Elmhurst, Queens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue (Jackson Heights) on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth and the New York Connecting Railroad on the west; and Woodside on the northwest. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 4.[1]
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[edit] History
The village was established in 1652 by the Dutch as Middenburgh (Middleburgh), and was a suburb of New Amsterdam in New Netherland. The original settlers of Elmhurst were from the nearby colony of Maspat (now called Maspeth), following threats and attacks by local Indians.
When the British took over Nieuwe Netherland in 1664, they renamed Middleburgh as New Town (Nieuwe Stad) to maintain the Dutch heritage. This was eventually simplified to Newtown. Among the English settlers in the present Elmhurst section of Newtown was Gershom Moore, in whose orchard a chance seedling produced the Newtown Pippin, Colonial America's most famous apple. Newtown was established as the Town Seat for the Township of the same name when it was established in 1683. The village was renamed Elmhurst (Lep Hurst)[citation needed] in 1896 to identify the area with a new housing development, avoid association with the larger Township, and the Creek, and maintain the Dutch heritage.
Once Queens joined the City of Greater New York in 1898, it developed into a fashionable district due to a housing development that was built in Elmhurst between 1896 and 1910, north of the Port Washington Branch railroad Station, built by the Cord Meyer Development Company. They expanded their holdings between 1905 and 1930, including Elmhurst Square, Elmhurst South, Elmhurst Heights, and New Elmhurst.
Prior to World War II, Elmhurst had an almost exclusively Jewish and Italian neighborhood. Following the war, Elmhurst evolved into what has been considered one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City.[2] By the 1980s, there were persons from 112 nations in residence. Approximately 20% of Elmhurst residents are Chinese Americans, with large percentages also from Colombia, Korea, India, the Philippines, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Mexico.
[edit] Historic churches
Four churches of historic vintage are still extant and in use, two of which have historical graveyards.
- St. James Parish Hall (Originally St. James Episcopal Church, at Broadway and 51st Avenue), which was built in 1734.
- Reformed Dutch Church of Newtown (85-15 Broadway at Corona Avenue), which was built in 1831.
- St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church (52-29 83rd St.), which was founded in 1832.
- First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (Queens Boulevard and 54th Avenue) which was built in 1893 and whose congregation was established in 1652.
[edit] Shopping
Elmhurst is home to two urban shopping malls. The recently expanded Queens Center Mall, the most profitable mall per square foot in the United States, and the recently renovated and expanded Queens Place Mall, a smaller round shopping center originally built as a Macy's branch. It also has many furniture stores adjacent to Grand Avenue on Queens Boulevard, including a Levitz Furniture.
[edit] Education
Elmhurst is part of New York City's Department of Education Region 4. [3]. Schools in Elmhurst include:
- P.S. 007 - Louis F. Simeone
- P.S. 013 - Clement C Moore
- P.S. 089 - Elmhurst
- P.S. 102 - Bayview
- P.S. 127 - Aerospace Science Magnet School
- P.S. 148 - Queens
- P.S. 228 - ECC
- P.S. 877 - 51 Avenue Academy
- St. Adalbert School
- Ascension School (closed)
- St. Bartholomew School
- I.S. 005 - The Walter Crowley Intermediate School
- I.S. 227 - Louis Armstrong
- Newtown High School
- Cathedral Preparatory Seminary
- Queens College
[edit] Transportation
Accessible subway stations are Woodhaven Boulevard, Grand Avenue–Newtown and Elmhurst Avenue, all served by the E G R V trains of the IND Queens Boulevard Line. In addition, the IRT Flushing Line, served by the 7 <7> train, runs along Roosevelt Avenue, the north border of Elmhurst, with stations at 74th Street–Broadway, 82nd Street-Jackson Heights and 90th Street-Elmhurst Avenue. Buses include the Q53, Q58, Q59, and Q60.
[edit] Popular culture
McDowell's, the fictional restaurant depicted in the 1988 film Coming to America, is located in Elmhurst, at a Wendy's that was cosmetically altered for the week-long location shoot.
