The Carridor, Then and Now

The other night, while hunting around the web for something new and interesting, I came across a 1914 edition of “The Automobile, a Journal of Automobile Progress and Construction” over at Google Books. Discussion of the exploding automotive manufacturing industry in Long Island City was offered, a century ago, in this article by J. Edward Schipper. Presumptively, the historic photographs are his as well.

It should also be mentioned that I have an annoying habit of assigning nicknames to neighborhoods, and “The Carridor” is a term entirely of my own fancy. Nobody else calls it that, most just use Northern Boulevard.

Several times I’ve used the term “Carridor” for the section of Northern Boulevard that snakes out from under the elevated subways of Queens Plaza. Largely forgotten, this industrial corridor once hosted a concentration of automobile factories and service centers at the very dawn of the industry. Packard and Brewster, Standard, and Ford were all here, in Queens.

In the 1914 shot above, the building on the right is described as a service station operated by the Ford company. That’s Honeywell Street the long side sits on, with the shallow end on Northern Boulevard. Sometime in the interval between the shots above and below, the place seems to have expanded a little bit.

Today it’s called the Center Building, at 33-00 Northern Boulevard. Now, I can’t help but see the seam between the original and added on wings.

Across the street was the Pierce Arrow factory and service center. LIC was famous for its electrified signs, by the way, visible in Manhattan and to everyone riding the subways, LIRR, or the bus.

The same building still stands today. Both structures have been largely converted over from heavy manufacturing to office space, but there is still some kind of light industrial operation going on at this one. “The Automotive” article also includes a map, and accordingly – so does this Brownstoner Queens post.

One of the companies on this list, found down near my beloved Newtown Creek, is a story that I’ve been saving and it’s going to knock your socks off. More to come on “The Carridor.”

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