DEMOCRAT Grover Cleveland (who moved to New York State from New Jersey as a young man and served as mayor of Buffalo and NYS governor) holds the distinction of being the only president to be defeated for a second term and run again in the next election and win the rematch, becoming the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms. He lost to Benjamin Harrison (see above) in 1888 and then defeated Harrison in 1892. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated during his first term in 1886.
Cleveland Place in Little Italy, the northern two blocks of Centre Street, bears his name, as does Cleveland Street in Brooklyn’s East New York. There’s a Cleveland Place in Arrochar but, since it connects with Chicago Avenue, it’s likely named for the Lake Erie Ohio city. There’s also a Cleveland Street in New Brighton.
Grover Cleveland High School occupies almost an entire city block on Himrod between Grandview Avenue and Tonsor Street. The massive edifice was built in 1931. Prominent alumni include longtime New York Rangers and WINS announcer Jim Gordon, actress Rosie Perez, Yankees PA announcer Bob Sheppard and Ridgewood Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan.
Here’s a Crazy Eddie commercial filmed at GCHS, according to legend…
I never noticed before how attractive the Grover Cleveland Park “comfort station” is, with a combination ashlar stone and brick exterior and central arch. The park sits on a hill at Stanhope Street and Grandview Avenue and on a map, appears to occupy the NE corner of Linden Hill and Ahawith Chesed Cemeteries. The land for the park was acquired by the city in 1924 and was at first named for a local political club, Anawanda, a Tammany Hall-based organization diametrically opposed to reformists…of which Grover Cleveland was one. After 8 years, Parks got around naming the park for the nearby high school in 1939, outraging Anawanda, who are little remembered today.
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3/24/22
10 comments
I miss Crazy Eddie.
The Graveyard of Consumer Electronics Retailers is very, very large.
Thank you for the information I lived in ridgewood for 30 years abs miss it greatly.
1950’s popular singer Julius La Rosa graduated from the school in 1947. Later he became a DJ on station WNEW-AM. From time he would mention that he attended Gvoer Cleveland. I was listening to his program one day and he broke in singing a few bars of the school song “March Cleveland March”.
They held preschool in the park building. Circa 1967
That IS a cool “comfort station” Reminds me of something by Frank Lloyd
Wright.
There was the Cherokee political club in Yorkville,I assume it was Tammany
connected.All the Democrats clubs had Indian names.Tammany was a Indian
Chief.Political clubs were also social clubs.They had dances,picnics,parties,etc.
My grandmother went to dances at Tammany Hall.Today all that remains of the
Cherokee Club is their name carved in stone above a doorway on 79th st.
Bob Sheppard graduated from St. John’s Prep in 1928. The school was then located in Brooklyn and is now in the old Mater Christi buil-ding in Astoria.
Hey Chris, when I first saw the picture here, I also thought it reminded me of a frank lloyd write designed building. It reminded me of the Robin house in Chicago, which he designed. My wife and I visited the house, and it’s fantastic. you’d never believe it was designed in the early part of the 20th century.
Oops. That was the Robie, not Robin House.
The Queens Parks 1927 Annual Report (http://nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/4495annual_report_queens_dept_parks_1927-28.pdf) states, “The addition of a combined Bandstand and Comfort Station and Locker Rooms is desirable at as early a date as funds will permit.” Perhaps the open middle area would have been shelter for a band. I must also politely disagree on its resemblance to a Frank Lloyd Wright creation. The row of windows and the horizontal breadth of the building might be similar, but the gables would have a much gentler slope. Also, the arch and the vertical elements of the chimney and stone corners break-up the horizontal focus. However, the randomly coursed, ashlar stones are a “Robert Moses” hallmark. Since it is post 1928, and there is no little “Red Square”, I’m betting more on Robert Moses than Frank Lloyd Wright.