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Turning to the dusty, dogeared Book of Forgotten Street Names, making a mental note to replace the yellowed scotch tape that holds the cover together, we see that the tome plops open to... Astoria, Queens. Like Flushing, Astoria's pedigree dates to the mid-1600s, when William Hallett received a grant for the area surrounding what is now Hallett's Cove by Peter Stuyvesant. However, the oldest structures in the region date to the mid-1800s, after fur merchant Stephen Ailing Halsey had incorporated the village in 1839. Astoria was named for a man who apparently never set foot in it. A bitter battle for naming the village was finally named by supporters and friends of John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), not least Stephen Halsey. Astor, entrepreneur and real estate tycoon, had become the wealthiest man in America by 1840 with a net worth of over $40 million. (As it turns out, Astor did live in "Astoria"--his summer home, built on what is now East 87th Street near York Avenue--from which he could see the new Long Island Village named for him.) Like most other towns and villages in Queens, Astoria (which on this Forgotten page we'll describe as having the East River on the north and west, Broadway on the south, and Hazen and 51st Streets on the east as its boundaries) carried names for its streets, but it also had its own numbering system, which we'll also touch on. Let's start with Astoria's first neighborhood...grab a map of present-day Astoria and follow along.

Wealthy businessmen built homes on what are now 12th and 14th Street, some cozy boxes like this one, others large, ornate mansions; sadly, those that remain have been altered nearly beyond recognizability. NOTE: this page may be a little wide for those of you with smaller screens. The format I use for street necrology pages, though, makes it a necessity...

Hallett's Cove today, the region in Astoria just south of Astoria Park and west of 21st Street, is today a mixture of breathtaking houses, ancient churches and graveyards as well as forbidding, utilitatian housing projects and industrial buildings. The area near Astoria Park, as well as Ditmars to the north, feature views of the Hell Gate (1910) and Triborough (1936) bridges. It's typical of the resolute nondevelopment of New York City's waterfront that the closer to the water you get, the more boring the housing gets. Virtually nothing remains of William Hallett's original settlement along the cove that today bears his name (flags along the neighborhood's streetlamps call this area Two Coves--Hallett's, and Pot Cove, at the foot of Astoria Park South and Shore Boulevard). It was only after Stephen Halsey incorporated a village here in 1839 that strrets began to radiate east and south from the area. Most of them, but not all, were named for local landowners. Even if you didn't notice the old-style Victorians found in the area, its age can be detected by the narrowness of some of its streets as well as the irregularity of its street pattern; 12th Street changes directions three times, and 26th Road slants askew its neighbors.

