Sanford Hotel
Exterior of the Sanford Inn, now known as the Sanford Home for Adults, 2024. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
Known Name(s)
Sanford Hotel
Address
140-40 Sanford Ave., Flushing 55 NY Queens, NY
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Extant
Description
The Sanford Hotel sits on Sanford Avenue between Kissena Boulevard and Union Street in Flushing, Queens. Built in 1927, it is a rectangular, six-story brick building with masonry accents and a flat roof. The first story brick is painted white while the second through sixth stories showcase the original Flemish bond brickwork.
The building’s facade faces northeasterly onto Sanford Avenue, with the entrance situated at the very center. The front doors are recessed inward, away from the avenue. This creates a small rectangular inlet that shelters the entrance from the elements. At the center of this inlet hangs a large, wrought-iron light fixture meant to mimic an old gas lamp. The inlet is flanked by four large window openings, two on either side. All four windows, as well as the inlet itself, are topped with similar entablatures. Four additional wrought-iron light fixtures are interspersed between each window.
Centered above the entryway’s entablature, the name “The Sanford” is affixed in black, calligraphy-like letters. There are also two small signs reading “Sanford” in black script on either side of the inlet. The hotel’s upper facade contains 25 mulled windows (five vertical rows of five). There are also four Corinthian pilasters interspersed symmetrically across the front: one on the facade’s westernmost side, one between the second and third rows of windows, one between the third and fourth rows of windows, and one to the facade’s easternmost side. Stone belt courses run horizontally above and below the sixth-story windows.
A one-story rotunda is affixed to the first floor’s westernmost side. In keeping with the first floor’s aesthetics, this has also been painted white. At the center of the rotunda’s facade, a door has been painted over to prevent use. This door is flanked by more Corinthian pilasters–two to its eastern side and at least one to its western side. A waist-high railing runs along the perimeter of the rotunda’s flat roof.
There is little information as to what the hotel’s interior looked like. An advertisement published by the New York Post in April 1963 indicates that that hotel was equipped with a switchboard and maid service. All rooms came with linens, air conditioning, radios, televisions, and private bathrooms. The advertisement also notes that there was a “serving pantry for breakfast & snacks at a small additional charge.”
Detailed History
An assignment of mortgage dated December 31, 1966, indicates that the building was owned by Adrian Weiss starting in July of 1961. This means that Weiss was the owner of the Sanford Hotel for the duration of its time as a Green Book site. After Weiss’s tenure, the hotel regularly changed ownership before being purchased by Sanford Manor LLC in July of 1980. It was then converted into an assisted-living community, which still operates at 140-40 Sanford Avenue today.
Newspaper articles indicate that the Sanford Hotel was a dynamic institution during its time in the Green Book. For example, the hotel served as an occasional meeting place for both the John V. Lindsay Republican Association of Queens and the North Shore Democratic Association of Flushing. The Sanford also regularly hosted coin shows and once held a New Year’s Eve Gala.
