WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 29, 2017 21
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
What’s in a name?
The history of some Queens street names
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Over the years, the “Our Neighborhood”
column has presented
information regarding the
city’s adoption of “the Philadelphia
system” in establishing street addresses,
which resulted in changes to street
names.
The method of numbering houses
(100 numbers to a block) was one way
of resolving the problem of duplication.
In the introduction of a 1934 reference
book, Queens House Numbers
in Health Areas, it is noted that Queens
“is really made up of the consolidation
of a number of incorporated
villages, self-communities, each
attached to its own street and number
system.”
As a result, it was common for
neighborhoods in diff erent parts of
the borough to have a street by the
same name. According to a 1921 book
published by the Queens Chamber
of Commerce, there were 23 streets
named “Washington” and the same
number of others named “Lincoln”
within the borough.
Some readers might be surprised to
know that there once was a Wyckoff
Avenue in the Ozone Park-Richmond
Hill area (it subsequently became
104th Street). Some names may
have been
changed for other reasons (such as
World War I and feelings towards Germany,
which led to changing Hamburg
Avenue to Wilson Avenue).
The Philadelphia system also determined
whether a roadway should
be called a street or an avenue. The
terms avenue, road and drive would
be used for roadways that run east/
west; street, place and lane would be
used for roadways that north/south.
Under the system, boulevards
could run in any direction.
It is not lost on The Old Timer that
Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood runs
north/south, contrary to the system.
Perhaps readers can point out some
exceptions of their own.
We have received some requests
for information from readers with
an interest in old street names and in
responding to them, we promised that
we would list some street names—past
and present—in a future column.
In an eff ort to show that The Old
Timer is a man of his word, here are
some examples from several diff erent
local neighborhoods that, we hope,
will prove interesting to readers.
GLENDALE
Alpha Place became 67th Place.
Backus Street became 65th Place.
Barbara Place became 82nd Street.
Broad Street became 65th Street.
Brush Street became 79th Street.
Clinton Avenue became 73rd Place.
DeBoo Place became 68th Street.
Dill Place became 61st St.
Dry Harbor Road became 81st Street.
Edison Place became 71st Place.
Ella Place/Street became 85th Street.
Fremont Place became 64th Place.
Ford Avenue became 79th Place.
Fosdick Avenue became 69th Street.
Gamma Place became 66th Place.
Hanna Street became 88th Street.
Haverkamp Place/Street became 71st
Street.
Henrietta Street became Doran
Avenue.
Howard Place became 64th Place.
Katie Place became 73rd Avenue.
Lafayette Avenue/Street became 69th
Place.
Tilden Place/Street became 75th
Avenue.
Tompkins Avenue became 70th Street.
Walnut Street became 69th Street.
Webster Avenue became 71st Street.
Maspeth
Baltic Street became 60th Road.
Berlin Avenue/Street became 50th
Street.
Bittman Street became 69th Lane.
Broad Street became 59th Street.
Bullock Place became 63rd Place.
Catherine Avenue/Street became 71st
Street.
Church Street became 57th Drive.
Clinton Place became 56th Avenue.
Columbine Avenue became 55th
Avenue.
Dorothy Place became 59th Road.
Edward Street became 58th Drive.
Elsie Place became 51st Road.
Emma Street became 54th Street.
Eva Place became 60th Place/Street.
Faulkner Street became 54th Avenue.
Fremont Street became 73rd Place.
Funston Place became 65th Place.
Gilbert Street became 48th Street.
Hawthorne Avenue became 53rd
Avenue.
Hebberd Place became 59th Avenue.
Hedwig Place/Street became 63rd
Street.
Henry Street became 66th Road.
High Street became 58th Street.
Irene Place became 61st Drive.
James Street became 59th Avenue.
Jasmine Street became 62nd Street.
John Street became 60th Street.
Tratwine Street became 52nd Drive.
Willow Avenue became 64th Street.
Zeidler Avenue/Street became 55th
Street.
RIDGEWOOD
Anthon Avenue/Street became 60th
Street.
Buchman Avenue became 60th Lane.
Duryea’s Street became Hancock
Street.
Elm Avenue became Catalpa Avenue.
Foxall Street became 69th Avenue.
Fremont Street became 65th Street.
Halsey Street became Silver Street,
now 68th Road.
Halleck Avenue became 70th Avenue.
Howard Street became 65th Street.
Hancock Street became Hughes Street,
now 68th Avenue.
Ivy Street became Madison Avenue/
Street.
Jefferson Avenue became Cornelia
Street, now 67th Avenue.
Kossuth Place became Cypress Hills
Street.
Slocum Street became 64th Place.
Van Cortlandt Avenue became 71st
Avenue.
Voorhis Street became Decatur Street.
Our thanks to George Miller,
historian of the Greater Ridgewood
Historical Society, for his assistance
in making the above list possible. It is
by no means complete, but we thought
that readers might enjoy seeing some
of the names formerly used for a sampling
of local streets.
Editor’s note: The preceding article
was originally published in the Oct. 8,
2009 issue of the Ridgewood Times.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July
as we proudly celebrate and cherish our
independence.
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.
New York State Senator
District 15
District Offices:
159-53 102nd Street 66-85 73rd Place
Howard Beach, NY 11414 Middle Village, NY 11379
(718) 738-1111 (718) 497-1630
(718) 322-5760 FAX (718) 497-1761 FAX
This vintage postcard identifi es the location as “Bittman Street” in
Maspeth. The Old Timer wonders how many readers know what the
street is called today.
