30 JUNE 18, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Great photos of Queens on the grow
Construction of upper roadway of Queensboro Bridge and viaduct, 1931. Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives, reprinted with permission
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The New York City Municipal Archives contain
hundreds of thousands of documents, photos,
videos and other items that detail the rich history
of our fi ve boroughs.
Like a family photo album, the images in the archives
tell a story of our past so we can understand better how
we grew and evolved as a society over time. For Queens,
the most visually stunning images show how the borough
rapidly developed during the early- to mid-20th
century from a largely rural setting into a city within
a city.
We’re grateful to the New York City Municipal
Archives for, once again, sharing with us some great
photos of Queens’ growing spurt, which we now share
with you…
Astoria Park has become one of Queens’ greatest
urban oases, and this June 1927 photo shows the
greenspace at a relatively young age — replete with
open fi elds and young trees on the grow. The Hell
Gate Bridge in the background is an unmistakable
site in Astoria, and continues to serve freight and
commuter rail lines today.
From the photographer’s vantage point, we believe
this photo was taken not too far from the spot
where the Astoria Park pool was built. The pool
was one of 11 bathing spots citywide developed
by master builder and City Parks Commissioner
Robert Moses in the late 1930s.
A traffi c jam on Northern Boulevard? That’s
nothing new to Queens drivers, but we tend to
forget that gridlock has been a constant on the
roadway since the age of the automobile dawned in
the Roaring Twenties. Look at the rows of cars and
station wagons lining both sides of the boulevard
near Main Street in this photo taken back on May
22, 1927 — 93 years ago.
Long Island City has become one of the fastestgrowing
regions of New York City over the past
decade, with new apartment and residential towers
soaring into the sky. The greatest hub of such
development in the neighborhood is near Bridge
Plaza, or Queens Plaza, close to the Queensboro
Bridge.
This photo, taken on Jan. 10, 1931, shows Bridge
Plaza being constructed. Note the network of
elevated train lines overshadowing the site;
these lines carry the 7 line between Flushing
and Manhattan, as well as the N and W lines that
link Astoria and Long Island City to Midtown
Manhattan.
Astoria Park, near Hell Gate Bridge, June 1927
Northern Boulevard, East from Flushing Bridge,
traffi c jam, 1927.
Bridge Plaza, Long Island City, January 1931.
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