I have been looking back on ForgottenTours of the past, reminiscing somewhat because for a variety of reasons, including the Pandemic, I have not been able to do a live tour since the end of the 2019 season. In today’s entry I’m looking back at the Elmhurst tour from the spring of 2010 in which we had quite the turnout of nearly 50 people, including Mitch Waxman of the Newtown Pentacle, FNY correspondent Christina Wilkinson of the Newtown Historical Society and the late great Bernard Ente, who took the photo.
Our group is standing before the Old St. James Episcopal Church at Broadway and 51st Avenue. One of the first religious buildings in Newtown was the old St. James Episcopal Church parish house at Broadway and 51st Avenue. It is a relic of colonial rule, having been chartered by George II and erected in 1734: it is Elmhurst’s oldest remaining building. It formerly supported a clock tower that a storm blew down in 1882. Last used as a church in 1848, it is now a community center and Sunday school. In recent years the over-260-year-old building has received some much-needed TLC. A ‘new’ St. James, built in 1848, also burnt down; its replacement is an A-frame brick building catercorner to this one on Broadway and Corona Avenue.
As for tours, keep checking this space, as I’m planning some online tours for the 2022-2023 winter season.
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10/18/22
2 comments
Nice
If St. James dates back to 1734 it would have been chartered by George II, not George III. The reign of George III did not begin until 1760.