Elmhurst has also produced a number of NBA basketball players, including Smush Parker (Guard for LA Clippers) and Charlie Villanueva (Forward for Milwaukee Bucks).
For many years Elmhurst was a familiar name due to the Elmhurst Gas Tanks (officially the Newtown Holder Station), a pair of large natural gas storage structures built in 1910 and 1921. Because the Long Island Expressway (LIE) frequently became congested in that area, "backup at the Elmhurst Gas Tanks" became a familiar phrase heard in radio traffic reports. Being literal rather than legal landmarks, the gas holders were removed in 2001.[4][5]
[edit] Notable residents
- Omar Minaya, General Manager of the New York Mets, former Elmhurst resident and Newtown High School Alumnus. He remains active in the community today.[6]
- Carroll O'Connor, actor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker on All in the Family.[7]
- Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[8]
- Florry Burrell, beloved neighborhood volunteer and School Aide at P.S. 13. The intersection of 94th Street and 52nd Avenue was named Florry Burrell Way in 2007 in her honor, though debate raged in the New York Times editorial pages over whether she was famous enough.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Queens Community Boards, New York City. Accessed September 3, 2007.
- ^ Kleinman, Dena. " A HOSPITAL WHERE ETHNIC CHANGE IS CONSTANT", The New York Times, October 6, 1982. Accessed June 4, 2007. "Dr. Stanley Bleich had been an intern less than a month at the municipal hospital in Elmhurst, Queens, when he examined a Korean man who had obvious indications of tuberculosis.... The hospital, one of the city's 16 municipal hospitals, is in what immigration officials have described as the city's most ethnically diverse neighborhood."
- ^ http://schools.nyc.gov/OurSchools/default.htm
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis. " Memory-Filled Tanks; Queens Loses 2 Roadside Landmarks", The New York Times, September 20, 1993. Accessed March 24, 2008. "The Elmhurst tanks -- those 200-foot monoliths that stood sentinel to the changing landscape of Queens and as harbingers of hair-tearing delay on the highway to Manhattan -- are down, deflated forever, their skeletal remains waiting to be dismantled."
- ^ Elmhurst gas tanks, Queens Tribune. Accessed June 4, 2007. "But when the beloved landmarks weren’t really doing the business anymore they came down in 1996 and by 2001 there was almost no trace of the tanks that once supplied business and homes across the city."
- ^ Berkow, Ira. "BASEBALL; Amid Some Uncertainty, The Expos Play to Win", The New York Times, June 18, 2002. Accessed October 22, 2007. "Minaya, born in the Dominican Republic but raised since age 8 in Elmhurst, Queens, was the assistant general manager with the Mets when Selig called last winter and offered him the job with the Expos."
- ^ Severo, Richard. "Carroll O'Connor, Embodiment of Social Tumult as Archie Bunker, Dies at 76", The New York Times, June 22, 2001. Accessed November 18, 2007. "The O'Connors lived well, at first in the Bronx, later in a larger apartment in Elmhurst, Queens, and finally in a nice single-family home in Forest Hills, Queens, then an enclave for people of means."
- ^ Talbot, Margaret. "Profiles, Supreme Confidence", The New Yorker, March 28, 2005, p. 40. Accessed October 22, 2007. "Tells about Scalia’s childhood in Trenton, New Jersey and Elmhurst Queens. His father, Eugene, was a professor at Brooklyn College and a believer in the principles of the New Criticism."
- ^ Miller, Stuart. "Turn Left at {Your Name Here}", The New York Times, April 22, 2007. Accessed December 6, 2007.
[edit] Sources
- AIA Guide to New York City, 3rd Edition (1988) ISBN 0-15-104040-0 (Hardcover); ISBN 0-15-603600-2 (Paperback)
- The Encyclopedia of New York City (1995) ISBN 0-300-05536-6 .
[edit] External links
- Pictures of Elmhurst (in lower right options, choose "Always show title and description" for descriptive titles to appear)
- Old Elmhurst Blog A blog discussing the history of Elmhurst
