Laburnum Court

Building Details

History:

Laburnum Court, built in 1921-22 and designed by George H. Wells, is one of the characteristic garden
apartment projects in Jackson Heights. The complex consists of eight five-story-and-basement buildings;
the buildings are arranged in two groups, each with four contiguous buildings. The groups are situated
back-to-back and share a wide common garden. Each of the two streetfronts of Laburnum Court is
massed with two recessed entrance courts which break up the streetfront into three sections. This creates
the effect of one large structure with pavilions at the ends and center.

Laburnum Court, like almost all of Wells’s garden apartment complexes, is neo-Georgian in style.
Above a stone watertable, the red brick facades are laid in Flemish bond and have white stone trim.
Neo-Georgian elements include classically-inspired stone and brick entrance porticoes crowned by iron
balconies; brick banding at the first story; stone bandcourses, sills, and keystones; arched window
openings at the fifth story; and bracketed cornices with roofline balustrades. The courtyards include
concrete steps and walks lined with iron railings. The entrance doors have been replaced, and chain-link
fences have been added in the courts. The interior garden, occupying the greater part of the site, is
partially visible through the passageways at each end of the streetfronts.

– nyc.gov