STREET	LOCATION	WHAT'S THERE NOW?
	Between the East River and Astoria Square, what is now Astoria Boulevard, Newtown Avenue and 21st Street With its proximity to the East River, it may have been named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.	Astoria Boulevard. It was renamed for the section east of Astoria Square.
	From Astoria Square at 21st Street and Newtown Avenue east to Newtown (present-day Elmhurst).	Astoria Boulevard. New York City, or rather the small towns and villages that make it up, have a tradition of naming their main routes not for the villages they are in, but rather for the towns to which they lead. Astoria's Flushing Avenue was a large part of this tradition: it led all the way to Jackson Avenue, today's Northern Boulevard, the main route from Long Island City to Flushing. Even today, Brooklyn's Flushing Avenue and Queens' Bayside Avenue continue this practice. Both Fulton Street and Flushing Avenue were collectively known for awhile as Astoria Avenue.
	From 26th Avenue (Orchard Street) south to Astoria Boulevard (Fulton Street)	1st Street. In 1915, Queens adopted the 'Philadelphia plan' of street nomenclature, in which the lower-numbered streets start at the waterfront and increase the further away from it you go. This was done because at the time, Queens was made up of many small towns, many of which, like Whitestone, Flushing and Astoria, had numbering systems of their own. The new plan would place the entire borough under one system. Over the next decade, the new system was gradually implemented. Queens lost many colorful street names, and was saddled with a confusing system in which many streets with the same number come together, as in Maspeth.
	From 26th Avenue (Orchard Street) south to Astoria Boulevard (Fulton Street)	2nd Street
	From 26th Avenue (Orchard Street) south to Astoria Boulevard (Fulton Street) Named for Stephen Halsey, who originated the Astoria settlement beginning in 1839	3rd Street
	From 26th Avenue (Orchard Street) south to about Broadway and Vernon Avenue in Ravenswood	4th Street; south of Main Avenue, Vernon Boulevard; Astoria Housing now occupies part of its route. The new numbering system skipped 5th, 6th and 7th Streets.
	From Franklin Avenue (27th Avenue) south to Fulton Street (Astoria Boulevard)	8th Street
	From Astoria Square at Astoria Boulevard and 21st Street west to the East River The DeWayt House, on 27th Avenue (Franklin Street) and 12th Street (Remsen Street), dates to 1845 and the beginnings of Astoria Village	27th Avenue
	Dead end street off Stevens Street south of Franklin Street	28th Avenue. Still a dead end street as it was in 1900.
	From Shore Boulevard and Hoyt Avenue at Astoria Park south to Fulton Avenue and Taylor (29th) Avenue. Remsen Street was one of two streets in Astoria (Woolsey was the other) in which elaborate mansions were built in the early days of Astoria Village. Astoria has never been designated a landmarked naighborhood, so gradually, these historic buildings are being altered beyond recognition or razed entirely.	12th Street. Italianate mansion on 12th Street. It and its neighbors date to the mid-1860s.
	From Hoyt Avenue at Astoria Park south to Fulton (Astoria) Avenue at Clark Street (28th Avenue) Shingle-style house on Woolsey (14th) Street	14th Street. Woolsey Victorian survivor, with whimsical touches.
	Trowbridge Avenue: From Van Alst Avenue (21st Street) west to Woolsey Street Orchard Street: from Boulevard (4th Street) west to the East River	26th Avenue now occupies the route of both streets.
	One-block street between Remsen and Woolsey, just north of Trowbridge Avenue (26th Avenue)	26th Avenue. Baylies Street was named 26th Avenue even though it is not in the same line as the former Trowbridge Avenue, which was also renamed 26th Avenue. Former Baylies Street
	Hoyt Avenue at Astoria Park south to Fulton Avenue (Astoria Avenue)	18th Street The renumbering system skipped 14th, 16th and 17th (as well as 13th) Streets
	Willow (18th) Street east to Hallett (23rd) Street south of Astoria Park	25th Road
	Willow (18th) Street northeast to Van Alst (21st) Street, south of Trowbridge (26th) Avenue	26th Road At 26th Road and 21st Street you can find the Irish Famine Cemetery
	Winthrop (20th) Avenue southwest through Astoria and Long Island City to Newtown Creek Subway station, like many others, retains 21st Street's old name.	21st Street. Along with Vernon Boulevard 21st Street is now the main route between Long Island City and Astoria.
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Boulevard) and Debevoise Avenue (31st Street) west to the East River, along Astoria Park	Renamed Astoria Park South between 21st Street and the East River, but has kept its old name as Hoyt Avenues North and South along the Triborough Bridge approach Don't believe your eyes: Astoria Blvd. South never meets Shore Boulevard. The Astoria PARK South sign is mislabeled by the Department of Transportation.
	From Flushing Avenue (Astoria Avenue) north to Mount Washington Place (25th Road) east of Van Alst Avenue (21st Street) 25th Road and 22nd Street (N. Washington Street and Weil Place) looks much the same as it must have in the 1930s.	22nd Street. This remains one of the narrowest streets in Astoria.

