‘Astoria Institute’ (1825 – 1860?) funded by John Jacob Astor, was a young woman’s private school, part of a revolutionary development at that time in women’s educational opportunities giving rise to the Seneca Falls Convention. ‘Hallets Cove’ changed its name to ‘Astoria’ because of this building. It was later a parish house for St. George Church. Soon after its Request for Evaluation rejected by the Landmarks Commission, demolished for the Gloria D’Amico Senior Residence, named for a late Queens County Clerk.

At the northwest corner of 26th Avenue is the Mount Carmel Cemetery, 1931. The original Our Lady of Mount Carmel church (completed in 1841) once stood adjacent to this church graveyard. The parish moved to a new church a few blocks away at the corner of Newtown Avenue and Crescent Street in 1873. The church continued to use and maintain the church graveyard into the 20th century. The earliest monument dates back to 1844, with most burials between the 1850s and 1880s. The final burial took place in 1926. Most of the burials are of Irish immigrant parishioners, many of whom likely arrived in the United States in the late 1840s to escape the Irish Famine. As is the case with many of the small church and family burial plots, this cemetery suffered through decades of neglect and vandalism. In 1983 the Diocese of Brooklyn began to clean and maintain the plot, placing it behind a tall fence for protection.

St. George's Church dates to 1825 when a wood-frame edifice was erected on land donated by landowner Robert Blackwell. The church, which sat on a site near Astoria Boulevard, was destroyed in a fire in 1894. (Today the Astoria Branch of the Queens Library, a Carnegie library sits on the site of the original church.) A new brick church was erected up the block in 1903-1904. The St. George churchyard which is the final resting place of many early settlers currently sits between the library and the contemporary apartment house that backs up onto the church.

The current edifice was built and dedicated in February 1904, but the congregation dates back to 1825 when Samuel Blackwell donated a portion of his land to the new Episcopal congregation. An earlier wooden frame church existed on location between 1828 until 1894 when it was burned down. Next door to the church was the Astoria Institute for the Education of Young Ladies (built 1824), an academy that was built to educate the daughters of Astoria’s wealthy. The academy was not successful and soon after it became the parish house for St George’s, until it was sadly torn down in 2005 despite pleas from the Greater Astoria Historical Society. Just behind the church, there is a graveyard that holds the remains of many of Astoria’s early settlers such as the Blackwells and the Trowbridges, and a few Halletts. From Alan Arichavala

Astoria Square, March 13, 1931. Newtown Avenue, Astoria Boulevard (formerly Flushing Avenue and Fulton Street), 21st Street (Van Alst Street), and 27th Avenue (Franklin Street) converge at Astoria Square, which sat at the northeast corner of Astoria Park, a 19th century green space that has since been build over. At left is the “Astoria flatiron building” at 18-23 Astoria Boulevard, built in 1889 for the L. Gally furniture showroom.

St. George's Episcopal Church, Parish House, May 25, 1937. This clapboard building began its life in 1828 as the Astoria Institute for the Education of Young Ladies, a finishing school for the young daughters of the wealthy families residing in the mansions of nearby Hallet's Cove. Sometime after St. George's built their brick church next door (circa 1903-1903), this building became its parish house. In the early 2000s, as the church suffered from lack of funds, a decision was made to raze the building for the construction of senior housing.

Astoria branch of the Queens Public Library, June 2, 1927. One of seven Carnegie Libraries built in Queens, the Astoria branch was designed by Tuthill & Higgins firm and completed in 1904. The library’s original Flemish Revival design featured angled corner entrance, framed by twin chimneys and a curved stepped gable. The distinctive entrance was removed during 1930s-era renovations.

And just like that, another year here at Urban Archive is coming to a close in just a few short days! We've asked our partners to pick some of their favorite stories, images, and facts they encountered this year to share with you. Check them out below!