This picture was taken during construction of the Eight Avenue subway in the mid-1930's. The photographer is on Queens Boulevard looking west toward Union Turnpike. Notice the rugged terrain off to the right. That was typical of the land on the Borough Hall side of Queens Boulevard before it was developed. Click on image to enlarge. [From the Lucy Ballenas Collection courtesy of Carl Ballenas.]

Random Recollections

by ALAN LINSKY - Page 3 of 3

[Continued from the previous page.]

Kew Gardens Adjacent

I am uncertain as to whether the strip of land along Queens Boulevard (Borough Hall side) between Union Turnpike and the intersection of the Van Wyck Expressway is Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood or a combination thereof. I would favor the first choice merely because we refer to the buildings that occupy the acreage as being in Kew Gardens (Kew Gardens Borough Hall, Kew Gardens Criminal Court etc.).

Regardless of its legal or official designation it certainly has historic interest for us, and I thought I'd give you a snapshot of what the area looked like (and how it came to be) circa 1940.

Before I tell you what was there, I think you should know what wasn't! There was no Van Wyck extension. 83rd Avenue did not cross the meadow nor did the criminal courts building and detention center exist. It was marshland stretching as far as what is now Main Street to the east. There were, however, three structures that did dot the expanse.

Queens Borough Hall c. 1940. Click on image to enlarge.

The first was Queens Borough Hall at the corner of Union Turnpike and completed in 1941. An interesting aside; Kew Gardens was not the first location considered for the "Crown Jewel" of the county. In fact, there was a good deal of political wrangling between Assembly Districts all the way from Long Island City to Douglaston for the title. Fortunately, and through the diligent efforts of then State Senator Seymour Halpern, Kew Gardens became the final choice.

The second building (at 83rd. Avenue and which was completely out of place and character) was a single story structure painted in bright yellow, and took on the appearance of a ship with portholes for windows. A railing encircled the roof which also supported a large neon sign advertising the 'Philco' products sold inside (we bought most of our radios and other small appliances there). The building, which was said to have been part of an exhibit at the 1939/40 Worlds Fair in Flushing and moved by private interests, was demolished during the construction and landscaping of the Van Wyck in 1951.

The Van Wyck Expressway at Kew Gardens, NY in 1955. Click on image to enlarge. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection LC-G613-T-66703 DLC]

The third and final structure was the most ridiculous of all. Standing virtually in the middle of nowhere, it was the entrance to the Van Wyck (Boulevard) station of the Eighth Avenue subway line. What made it even more absurd was that all you saw in the tall reeds of grass was the picketed steel fence surrounding the stairwell and two posts topped with cube shaped green and red fixtures. As strange as the installation may have seemed at the time, the then Board of Transportation did have a method to their madness. A planned spur down Van Wyck (Boulevard) all the way to the Belt Parkway would have required a switching tower at Queens Boulevard (subway buffs may still note the 'blind' cutoff tunnel just south of the station).

The area remained very much the same until the Van Wyck Expressway cut through in 1950 along with the crossing at 83rd Avenue. 1955 saw the erection of the steel superstructure for the Criminal Courts building which, for whatever the reasons, stood rusting away for over five years before the project was completed.

Al Linsky lived in Kew Gardens from 1938 to 1963 and attended P.S. 99 from 1944 to 1953. He is now retired, splitting his time between Brentwood, CA and Woodmere, NY. His avocation is as a broker of antique vehicles to the motion picture and television industry.

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