Historical Society Bestows A.T. Stewart Awards  

Garden City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Althea Robinson, left, accepts The Garden City Historical Society's A.T. Stewart Award in the non-residential category for the Chamber's headquarters at 230 Seventh Street. The Award was presented by Historical Society President Brian Pinnola and Chamber Foundation President Joanne Adams.

The Garden City Historical Society presented its Third Annual A.T. Stewart Awards at a December gala reception at The Garden City Historical Society Museum that benefited the Garden City Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This year's A.T. Stewart Awards went to, in the residential category, Gene and Bonnie Steinback for their home at 112 Ninth Street, and in the non-residential category, the Garden City Chamber of Commerce for its headquarters at 230 Seventh Street.

The Steinback home on Ninth Street, circa 1873-4, was expanded and renovated in 2008 by New York City architect Paul Rice, a Garden City native. Construction was completed by Dave Schulteisz of D & D Painting and Home Improvements Inc., who also performed the 2003 renovation of The Garden City Historical Society Museum. The architect of the Ninth Street home, erected in the early days of A.T. Stewart's planned community, was John Kellum (1809-1871), a partner in the firm Kirby and Kellum (New York) and a native of Hempstead. He designed A.T. Stewart's department store, known as the "Great Iron Store" between Broadway and 4th Avenue, and Mr. Stewart's residence known, as the "Marble Palace" on the northwest corner of 5th Avenue & 34th Street. Most famously known for his design of the New York County Courthouse, a.k.a. the "Tweed Courthouse," Kellum died suddenly in 1871 leaving plans and designs for the Garden City Hotel, the train station, and the "Apostle" Houses among other structures.

The Garden City Historical Society President Brian Pinnola and Garden City Chamber of Commerce Foundation President Joanne Adams present the Historical Society's A.T. Stewart Award for the residential category to Bonnie and Gene Steinback.

The Garden City Chamber of Commerce headquarters at 230 Seventh Street was constructed in 1911 as one of the former toll houses for the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, the first-of-its-kind, motoring highway built by William K. Vanderbilt. The former toll house was relocated to Seventh Street in 1989. The parkway toll houses were designed by John Russell Pope (1874-1937), who studied at Columbia University and won a fellowship to attend the American Academy in Rome. Among Pope's notable buildings are the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art and the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.; the American Museum of Natural History, New York City; and several homes designed for the Vanderbilt family and for Marshall Field at "Caumsett" in Lloyd Harbor.

The coveted A.T. Stewart Awards were established in 2006 to encourage property owners and tenants who construct new or renovate existing residential and non-residential properties in the Village to keep them within the historic nature and fabric of A.T. Stewart's vision for Garden City. The awards also apply to those properties that have been maintained by their owners or tenant with the same consideration. At the presentation ceremony, winners are presented bronze plaques inscribed with their property's address, year of construction, and the year the award was presented.

The Society's inaugural A.T. Stewart Award winners were, in the residential category, 109 Ninth Street, the home of Sean and Jane McCooey, and in the non-residential category, 501 Franklin Avenue, the corporate offices of Bookspan. Last year's residential award was presented to Neal and Peggy Griffin of 15 Rockaway Avenue, and the non-residential award went to the property owners at 57-65 Hilton Avenue.