What Lies Below: Manhole Covers in Queens

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    I walk just about everywhere, and take a lot of photos of what I see. One of the things I look for when moving around Queens is actually embedded in the street. Often, I’ll check out a photo I shot and some small detail will jump out and demand attention.

    In the case of the “Water Supply DWS” manhole cover pictured above, found at the corner of Northern Blvd. and 44th street- I’m seeing the old NYC Department of Water Supply. The design elements indicate that this is a sewer cap and it likely dates back to the 1910’s or 20’s. Buildings, even whole neighborhoods, may come and go. The street and its utilities always remain, and a manhole cover is as close to a permanent artifact which will almost never be replaced as you can find in NYC.

    Oftentimes, these manhole covers can open up a can of worms, as in the case of a certain fellow named Joseph McGee.

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    There are quite a few of this model of manhole cover scattered around within the former municipal boundaries of Long Island City, which are all rather iconic and often photographed. They are all at least a century old. This one is on Newtown Road near the border of Woodside.

    The screed at the top of the iron disc is a makers mark, which says “Joseph McGee L.I. City Iron Foundry.” After a little bit of looking around, I turned up an address for the foundry via this issue of “Penton’s Foundry List, 1918-19 edition” at google books. It lists the foundry as being located at 51 Sixth Street, LIC.

    Here’s the problem, though — Sixth Street no longer exists. Many of the streets in LIC have not only been renamed since the old days, some have been resited, demapped, or eradicated entirely. Additionally, confusion is introduced by the fact that most “avenues” in modern LIC run east/west, while in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they ran north/south.

    It seems that the 51 Sixth Street address would translate to modern day 48th Avenue in the vicinity of 5th Street (about here, unless I’m reading it wrong), and this 1919 map clearly shows an “iron foundry” at the appropriate spot.

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    It seems Mr. McGee dabbled in politics, which is why the NY Times offered a line drawing of the man for consideration. Part of a series of portrait illustrations of the LIC luminaries who were running for Mayor of the independent city which are found in this article from 1895, the piece describes the political game and its players. Notice should be taken that the notorious Patrick “Battle Ax” Gleason is pictured in the article as well.

    Also, from a trade publication- “The Foundry, Vol 10 no. 55, 1897” at Boogle Books:

    “Obituary Joseph McGee- Joseph McGee, proprietor of an extensive iron foundry at Long Island City N.Y., died at his home in that city on July 6 from a complication of diseases. Mr McGee in Ireland in 1847, and when he was 14 years old came to this country, going first to Kentucky and then to Long Island City, where he went to work in the foundry which he subsequently owned.”

    When you’re taking a walk in Western Queens, you have to look “up, down, and all around” or you just might be missing something.

    Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman lives in Astoria and blogs at Newtown Pentacle.

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