"Queens Boulevard at the N.E. corner of 58th Street (Betts Avenue). This is an old roadhouse which was demolished in 1925 as it lies directly in the center of the proposed widening of the Boulevard, 1922."

During the late 1920s and early 1930s Queens Boulevard was widened (in some places to 12 lanes) in conjunction with the construction of the the IND Queens Boulevard Line (today's E,F, M, and R trains). Hundreds of buildings were razed in preparation for this street widening. In some cases, plans were made to move structures in order to preserve them, including the 1895 building for the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown.