WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 23, 2021 41
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Road, from Ridgewood to Maspeth
Hills to the intersection of Fresh Pond
Road and 69th Avenue in Ridgewood.
This stretch had many different
nicknames over the years including
Old Fresh Pond Road, Stony Road and
Snake Hill Road.
The serpentine nature of Snake Hill
Road, which curves and twists up and
down the steep glacial moraine running
through the heart of geographic Long
Island, probably had more to do with
the name than the presence of actual
snakes.
During the 20th century, the city
formally established Fresh Pond Road
on its current route from Flushing
Avenue in Maspeth to Myrtle Avenue
in Ridgewood. The last three blocks of
Fresh Pond Road, from 69th to Myrtle
avenues, were carved out of farm land.
The “old” portion of Fresh Pond Road
from 69th Avenue to Jamaica Avenues
became Cypress Hills Street.
Of course, Fresh Pond Road is today
one of the busiest and most active
roadways in the entire borough, lined
with shops, restaurants, bars and apartments.
It’s one of the most important
north-to-south roadways in the Greater
Ridgewood area, as it is the only street
to cut through Ridgewood, Maspeth
and Middle Village.
Reprinted from the July 21, 2016,
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.
An early 20th-century photo of Fresh Pond Road looking north at Metropolitan Avenue on the Ridgewood/
Middle Village border. Photo via Ridgewood Times archives
A recent view of the Fresh Pond Road streetscape. QNS fi le photo
link
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