Hanscom’s handsome bakery in Jackson Heights

One of the largest baking empires in Queens was Hanscom bakeries, operated by a man who lived in Whitestone. Hanscom built six bakeries in Manhattan and one in the Bronx, designed by the prolific architect Horace Ginsbern. In 1937 the company starting building and opening bakeries in Queens — including the piece of artistic beauty shown here in the heart of cosmopolitan Jackson Heights.

As Jackson Heights was developing, leading architects loved to work and design there. Two other Hanscom Bake Shops opened that year, one each on Greenpoint and Roosevelt avenues.

By 1940 there were 14 in Queens, and a high of 21 stores in the borough by 1951. Suddenly in 1958 the entire chain of stores closed upon the death of Mr. Hanscom.

Serious bakers were upset for many years as none of the bakeries’ delightful recipes were recorded anywhere and died withHanscom.

Conversely, upon the death of Ginsbern several of the architect’s secrets were revealed. He was not American born, but Russian — his real name was Ginsberg — he did not go to Columbia Universityand did not holda degree in architecture. Yet, his great genius of modern design in Chelsea is landmarked today.

A footnote: In 1984 another Hanscom Bakery went out of business after 101 years in Philadelphia, but it is not clear how or if the two companies were related to each other.