Sort of. For reasons that escape me, I Googled "Astoria" tonight. In order to avoid any confusion, I'm talking about a part of the borough of Queens, NYC, called Astoria. The 1964 World's Fair was there, LaGuardia Airport is there, my father was born and raised there. Growing up, we visited my grandparents and then just my grandmother there. They lived on 46th off of Ditmars Blvd. I can remember walking to the end of the street. There was an IGA across Ditmars and the old Steinway building which at some point became warehousing for Sterns (I think) and now is whatever it is.
This is a picture of my grandparents in front of their house. Grandpa worked for TWA at the time this picture was taken (before 1961 when he died) and the picture is part of an article about him in an employee newsletter.
In the course of my travels, I found a blog called Queens Daily Photo. Go take a look. It's a pretty neat view of the area from someone who is "new."
4 comments:
I've never been to NYC.
I'm probably really missing out.
I think it's one of those cities that you either love or hate - no inbetween. And each of the five boroughs has its own personality.
Hey MathCog, so your ancestors are from Queens. The pic of your grandad home looks to be in somewhere in Jackson Heights or Woodside.
I live in Queens, that's how come I'm guessing. BTW, thanks for the link to that Queens site. I have a NYC photoblog, which I haven't updated since my accident.
So, do you live in the city? I ask because you're right about the love/hate feeling some residents have.
michele
http://lettersfromnyc.mu.nu
Hi Michele,
The address for the house was
21-46 46th Street, Long Island City, NY. I think they bought the house in the 1920s. So a tad north of Jackson Heights and Woodside.
My dad was born in 1912 and the story is that he was born in a farmhouse located at what is now the end of a runway at LaGuardia. One of these days I'll get his birth certificate and try to confirm that. A friend and I are talking about a trip to the Municipal Archives this summer so I can do some genealogy research. Maybe I can arrange to get a copy of his and mine then. (Although I think I need to go to a different place for them.)
A lot of days I wish that I lived in the city. I'm in a tiny (pop. < 2,000) podunk town in New Hampshire. I love my little house, but sometimes I feel like I'm living an episode of the twilight zone. :-) Boston is about 2-1/2 hours away. I've been there exactly once in 10 years. Just doesn't have the same panache.
Post a Comment