Boulevard Restaurant
Stationary store in 1940s listed at 110-33 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica, New York with original decorative brickwork.
Known Name(s)
Boulevard Restaurant
Address
110-33 Sutphin Blvd. Jamaica, NY
Physical Status
Extant
Description
The original building that housed the Boulevard Restaurant is located at the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 110th Road. It is part of a row of similar attached buildings that lined the boulevard.
An image from 1940 of a stationary store shows the two-story building having decorative diamond patterned brickwork, or diapering, above the second-story windows and on the parapet. The second-story windows were sash windows, six over one pane, and outlined in brickwork with corner blocks featuring a diamond pattern. The first floor had a commercial entrance door at the corner of the building flanked by large storefront windows on the two street-facing facades. A door recessed in an arched opening, located next to 110-34 Sutphin Boulevard, led to spaces upstairs. The store had a large sign between the first and second stories advertising candy, soda, and ice cream for customers. There are no images regarding the appearance of the Boulevard Restaurant during its years listed in multiple Green Book issues.
Years later, an image from October 2022, shows the second floor having ten replacement windows on the street-facing facades, all single pane over single pane, with Flemish bond brickwork around them. The diapering above had been obscured with red paint. The commercial entrance for the first floor still sat on a diagonal at the corner of the building facing the two streets. The building had only one storefront window, which faced Sutphin Boulevard. At the time it housed MetroCare Medical Supply, which is now closed. There were blue awnings over the front entrance and a smaller side door facing 110th Road with the company’s logo and information.
A previous photo of the building shows it was Inner-City Prophetic Ministries Incorporated prior to the medical supply store. As of October 2024, the brick of the second story of 110-33 Sutphin Boulevard has been clad and painted cream color with white trim, and the lower level is clad and painted gray. The awnings has been removed, and in turn the diagonal door and display windows are covered and locked with metal grates. There is additional graffiti over the entrance and window grates.
Detailed History
The Boulevard Restaurant was listed in the 1961-1964 and 1966 Green Book issues. There is little known information about the eatery itself, but there were establishments that came before it. According to a 1935 newspaper advertisement, the 110-33 Sutphin Boulevard building did include apartments as a girl was looking for a roommate. The rent was listed as "reasonable," but no information is known about the tenant at the time. In 1939, the address was listed as that of Emil Graf, who was a machinist. He advertised as a "designer of special machinery" who created patterns and working models.
In 1941, a candy and stationary store, likely the one captured in the 1940 photograph, was advertised for sale in the Long Island Daily Press. During this time, Long Island merchants were listed in the newspaper, and H. Feinberg was associated with this address. There is no known information about this individual and their relationship to the building.
A few years later in 1943, the site was again advertised for sale, this time as a tailor and cleaning store. The advertisement claimed it was a good location for future buyers while mentioning there were connecting rooms within the establishment. There are no advertisements found for the Boulevard Restaurant, which was listed in the Green Book in the 1961-1964 and 1966 editions.
The 1950 census lists all African American tenants in the residential units at this address. 110-33 Sutphin Boulevard had 5 apartments with building numbers of 139-143. Apartment 139 was inhabited by George Starkes, his wife Henrietta, and son Percy. George worked at Idlewild Airport with Percy, who was a cook, and Henrietta did domestic work. Another African American family, the Thompsons, inhabited unit 140. The line for employment was left blank, but the census taker noted they came from New Jersey and New York. The occupants of apartment 141 were a Black family headed by James Cook. James’s wife was Mildred, and they had four children Ruby, James Jr., Aaron and Morris. James was 40 at the time and was born in South Carolina whereas the rest of his family was from New York. James was the breadwinner for the family working 48 hours a week as a truck driver. The remaining two apartments of 142-143 were occupied by two Black families. The King family of 142 were all from Florida and South Carolina. The Banks family lived in 143 and were originally from South America. There is no known information about the owners/operators of the Boulevard Restaurant, and none of the tenants were listed as restauranters.
