The Forgotten New York tour of Middle Village on Sunday, April 1st was a great success, attracting tourgoers from all over New York City, as well as many curious locals. JPCA Historian Christina Wilkinson and Forgotten New York author Kevin Walsh led the participants from the subway station at Queens Boulevard, down 63rd Drive, across Woodhaven Boulevard, and into Middle Village. The first stop was Trinity Lutheran Church, followed by the Pullis Farm Cemetery, where a few more local participants joined us. Views of the Manhattan skyline were admired near Juniper Valley Park's central flagpole, where the group photo was taken.
The tour then made its way down 78th Street, past the old farmhouse on Furmanville Avenue, and then down 79th Place, to the old St. Margaret’s Church, now being used as a parish hall. Then began a westward procession down Metropolitan Avenue turning left on 75th Street to visit a former Jewish synagogue, now being used as a Romanian Orthodox church, and a former Hebrew School, now housing the Middle Village Older Adult Program. Then it was back to Metropolitan Avenue, past the former Niederstein’s site, the Frank T. Lang Building at 69th Street and Lutheran Cemetery. We turned right on Mount Olivet Crescent to stop at Fresh Pond Crematory, where the remains of famous people such as Lou Gehrig were cremated. The final stop on the tour was the Hess-Miller Funeral Home, originally a mansion believed to have belonged to a local politician.
The tour stopped at about 20 different locations. You never know what you will see on a Forgotten Tour. Some surpises along the way included an etching of Elvis on a garage, 2 classic cars, a faded Coca-Cola ad painted in an alleyway, a hidden frieze containing biblical scenes and even a lawn cow!
More than $300 was raised during this event. All monies were donated toward the St. Saviour’s Fund.
JPCA and Forgotten NY look forward to chronicling this day in the next Juniper Berry and presenting tours of other nearby neighborhoods soon.
Steve Garza's photos of the tour are available here: Middle Village tour photos
A synopsis of the tour may be read here:
Thank you to all those who attended and please join us next time we venture out!
