Help Solve the List — A Life Built in New York

P.S. 92 Adrian Hegeman at Parkside and Rogers Avenues, Brooklyn, photographed in 2010. A current view of the strongly identified school; Joseph's exact 1948 masonry scope remains unverified. — Current view · 2010 · Photo: Jim.henderson · CC0

01 · 1948 · Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, New York

Parkside and Rodgers School

What we know: Rita wrote 'Parkside and Rodgers School' in 1948. What we need: the exact school and address, and whether 'Rodgers' names a person, street or paired school.

Project identity: Strong
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Unresolved

Why this stop — Rita recorded “Parkside and Rodgers School” for 1948.

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Parkside and Rodgers School — 1948

Transcription: Parkside and Rodgers School — 1948

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

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02 · 1950 · Queens, New York

Idlewild Airport

What we know: Rita wrote 'Idlewild Airport' for 1950, before the permanent passenger-terminal complex. What we need: the specific building or package—an arrivals facility, hangar, service building or another airport structure.

Project identity: Open
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Unresolved

Why this stop — Rita recorded “Idlewild Airport” for 1950.

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Idlewild Airport — 1950

Transcription: Idlewild Airport — 1950

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

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03 · Undated · Riverdale, New York

Riverdale

What we know: Rita recorded only 'Riverdale.' What we need: an address, client, building type, photograph or family recollection that identifies the job.

Project identity: Open
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Unresolved

Why this stop — Rita recorded “Riverdale” for Undated.

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Pan American Boeing 377 flight simulators in use. Shown to illustrate the kind of facility the entry describes; the building on Rita's list has not been identified. — Undated · Pan Am Historical Foundation · Reuse terms not verified.Thematic context only: Pan American flight simulators. The exact 1969 site on Rita's list remains open, and this is not a photograph of it.

04 · 1969 · New York metropolitan area

Pan Am Simulator

What we know: Rita wrote 'Pan Am Simulator' in 1969. What we need: the exact simulator or training-facility location and evidence identifying Kelly's construction package.

Project identity: Open
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Unresolved

Why this stop — Rita recorded “Pan Am Simulator” for 1969.

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Pan Am Simulator — 1969

Transcription: Pan Am Simulator — 1969

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

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Current view · 2013 · Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0

05 · 1978 · Manhattan, New York

375 Pearl Street — Bell System / New York Telephone rooftop logo installation

What we know: 375 Pearl carried a Bell/New York Telephone logo for decades before Verizon replaced it in 2002. What we need: The leading identification is strong, but the exact Kelly scope still needs corroboration.

Project identity: Very strong
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Probable

Why this stop — One of the most specific and quirky lines on the family list — apparently not the building itself, but the giant corporate symbol mounted on it.

Rita’s list

Transcription: Bell Logo Symbol - Pearl Street — 1978

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

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221 East 37th Street, the leading Murray Hill central-office candidate, photographed in 2021. — Current view · 2021 · Photo: Tdorante10 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Photographed as the leading candidate site for the 1959 Telephone Building entry, not as the confirmed job. It is not the later 240 East 38th Street tower.

06 · 1959 · Manhattan / New York City

New York Telephone Murray Hill central-office complex — leading candidate

What a breakthrough looks like. What we know: A 1959 court opinion records an extension of New York Telephone's building on East 38th Street—the same year and street on Rita's list. What we need: The leading identification is strong, but the exact Kelly scope still needs corroboration.

Project identity: Very strong
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Probable

Why this stop — The handwriting correction creates a contemporary legal-paper trail and a strong candidate without overstating the still-unproven Kelly scope.

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Telephone Building - 38 St. — 1959

Transcription: Telephone Building - 38 St. — 1959

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

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