18 32 times The QUeeNS • SEPTEMBER CoUrier 10,• WELCOME 2015 TO • september 10, 2015 FOR BREAKING fOr brEaking NEWS nEWs VISIT visiT www.www.timesnewsweekly.queenscourier.com com welcome to ridgewood s Living in Ridgewood: A Historical Walk by kELLy MariE ManCusO editorial@queenscourier.com/@KellyMMancuso Traces of Ridgewood’s rich European past can still be seen throughout the neighborhood, from the rows of carefully preserved brick homes to the soaring church spires that dot the horizon. Wanderers out for a leisurely stroll could encounter the remnants of Dutch, German and Slovenian settlers who once populated the area during centuries past. The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House (1820 Flushing Ave.) is a standing testament to Ridgewood’s bucolic Dutch past, as well as the oldest Dutch colonial stone house in New York City. With its jade green shutters and sloped roof, the house is a living monument to Ridgewood’s rural Dutch architecture of the 1800s. It was also the home of Arbitration Rock, the huge boulder that once marked the border between Queens and Brooklyn and the site of a century-long boundary dispute. Construction first began on the house in 1709 by Paulus Vander Ende, followed by an addition by Adrian Onderdonk in 1820. The house was first opened to the public in 1982 and was granted New York City landmark status in 1996 through the efforts of the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society (GRHS). Today, the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House serves as a community hub, hosting the Out in the Streets, Bushwick Open Studios and Bushwig festivals. In addition to maintaining an on-site genealogical research library, the GRHS hosts guided house tours and events, including the annual Harvest Festival and St. Nicholas Day celebrations. Lovingly dubbed the “yellow brick road” by local historians, the Stockholm Street Historic District is home to nearly forty landmarked homes, each built between 1907 and 1910 with iconic yellow bricks from Kreischer kilns of Staten Island. Many of the houses have white wooden front porches, bayed exteriors and were designed by Louis Berger & Company, the architectural firm behind thousands of buildings around Ridgewood. Follow Stockholm St. and gaze upon the architectural marvel that is St. Aloysius Church (382 Onderdonk Ave.), originally constructed in 1917 by architect Francis Berlenbach as house of worship for German immigrants. Its twin yellow brick spires soar 165 feet into the air, making it the largest Kreischer brick building in the city. The Ridgewood Democratic Club building (60- 70 Putnam Ave.) has been the group’s home since 1916. The façade features globe lanterns and original handcrafted stained glass windows bearing the club’s intertwined “RDC” initials against a gold star. Inside, a stately wooden staircase meets the maroon and white mosaic tiled floor bearing the group’s name. The building was originally constructed in 1902 and served as the office of renowned developer Paul Stier, who was so prolific that the area surrounding Putnam Avenue became known as “Stierville” in tribute. The Ridgewood Savings Bank was originally founded in a taproom in 1921 by a group of working-class Ridgewood residents looking to create a grassroots bank to serve their community. In 1929, they upgraded to the stately cathedral of commerce that still stands on the on the corner of Forest Avenue and George Street. With its ornate double doors, illuminated filigree clock and cornice designs depicting worker bees and their hives, the bank’s limestone façade is a feast for the eyes. Once inside, bank patrons are dwarfed by soaring arched windows and intricate Angelo Magnanti murals. St. Matthias Church (58-15 Catalpa Ave.) was completed in 1926 after World War I. The church interior is awe-inspiring, with a soaring central nave flanked by marble columns, skylights, ornate arches, Art Deco chandeliers and beautiful stained glass windows. When viewed from the Forest Avenue M train platform, the church dome and spire evoke the feeling of a small European village in the heart of Queens.
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