Merit
109 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, NY, 1940. Photo courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives.
Northern side of the AutoZone at 109 Merrick Boulevard, October 2024. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Facade of the AutoZone that sits at 109 Merrick Boulevard. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Known Name(s)
Merit
Address
109 Merrick Blvd. Jamaica, NY
Establishment Type(s)
Tailor
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
Merit sat on Merrick Boulevard between 108th Drive and 109th Avenue. A photograph from 1940 shows it was a two and a half-story building that appeared to be a residence. The structure was clad in shingles, perhaps asbestos or another wood substitute, aligned in horizontal rows, with corner boards at the corners. The ridge of the gable roof ran perpendicular to the street, with a cross gabled section to the rear.
The building’s facade faced south westerly towards 109th Ave. Three concrete steps led to the main entrance, which was located at the facade’s westernmost side. The home had a paneled inner door protected by a storm door. The top half of the storm door contained a divided light window. Above the door opening was a triangular pediment. East of the entrance, there was a bay window. The three windows that composed the bay were protected by storm windows that had been propped open. The facade’s second story also contained three windows with top-hinged storm windows. The facade’s front-facing gable created a classic triangular pediment. At the center of this pediment were two sash windows. The whole property appears to have been surrounded by a waist-high chain link fence.
Per google maps, the property now houses an AutoZone, a chain retailer of aftermarket automotive parts. The AutoZone is a one-story, flat-roofed structure made of brick. The exterior has been painted to match the company’s signature colors: dark gray, light gray, white, and orange. The building’s facade faces north-easterly onto 109th Avenue. Its main doors, which open into a parking lot, sit at the facade’s southernmost side. They are a set of glass store-front doors with one rectangular transom window above them. Above the transom window is an illuminated sign that reads “AutoZone” in bright orange letters. There is another set of doors to the facade’s northernmost side. They appear to be made of steel and have also been painted bright orange. Between these two sets of doors are 13 rectangular picture windows with orange trim.
Detailed History
The tax lot is listed as “not found” on ACRIS, making it difficult to determine the structure’s history from digitized documents alone. During its tenure in the Green Book, we do know that the neighborhood surrounding Merit was changing rapidly. In the early 19th and 20th centuries, Jamaica, Queens was home to mostly Irish immigrants. This changed in the 1950s, when a long period of white flight began. As was common in many urban areas, this racially motivated exodus triggered an economic decline.
