WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 7, 2021 15
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Taking a history-fi lled stroll through Forest Parkway
PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
If you want a short historical walk
in Woodhaven, there’s no better
bang for the buck than Forest
Parkway.
Starting at the T-intersection at Jamaica
Avenue, if you look at the top of
the northwest corner you’ll see what
residents of Woodhaven have seen
for well over 100 years: the name Forest
Parkway emblazoned on an old
building. Anyone passing through
Woodhaven on the elevated train
will be familiar with that sight.
On the other side of Forest Parkway,
right at Jamaica Avenue, sits an
old large bank. On the outside of the
bank building you can still see a brass
sign for Pasta & Pasta Law. One of the
Pasta brothers, James Pasta, served
in World War I and was the fi rst Commander
of American Legion Post 118.
But if anyone is looking to hire them,
they’ll have to head to Long Island as
the fi rm left Woodhaven more than
40 years ago!
Along the side of that building, on
Forest Parkway, there is a monument
to the many young soldiers of Woodhaven
who lost their lives during
World War II. For many years, the
Memorial Day Parade here stopped
to pay tribute to these heroes and up
until the early 1970s they used to include
a 21-gun salute. Although there
hasn’t been a Memorial Day Parade
here in Woodhaven for decades, local
organizations and the American Legion
still hold a ceremony each year
in front of the monument, honoring
those lost in all wars.
A little further along Forest Parkway
is the Post Offi ce and if you stop
inside you’ll be treated to a large, 80-
year-old mural by famed Lithuanian
artist Ben Shahn that depicts the Bill
of Rights and celebrates workers.
Keep walking up Forest Parkway
and you’ll see one of the shooting locations
for one of the most acclaimed
television movies of all time, “Queen
of the Stardust Ballroom.” The 1975
fi lm stars Maureen Stapleton as Bea,
a lonely widow who lives on Forest
Parkway and runs a small thrift
shop on Jamaica Avenue. She begins
visiting the Stardust Ballroom (the
old Haven Theater in disguise) to go
dancing where she meets Al, played
by Charles Durning (both were
nominated for Emmys).
Those watching the fi lm will be
treated to several glimpses of 1970s
Woodhaven. Locals will be scratching
Photo courtesy of Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
their heads watching a bus roll down
Forest Parkway and stop in front
of the Post Offi ce. Of course, there
was never a bus line that traveled
along Forest Parkway; that was just
some creative license taken by the
fi lmmakers.
Further along, you’ll find the
Woodhaven Library, which was
built nearly 100 years ago with funds
provided by famed philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie. The Woodhaven
Library was the last Carnegie Library
built in New York City.
And directly across the street from
the library you’ll fi nd the Betty Smith
house, where the novelist famous for
writing “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”
once lived.
If you continue walking, you’ll
reach Park Lane South, at the entrance
to Forest Park, where most
people assume Forest Parkway ends.
But if you look at most maps, Forest
Parkway continues a short distance
into the park, ending outside the historic
125-year-old Golf Clubhouse.
These days, the Golf Clubhouse
serves as the main offi ce for Forest
Park. If you go inside, you’ll be
greeted by an old carousel horse, the
sole survivor of the devastating fi re
which destroyed the original Forest
Park Carousel in 1966.
And on either side of that road in
the park you’ll fi nd the Woodhaven
Memorial Trees, planted in memory
of each of the young men who lost
their lives in the First World War.
Families used to come here to
decorate their loved one’s tree each
Memorial Day, a tradition the Woodhaven
Cultural & Historical Society
has revived.
It may not be the longest road, but
Forest Parkway is long in history and
remains one of the more beloved and
well-known streets in Woodhaven.
The Woodhaven Cultural & Historical
Society has erected three diff erent
historical markers on Forest
Parkway, and co-named a street sign
within Forest Park commemorating
the Memorial Trees.
If you want a quick walk in Woodhaven
that’s full of history, Forest
Parkway is defi nitely your best bet.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or
old photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would
like to share with our readers, please
write to the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood
Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361, or send an email to editorial@
ridgewoodtimes.com. Any print photographs
mailed to us will be carefully
returned to you upon request.
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