Neat shot of the (7) line under construction in 1917...

[duelingdragons 0]

 

This is near the intersection of modern day 33rd. St/Queens Blvd, near LaGuardia Community College.

 

Hard to believe Queens looked like this < 100 years ago, isn't it? *Found this on Wikipedia btw....

[Robert Bosco 0]

my jaw literally dropped when I saw this....great shot

[mark1447 685]

Seen this before. Man was Queens different back then

[duelingdragons 0]

Seen this before. Man was Queens different back then

 

Yeah, looks like a farm.. I bet the people living there at the time were wondering why they were wasting time and money on a railroad running through fields lol..

[Princelex 280]

Wow, what an incredible picture. The soon to be line was really in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing what happened to the area after the opened for business.

[Paul P 0]

Amazing!

[Joe 781]

I wonder what the justifications were for building stations where they are....

[NX Express 292]

Seen this before. Man was Queens different back then

 

Agreed! lol

[St Louis Car 09 22]

Man where`s Mc Fly and Doc when you need em?

[Dan05979 1,028]

Thats an awsome pic! too bad queens blvd can't look like that now, no traffic jams

[LRG 217]

That's hot!

[KeystoneRegional 246]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[metsfan 2]

Up till this point, queens was basically farms, dotted with a few villages, and the settlements along the north and south shores. Electric train service from connecting trains in NJ (manhattan transfer) had started operating just 5 years earlier & sunnyside yard is just off the top/left of the photo.

 

I like how you can see the curve off in the distance.

 

- A

[mark1447 685]

Up till this point, queens was basically farms, dotted with a few villages, and the settlements along the north and south shores. Electric train service from connecting trains in NJ (manhattan transfer) had started operating just 5 years earlier & sunnyside yard is just off the top/left of the photo.

 

I like how you can see the curve off in the distance.

 

- A

 

So how long before Queens became a city?

[metsfan 2]

So how long before Queens became a city?

 

It was never, it was simply added to NYC with the unification in the late 1800's. Queens county mainly added its population from this date onwards, heavily in the 20's and then again in the 40's. It was selected for the first world's fair in 1938 because of the open land still around then + location of adjacent railroad tracks. Ever wonder why willets point stations are so huge, it's because of the world's fair.

 

- A

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

One of the centennial metrocards had this very picture on the back.

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

I wonder what the justifications were for building stations where they are....

 

Agreed, someone either had very good foresight or just hoped that some businesses/residences would pop up along the el.

 

A better question is, why didn't they just build the el all the way strait thru Queens, but have it go northbound?