WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 13, 2020 19
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
it to Welz and Zerwick Brewery on
a five-year contract.
But soon after, Deckelmann became
ill and had a nervous breakdown;
eventually, he was confined
to a sanitarium, where he died in
February 1901.
Eventually, Welz and Zerwick
Brewery would purchase the entire
park from Deckelmann’s family. But
in the decade that followed, a series
of misfortunes doomed the park to
its fate.
Between 1910 and 1915, a series of
fires destroyed a number of buildings
at the park. On April 17, 1910, a
gasoline tank exploded, destroying
the bowling alleys, the beer depot
and several smaller buildings.
A strong wind had carried the
flames and embers to the adjacent
Rieblings Greater New York Park
and Casino, causing heavy damage
there.
Volunteer fire companies from
Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond
Hill and Middle Village had to come
and put the fire out.
Then, on March 1, 1914, another
fire at Glendale Schuetzen Park
caused some damage. A kitchen
fire in November 1914 caused an
estimated $30,000 in losses.
The worst fire occurred on Nov.
20, 1915, inside the park’s dance hall.
It spread rapidly to some of the other
buildings, destroying the dance hall,
carousel, shooting gallery, organ
and several other buildings. They
were never replaced.
Only the park’s hotel escaped
without damage, and it would help
sustain the park for a few more
Families from Ridgewood and points west traveled east along Myrtle Avenue to reach Glendale Scheutzen Park.
Here’s how the avenue looked back in the early 1900s.
Ridgewood Times archives/Courtesy Greater Ridgewood Historical Society
years.
Prohibition arrived in 1920, and
that was the final straw for Glendale
Schuetzen Park. After being closed,
the picnic grounds were divided.
The hotel remained standing and
served as the headquarters for a
small picnic area.
Eventually, the building was
renovated and became the Glendale
Palace, at 88-43 Myrtle Ave., which
featured roller skating, dancing and
basketball. In 1931, it was renovated
again and became the Sportland
Bowling Alleys.
But just two years later, in 1933,
the building was razed to make
room for the Interboro (present-day
Jackie Robinson) Parkway.
Source: The Dec. 12, 1985, Ridgewood
Times.
* * *
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.
Welz and Zerwick Brewery in Ridgewood provided libation for thousands of guests at Glendale Scheutzen Park.
Ridgewood Times archives/Courtesy Greater Ridgewood Historical Society
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