View from the Hell Gate Bridge west toward Wards Island

The beautiful Hell Gate Bridge, completed by Gustav Lindenthal in 1917, was the jewel in the crown of Alexander Cassatt's Pennsylvania Railroad station in midtown, opened in 1910. The Hell Gate allowed the Pennsylvania RR a through route to Connecticut, Rhode Island and Boston. The Hell Gate Bridge combines with the Triborough to give Astoria and Ditmars a bridge 'double act' achieved nowhere else in the city except for the Fulton Fish Market area and Brooklyn's DUMBO, which can boast the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. That same year, 1917, the IRT was extended to Ditmars Boulevard (né Avenue) and attracted many Manhattanites to the nearby area. The Grand Central Parkway and the Triborough appeared in 1936, and after World War II Greek immigrants began the influx that continues to this day. Ditmars extends from the East River on the west and north to the Grand Central Parkway on the south and Steinway Street on the east. Of course, it originally had its own collection of streeet names.

STREET	LOCATION	WHAT'S THERE NOW?
	Between the East River and Old Bowery Bay Road (about where Hazen Street is now)	Ditmars Boulevard. It was gradually extended, in fits and starts, and now skirts LaGuardia Airport on its way to join Astoria Boulevard at about 111th Street. Sometime in the 30s there was a push to remoniker all main Queens routes as Boulevards, and Ditmars was among them. The boulevard occupies the space where 22nd Avenue might be expected.
	Barclay Street south of Ditmars Avenue east to Hallett Street.	22nd Road.
	Barclay Street south of Ditmars Avenue east to Hallett Street.	22nd Drive.
	Barclay Street south of Potter (23rd) Avenue east to Hallett Street.	23rd Road.
	Barclay Street south of Potter (23rd) Avenue east to Hallett Street.	23rd Terrace.
	Barclay Street south of Woolsey (24th) Avenue east to Hallett Street.	24th Road.
	From the East River east to Old Bowery Bay Road (about where Hazen Street is presently)	21st Avenue
	Shore Boulevard at East River east to Flusing (Astoria) Avenue at Oakley (47th) Street	23rd Avenue
	Lawrence (29th) Stret south of Potter Avenue east to Rapelje (33rd) Street	23rd Road
	Shore Boulevard at East River east to Flushing (Astoria) Avenue at Steinway Street	24th Avenue
	Hoyt Avenue northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue, latterly along Astoria Park	19th Street
	Flushing (Astoria) Avenue south of Van Alst (21st) Street northeast to Wolcott(20th) Avenue. Named for Astoria's first European settler.	23rd Street
	Hoyt Avenue northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue, latterly along Astoria Park	24th Street
	Hoyt Avenue northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue. Merchant Street was renamed KIndred Street for local congressman Joseph Kindred, and retained that name for some time after other local streets were given numbers. A WORD ABOUT CRESCENT STREET: This street has always kept its name; it would have been renamed 25th Street. As early as the 1840s maps were showing a curved path called The Crescent between Grand Avenue (30th Avenue) and Broadway, and even today, that section of Crescent Street retains its slight curve.	26th Street
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Blvd.) northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue.	27th Street
	Hoyt Avenue northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue.	28th Street
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Blvd.) northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue. In later years, before the changeover to numbered streets, the section of Lawrence Street between Astoria Blvd. and Woolsey (24th) Avenue was renamed Singer Street.	29th Street
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Blvd.) northeast to Wolcott (20th) Avenue. Also was known as 2nd Avenue.	31st Street
	Vandeverter Avenue (28th Avenue) northeast to Potter (23rd) Avenue	32nd Street.
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Winthrop Avenue (20th Avenue) Later called as 4th Avenue	33rd Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd.) northeast toWinthrop Avenue (20th Avenue) Later called 6th Avenue	35th Street. 34th Street was called 5th Avenue between Jackson Avenue and Flushing Avenue (Astoria Blvd.)
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd.) northeast toWinthrop Avenue (20th Avenue) Later called 7th Avenue	36th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd.) northeast toWinthrop Avenue (20th Avenue) Later called 8th Avenue	37th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd.) northeast toWinthrop Avenue (20th Avenue) Later called 9th Avenue	38th Street

Steinway Mansion on Albert (41st) Street Steinway Street, named for the patriarch, has been allowed to keep its name, where 39th Street would have been mapped.

