History On Tap At A Woodhaven Tavern If you enjoy looking at old pictures of Queens then you will be very interested in Arcadia Publishing’s “Forgotten Queens” written by historian and webmaster Kevin Walsh with the Greater Astoria Historical Society. With over 200 old pictures of neighborhoods around Queens, this book is a fun, fantastic walk down memory lane. Walsh will be coming to historic Neir’s Tavern (87-48 78th St.) on Tuesday, Jan. 27 to give a “Forgotten Queens” slideshow presentation. Admission is free and the presentation starts at 7 p.m. Walsh grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and in his 30s he moved to Queens to be closer to his job. Taking note of the declining number of beautiful old buildings amidst all of the new construction, he began documenting these remaining pieces of days gone by on his website Forgotten New York, www.forgotten-ny.com. The website was a critical success right from the start, receiving attention from The New York Times. “New York looked very different when I was in grade school,” Kevin told The Times in 1999. “I wanted to shoot what was left.” After a few very successful groundbreaking years, Walsh received a call from Harper- Collins who wanted him to write a book version of Forgotten New York. “That’s not usually the way it happens,” Kevin says. “Generally you have to send your manuscript around to several publishers, and most of them will turn you down. This was very different; they wanted me to write for them. I was very fortunate.” Now in its sixth edition, “Forgotten New York: Views of a Lost Metropolis” is a comprehensive look back at the history of New York that still remains. In Woodhaven, we are lucky to have many surviving points of interest that stretch back to the early days of our community— the Wyckoff-Snediker family Cemetery, the clock tower of the old LaLance-Grosjean factory, as well as businesses close to a hundred years old such as Schmidt’s Candies and Manor Deli, and several that are well over a century-old, including Pop’s Restaurant (110 years), Walker Funeral Home (115 years), and Ohlert-Ruggiere, Inc. Insurance & Tax (125 years). In Woodhaven, the 23 • TIMES, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014 This 1898 photo shows the exterior of The Old Abbey Tavern, which later became Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven. still stands to this day. Over the years, many of the old-timers that frequented Neir’s told tales of stage and screen legend Mae West performing in the ballroom. While some people cast doubt on these tales, those who were there back in the day swore it was true, and she did live just a few blocks away (on 88th Street off of 89th Avenue). The establishment was kept by the Neir family into the late 1960s when it was sold again and became known as “The Union Course Tavern.” Its reputation as an old-time, classic bar with a rich history attracted the attention of film scouts and resulted in some of the more memorable scenes from Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas starring Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci being filmed inside in 1989. It remained under that name until it was sold again in 2009. The interior underwent a detailed and beautiful restoration and it was renamed, once again, as Neir’s Tavern. Since its restoration, Neir’s Tavern has become a vibrant showcase for musical and spoken word talent as well as a site of community fundraisers, such as one for the local Volunteer Ambulance Corps, one to fight autism, another to benefit a young man fighting bone cancer, and a recent one to benefit Dasher, the dog that was cruelly thrown from a moving car. With a tasty menu, it has become a popular gathering spot for those who want to have a few drinks and a good meal with friends—and given its history, it is the perfect location for Walsh’s look back at Queens’ rich and interesting history on Jan. 27. If you have any stories or photgraphs of Our Neighborhood that you would like to share with our readers, please write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386, or send an email to neighborhood@timesnewsweekly .com. Any print photographs mailed to us will be carefully returned to you.` Preeseenteedd This WWeeeekk BByy Thee WWooooddhaaveen CCuultuuraal aandd HHistooriccaal SSooccieetyy granddaddy of them all is Neir’s Tavern. Located at 78th Street and 88th Avenue, Neir’s Tavern opened in October 1829 as The Blue Pump Room, owned by Cadwallader R. Colden, whose grandfather was the lieutenant governor of the British Province of New York and whose cousin was the mayor of New York City. Colden, the black sheep of this well-known and distinguished family, was also the manager of the historic Union Course Race Track, which sat directly across the street from The Blue Pump Room. The Union Course was a large race track, sitting between 78th and 85th Streets, from Jamaica Avenue to Atlantic. Races between horses representing the North and the South were popular events with one race, between American Eclipse and Henry attracting over 60 thousand spectators. The Long Island Rail Road opened a special station on Atlantic Avenue for the race track (called the Union Course stop) and several hotels sprang up to handle the many visitors to the track. The track was so wellknown that this entire section of Woodhaven became known as Union Course. In 1835 the tavern was sold and renamed “The Old Abbey” which, as the track began its long, slow decline, earned a reputation as a “notorious rumseller” that catered to the rougher crowds that now came to the races. In the 1850s, banker and politician Nathan Graves purchased The Old Abbey, and he turned its reputation around as the race track went through its final stages before finally closing just after the Civil War. The track sat dormant for nearly two decades before the land was sold and divided up into lots where many of today’s Woodhaven homes would be built. Just before the turn of the century, the tavern was purchased by Louis Neir who added a bowling alley and a ballroom and renamed it “Neir’s Social Hall”. The Neir family also owned a hotel, just one block south of the tavern (at the corner of 78th Street and 87th Road), in a building that If You See Breaking News On Your Block... Contact The Times Newsweekly Call 1-718-821-7500 • Email info@timesnewsweekly.com
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