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[For a more comprehensive family story, click HERE. For a complete list of buildings, click HERE.]
Page 283 The Paterno Brothers Joseph, Charles, Michael & Anthony Paterno In 1886, Giovanni (John) Paterno formed a partnership under the name McIntosh & Paterno with a friend, Mr. McIntosh, to construct an apartment building at 505 West 112th Street. When the partnership dissolved in 1892, John established his business as John Paterno & Sons and began a second building. When John became ill and returned to Italy in 1899, he left a half-finished apartment building at 507 West 112th Street. Charles and Joseph completed the building and the business evolved into the Paterno Brothers Construction Company. Gradually the other brothers (except Saverio) and brother-in-law joined them in the construction business and established a building dynasty.
In 1907, Charles and his brother-in-law, Anthony Campagna established the Paterno Construction Company. The brothers each formed separate companies in the mid-1910’s. The Paterno family, working independently and in joint ventures ultimately built thirty-seven high rise luxury apartments in the Morningside Heights area of Manhattan. The apartment projects ranged from modest six-story structures to fifteen-story luxury buildings. The apartments were upscale with elevators and every available modern convenience. Other locations for their projects were Bergen County, New Jersey, and Norfolk, Virginia.
An unidentified newspaper clipping cited the following: “Under the guidance of his brother, Dr. Charles V. Paterno, who died on May 30, Paterno learned the essentials of the real estate situation the island of Manhattan, and he became, with his brother, Anthony A. and the late Joseph and Dr. Charles V. Paterno, one of the pioneers in the planning and erection of large one hundred per cent cooperative apartment houses of the highest class in New York.” [Presumably this is referring to Michael E. Paterno.]
In July 1925, Joseph, Michael and brother-n-law Anthony Campagna offered to erect a new building to promote the Italian heritage. The building was named Casa Italiana. Dr. Charles Paterno pledged 20,000 volumes to establish the library. The Paterno Brothers and Anthony Campagna were major contributors in the development of the Casa.
On Thursday, May 18, 1933, The New York Herald Tribune published a photo of Michael, Charles and Joseph Paterno taken at an awards presentation ceremony. Antonio Crossardi, Italian Consul General in New York presented the three Paterno brothers with gold medals from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for “the promulgation of the Italian Culture.” The ceremony was held at the Casa Italiana. [Scroll down to bottom of page to see this newspaper clipping.]
Page 284 The Creators of New York Elected 1989 • A Hall of Fame honoring the gifted, visionary and energetic individuals who created the best of New York City’s built environment – its transportation and service infrastructure, its office towers and its residential buildings.
Infrastructure Andrew Haswell Green, Robert Moses
Buildings Leo S. and Alexander M. Bing, The Paterno Brothers: Charles, Joseph, Michael, Anthony, Samuel Rudin
The Real Estate Board of New York, Inc.
[To see the full brochure in color, click HERE.]
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