At Astoria Square (Astoria Boulevard, 21st Street, 27th Avenue and Newtown Avenue) is one of Astoria’s more distinctive buildings, the former L. Gally Furniture store.
In 1889 L. Gally established a furniture store and built this handsome four-story brick building in the western “V” formed by 27th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard. The furniture store lasted just a few decades, but this distinctive building with its cupola, now overshadowed by a high rise on the opposite side of Astoria Boulevard, has “nonetheless persisted.” It has been nicely restored within the past decade. It’s called Astoria’s Flatiron Building, but the actual Flatiron Building should be called Manhattan’s L. Gally Building — it preceded it by 12 years.
The building stands at the west end of what was once the Road To Hellgate Ferry…which ran from the East River to the heart of Newtown, now Elmhurst, ands comprises parts of Astoria Boulevard, Newtown Avenue, 30th Avenue, Newtown Road, Woodside Avenue, and Broadway to its east end at Queens Boulevard, where in the colonial era roads turned west and stretched across the noxious and noisome Newtown Creek to Kings County and Williamsburg. I have it all on FNY’s Hellgate Ferry Road page.
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6/7/23
6 comments
Just like the Hell Gate Bridge was the prototype for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, maybe the Gally Building was the prototype of the 23rd St. Flatiron building… 😉
I lived in Astoria for 5 years and for some unknown reason I just don’t remember it. Thanks for letting us know about it.
It goes back to my youth in the early sixties, when I lived invthe projects further west. It contained an Army Navy store on the ground floor. Fischbeins, a large pharmacy/ general store , was across the street. Some old mansions were up the hill on the left, on 12th or 14th street. Nice to know it’s still there.
I lived in one of those “old mansions” wise I a teenager, with my parents, growing up. 14th street/27th Avenue. Attended Our Lady of Mt Carmel. Went to Fischbein’s when it was a small news stand store run by Jacob “Jack” Fischbein. Lost of Candy bars and comic books consumed there. After the War, Jack’s son, Leon, ran the local movie theatre, called the Square. The Crescent Theatre was close by. Lots of wonder memories!
I remember the night, 1971 I believe, when Fishbeins had a large fire..Gutted the building. By then he had a liquor store also there. I was around the bend at the bar with friends and we didnt even hear what was going on till one of us went to leave, lol. He rebuilt but now its a mosque i believe.
I lived on 9th street as a young kid, back in the late sixties, early 70s. I remember going by this building all the time.
As I remember it, it was painted all white, and the round window was once a clock.
The cupola still looks like a giant Hershey’s Kiss