When Congress created the Federal Housing Administration to provide mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders in 1934, it opened a world of opportunity for those wishing to buy a home and led to a Depression-era building boom across the country, including here in Maspeth and Middle Village. These modest rowhouses date back to the 1930s and line both sides of 60th Drive, with two-story versions on 68th Street in the distance. The corner home’s owners customized their lawn with an idyllic white picket fence. Note the lone Corvington model lamppost.

Today, the lamppost has been changed to an LED model, the white picket fence is gone, and the street is marked with a crosswalk and stop line. Telephone wires still criss-cross overhead. The starkest change is the presence of vehicles in driveways and parked in the street. The buildings and landscaping remain mostly the same, however.