In the colonial era, the neighborhood now known as Maspeth, Queens was the site of the home of a prominent canal builder, De Witt Clinton, who held nearly every available elected office in New York City and State (but could not get elected president). In December 2019, the Newtown Historical Society installed a sign at 56th Terrace and 58th Street a stone’s throw from the former mansion’s location.
The Clinton Diner (named for the nearby DeWitt Clinton mansion), long a place of rest and sustenance (at least for me) in these parts, at Maspeth Avenue and 57th Place, was renamed the Goodfellas Diner because it, along with Jackson Heights’ Airline Diner, featured prominently in scenes from the 1990 Martin Scorcese mob classic. Unfortunately the diner suffered a devastating fire in 2018, and shows no sign of reopening in 2023. We can dream. Apparently it’s a Kullman from the 1930s that was renovated in the 1960s.
I once had lunch at the Clinton Diner after cracking my head open on the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, tripping on a curb and hitting the rail. While I was scarfing down lunch, the jaw movements reopened the wound. Mitch Waxman of the Newtown Pentacle (who was with me) called for an ambulance and I was hustled off to Elmhurst Hospital for stitches. All in a day’s work for Forgotten New York.
Another building named for Clinton in the area is at the corner of 56th Terrace and 58th Street, the erstwhile Clinton Hall. According to historian Paul Graziano in the Spring 2020 Juniper Berry, the publication of the Juniper Park Civic Association, the site of the mansion became a German beer garden founded by Peter Grussy in 1870 called Grussy’s Clinton Park. Clinton Hall appeared in the early 20th Century and was once billed as Long Island’s biggest dance hall, featuring bowling alleys, basketball courts and a pool room. It appears to be used for warehousing these days. Presently it is an event space, Majestic Hall.
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8/28/23
5 comments
Maspeth has too many 50-something streets/
“It appears to be used for warehousing these days.” It’s actually an event hall these days: Majestic Hall: https://www.maspetheventvenue.com. If you move north along 58th Street on Google Maps far enough, the pictures change from the “For Rent” shots from 2018 to the current location in 2022. (I found all this out one day just checking out Queens locations on Google Maps.)
I believe Clinton Hall was some sort of laboratory in the 1970s. My grandmother’s job was to wash and sterilize lab glassware and other equipment.
I seem to remember that building be used by the FDA early 70’s
Wow! I never knew this!