to learn
Spanish, and got a B. Cleaning
up - no showers,but washing
in public restrooms - takes
time, and then "I have to make
money, you know," so he
collects recyclable cans
and bottles. "I should be
making money now," he
said. "But I decided to take
one hour to read, and already
I've been reading for three hours."