The corner of 69th Street and Grand Avenue looked a lot different back in 1940, at least at its southwestern corner. In this photo we see a woman approaching a Flushing-Ridgewood trolley. Today that is the Q58 bus line. The trolley infrastructure is gone – no more overhead wires, street markers, or tracks. What stands out today are modern traffic signals and painted crosswalks. The bishop’s crook lampposts were removed but a retro-style model was brought back in recent years to beautify the shopping strip. The Belgian blocked streets have been asphalted over. Cars have changed quite a bit since the old days. The buildings along Grand haven’t changed much, although some have lost their rooftop ornamentation. Repeaters to support cell phone usage have been placed atop the buildings – a technological development which people in the 1940s would never have dreamed of. The Maspeth Theater marquee is now gone. The entire row of homes seen in the background as well as the Juniper Diner behind the trolley and town’s memorial park were demolished to make way for the Long Island and Queens Midtown Expressways, leaving only a small triangle where Maspeth announces its name to the world.