32 times • APRIL 16, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com How beautiful homes sprouted out of the picnic parks of eastern Glendale Long before the modern buses currently on our streets and in the days before the automobile became readily available, the people of our neighborhood used an intricate trolley system to get around town. In May 1891, the Brooklyn City Railroad Company—serving what was then the City of Brooklyn— began passenger service along Myrtle Avenue from the Ridgewood depot at Wyckoff Avenue to Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill. Steam dummy engines were used to pull the passenger cars at first, and the company pledged to replace them within three years with modern electric trolley cars. Before the electric trolley came to Queens in May 1895, several businessmen in Ridgewood decided to purchase land along Myrtle Avenue in eastern Glendale to create a picnic park. These picnic parks were a treat for city dwellers, as it provided families a place to bring a lunch and enjoy nature without having to travel too far from their homes in developed Brooklyn and Manhattan. Within a few years, a vast number of picnic parks sprang up in the area of Myrtle Avenue between 83rd Street and Woodhaven Boulevard. The largest of them was Schmidt’s Woods, which boasted 26 acres and 812 feet of frontage. It was named for owner George Schmidt, a German immigrant who lived at a hotel later developed at the park with his wife and children. These picnic parks, however, were not long for Glendale, and slowly became redeveloped for industrial and residential purposes during the early part of the 20th century. In January 1902, the owners of Schmidt’s Woods sold 2.3 acres of land adjacent to the Woodhaven and Rockaway Beach lines of the Long Island Rail Road to the William Wicke Company, which developed a silk weaving mill and dye house. The Wicke mill’s biggest product were cigar ribbons, which were wrapped around cigars and usually bore the cigar brand. At one time, it was the largest employer in Glendale, with 300 workers on staff. It changed ownership through the years but was torn down when the plant outlived its economic usefulness. The Forest Park Crescent co-op building was developed on its site in the early 1960s. Beer was a staple at many of the picnic parks in our neighborhood. When Prohibition took effect in 1918, not only did it put the kibosh on many local breweries, but it also sounded the death knell for picnic parks. Many of the park owners waited several years after Prohibition took effect to sell their land to developers for the best offer. Schmidt’s Woods was sold in 1925, and crews began timbering the wooded property after Labor Day to pave the way for development of a new residential neighborhood. By 1926, the Ridgewood Times published advertisements for four different developers erecting homes in eastern Glendale where the picnic parks once stood. The Charles Farrenkopf Inc. offered “Forest Park Homes,” a development of 300 one- and two-family homes of elastic stucco and shingle being built in the area of Ella Street (present day 85th Street), Frances Street (86th Street), Gertrude Street (87th Street) and Union Turnpike. The starting price for many of these homes was about $8,000. Solow & Glass Inc. offered “Forest Park Brick Colonial” one- and twofamily homes in the area of 81st Avenue and 88th Street. Two buyers advertised their homes as being for rent at about $65 per month. The Metro-Cooper Construction Corporation offered “Forest Hills Park Homes” built in the area of 71st Avenue and 88th Street. Prices for these one-family frame and stucco homes ranged between $7,200 and $7,500. Finally, Schuetinger and Oehler offered “Forest Park View” two-family homes in the area of Louisa Place (81st Road) and Hannah Street (88th Street). No price was quoted in the ad. If you have a memory you’d like to share about “Our Neighborhood: The Way It Was,” write to The Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, NY 11385, or email editorial@ridgewoodtimes. com. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you. Homes are shown in still-developing eastern Glendale in this 1936 photo. This undated photo shows the trolley tracks lining a cobblestone-covered Myrtle Avenue looking eastward near Woodhaven Boulevard. old timer A view of the trolley barns once located in the area of Onderdonk and DeKalb avenues in Ridgewood
RT04162015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above