I recently wandered north on Crescent Street in Queens all the way from Hunters Point to Ditmars. I had already done a short Crescent Street page back in 2011, but I wanted to take a more thorough look; results will appear in a FNY post presently. There are parts of NYC where change has come with breathtaking frequency, and Hunters Point/southern LIC is one of those places. What was a mixed use region of modest dwellings, manufacturing and auto repair has exploded in a thicket of tall glass residential towers taking advantage of the area’s river and Manhattan views.
Pictured above is the NE corner of Crescent Street and 43rd Avenue, where a pair of said high rises are under construction; the one on the right is called “The Dutch” in honor of the nearby Dutch Kills neighborhood. It’s fascinating to compare what the place looks like now compared to a few years ago, and then further back in time, and Google Street View and 1940s NYC can act as a time machine just as good as the one the late James Darren used to travel through the ages on Irwin Allen’s “Time Tunnel” TV show.
Here’s what 43rd Avenue between Crescent and Hunter Streets looked like in 2009. It’s likely these low-rise residences, shacks by then, had already been condemned.
1940s.NYC.com splits this block into several photos, so you can see the detail that used to feature these modest houses occupied by tradesmen and manufacturing workers. The corner building on Crescent is particularly interesting, as Up To Date Box Lunch occupies a triangular plot. “Privilege signs” for both Coke and Pepsi are at the entrance. In 1940, the streets are still Belgian blocked.
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11/4/24