Lelekidis’ mom’s bench in Astoria Park
Sunset by the Hell Gate Bridge
39th Avenue and 31st Street
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Photos courtesy of Anthoula Lelekidis
it would. I started photographing the
awning and the process of it closing, and he
remembered me from when I was little and
he told me stories about myself. That woke up
something inside me.”
“Ancient Astoria” came into fruition in
March 2015 when Lelekidis posted aged
photos on Instagram for herself. The hashtag
#AncientAstoria picked up traction, and she
caught more and more people’s attention in
2016. In addition to Lelekidis’ personal photos,
she also started taking submissions and pulling
some from the public library. Her followers sent
her pictures of old Astoria with informational
captions, which were added to the collection.
“As a photographer, I knew I had to do
something,” Lelekidis said. “I tracked down
pictures of old architecture or anything I
could find that is ‘ancient’ or a relic. Just
the idea that soon it will be ancient, it just
hit home to me. I started posting family
photos of my own of my mom in the park,
and people started sending me photos.
I thought it was interesting to show other
people’s photos. It became an archive.”
Fortunately, Astoria residents can catch a
peek of some of the photos from the “Ancient
Astoria” collection in person at Astoria Coffee
off 30th Street. The coffee shop serves as a
home to art installations for a few months at
a time, and until October, “Ancient Astoria”
pictures will be on display.
“All of the walls are laid out in a theme.
One wall is of storefronts; one is a Hell Gate
Bridge theme; one is graffiti and decay;
and one is transportation and old cars. I
displayed them in salon style, anti-grid, the
more natural way. This is how people would
put them up in their homes,” Lelekidis said.
Lelekidis also put up photos from a
different project that branches off “Ancient
Astoria” about mom-and-pop shops in the
neighborhood. The photos are more detailed
and portrait style.
Betty Melidis-Lelekidis after her high school graduation
at Newtown Road and 31st Avenue, 1978 14-28 Astoria Park South, built in 1890 Newtown Avenue Park
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