The way it was in Queens in December 1916
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical Society,
TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy events in
the borough’s history.
Welcome to December 1916!
On Dec. 1, 500 attendees
braved the rain to honor the
memory of Irish slain during
the Easter Rebellion earlier
that year. The event was sponsored
by the George Washington
Branch of Friends of Irish
Freedom, as well as the Celtic
Club of Greenpoint and was
held in St. Mary’s Auditorium.
In another part of Long Island
City, a mass meeting of
at least 500 citizens formally
launched an effort to extend
the Astoria ‘L’ to Steinway
Street and Ditmars Blvd. The
December 13 rally was held at
Fessler’s Hall, on Woolsey (today
24th) Avenue and Steinway
Street. It was organized by the
Steinway Manhattan Rapid
Transit Committee. Cheering
and applause greeted a letter
that offered $2,500 in financial
support by Theodore Steinway,
COLUMNS
president of Steinway & Sons.
The money was to help defray
the committee’s expenses.
On Dec. 8, the Queensboro
Bridge was the subject of a
report that confessed the sad
truth: the start of service on
that span’s ‘L’ train was delayed
by months. When service finally
starts, both the Corona and
Astoria lines will go over the
Queensboro Bridge, then down
to City Hall along the Second
Avenue line in Manhattan.
At that time (in 1916), about
20,000 passengers traveled
each way on the daily commute
through the Hunters Point and
Manhattan tunnel. The figure
was expected to substantially
increase with the completion of
Grand Central Terminal.
Queens was a magnet for
manufacturing. In just two
years, from 1914 to 1916, the value
of manufactured products
nearly doubled from $164 million
to more than $323 million.
During that same period the
number of employees increased
form 37,200 to nearly 64,000 and
payrolls from $25.75 million to
$46.9 million.
On Dec. 19, police invite 400
children to Christmas in the
Hunters Point Precinct (today
the 108th Precinct). Donations
totaled nearly $500 and Captain
McNally’s office in the stationhouse
was filled with toys and
clothing. A 30 foot tree will be
lit up free of charge by the local
utility. Santa will hand out
gifts of a toy, a piece of clothing,
and food.
On Dec. 9, Mrs. Isabel
Wright Freund, class of ’83
and first graduate of the old
Third Ward School at Hunter
Avenue was honored by the PS
4 Alumni Association (PS 4 in
Dutch Kills had replaced the
older school).
After her talk a handsome
bouquet of roses were
presented to Mrs. Freund by
Miss Ethel Zimmerman, age
8. Later, little Miss Zimmerman
entertained with dances
in costume. PS 4 is today long
gone. But little Miss Zimmerman,
who danced and sang?
We know her as Ethel Merman.
This was her first documented
public performance.
For more information, call
the Greater Astoria Historical
Society at (718) 278-0700 or visit
www.astorialic.org.
Contact the newsroom: 718-260-4545 • timesledgernews@cnglocal.com
TIMESLEDGER,28 DEC. 28-JAN. 3, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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