Henry Steinweg, a German piano manufacturer, emigrated to New York City from Seesen, Germany, in 1853. His sons Henry Jr. and Theodore set about making pianos renowned the world over as the finest ever made. Henry Jr.'s and Theodore's younger brother, William, continued the family tradition (advertising their instruments as "the standard piano of the world") and moved the operations of Steinway Pianos to Astoria, Queens. Between 1870 and 1873, Steinway purchased 400 acres of land in northern Astoria and not only built the spacious Steinway Piano Factory, which still dominates the area, but a small town with a library, a church, a kindergarten, housing for factory workers, and a public trolley line. The factory is still very much in operation, producing some of the finest pianos available in the world, and the workers' housing is still there as well, now privately owned

STREET	LOCATION	WHAT'S THERE NOW?
Signpost on building still marks Albert Street (41st St.) and Winthrop Avenue (20th Ave.)	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Boulevard) northeast to Riker Avenue (19th Avenue) Named for a Steinway son.	41st Street. The old Steinway Mansion can still be found on 41st Street near 20th Avenue.
Theodore Street sign	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Boulevard) northeast to Bowery Bay Named for a Steinway son.	42nd Street
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Boulevard) northeast to Bowery Bay	43rd Street. 44th Street, previously known as 14th Avenue, runs from Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Flushing Avenue (Astoria Blvd.)
	Flushing Avenue (Astoria Boulevard) northeast to Bowery Bay Later called 15th Avenue	45th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Bowery Bay Later called 16th Avenue	46th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Bowery Bay Later called 17th Avenue	47th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Bowery Bay Later called 18th Avenue	48th Street
	Jackson Avenue (Northern Blvd) northeast to Bowery Bay Later called 19th Avenue	49th Street
	Pomeroy (37th Street) southeast to Old Bowery Bay Road	19th Avenue
	One of Queens' original roads, stretching from Calvary Cemetery on the south to North Beach (now occupied by LaGuardia Airport)	Pieces of it remain, such as Celtic Avenue in Sunnyside and 51st Street in Steinway

East Astoria was a very small community located on Astoria's eastern edge, about where Astoria Boulevard and Steinway Street-43rd Street are now. It was developed earlier than the surrounding area, and when more streets were finally cut through, East Astoria's small street grid survived. North-south streets were Planet Avenue and Sound Street, while east-west streets were Bremen Avenue, Frankfort Avenue (both of course, a sign of Astoria's mostly German population during the 19th and early 20th Centuries) as well as Nassau and Flushing Avenues.

Over the decades, surrounding development swallowed up East Astoria, and its death knell as a separate community came when Robert Moses rammed through the Grand Central Parkway connection to the Triborough Bridge. And yet...East Astoria hasn't comepletely been killed. As you can tell from the present-day Hagstrom, two streets defy the grid to this day, 23rd Street and Sound Street. Sound Street has never been completely conquered. Indeed... it's important today, as it provides a means for traffic to cross the GCP.

Flushing Avenue became Astoria Boulevard, and Nassau Avenue was demolished for the GCP. Planet and Bremen Avenues have disappeared. But Frankfort Avenue, later Frankfort Place, survives still, as 23rd Road between Steinway and Sound Streets. And with this view of 23rd Road, perhaps you can still see the echoes from East Astoria. There's no sidewalk, and the Connecting Rilroad can be seen in the distance as it has been since 1918.

SOURCES:

1938 Ritter-Swenson real estate map of northwest Queens

1910 Commercial Atlas of America, Queens section

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I must have missed something. E me at erpietri@earthlink.net or kevin@forgotten-ny.com