Queens Plaza (Queens)

East end of the Plaza, showing the new Gotham Center office building
South side before renovation
The millstones returned to Dutch Kills Green in 2014 renovation

Queens Plaza is a plaza straddling the western end of Queens Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens, between 21st Street and Jackson Avenue/Northern Boulevard (NY 25A). The plaza is overlapped by elevated subway tracks (which were constructed in 1914[1]). The Queensboro Bridge starts near the middle of the plaza. It has a New York City Subway stop for the E M R trains at the Queens Plaza station below ground along the eastern edge, and the 7 <7> N Q trains at the Queensboro Plaza station above the west central part of the plaza on elevated tracks.

The location was the center of the 18th century village of Dutch Kills. Two millstones were preserved as relics of that time, to be displayed in a green space.[2]

The plaza was built in 1909 to accommodate the connection of the Queensboro Bridge to Queens Boulevard. From the 1920s through World War II it served as the location for many factories and warehouses, some of which later became office buildings. New buildings are being put up, and in 2009, $75 million was earmarked to clean and spruce up the area and to renovate the plaza.[3] The New York City Traffic Control Center at 28-11 Queens Plaza North controls the city's traffic lights.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Seyfried, V.F. & Asadorian, W. (1991). Old Queens, NY in early photographs. New York: Dover
  2. ↑ Lauinger, John (September 24, 2009). "Colonial-era millstones in danger at Queens Plaza construction site, preservationists peeved". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  3. ↑ Tarquinio, J. Alex (July 28, 2009). "Cleaning the Grit Off Long Island City". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  4. ↑ Rebeca Henely, Changing Midtown signals in LIC Yournabe.com 2011 July 31

External links

Route map: Bing