The Steinway Tunnel was originally built for trolleys and is named for William Steinway, one of the “sons” of the Steinway & Sons piano manufacturing company. Steinway advocated for its construction as part of a bigger plan to develop areas of Queens, especially Astoria where his plant was located. Groundbreaking on the tunnel began in 1892. Construction accidents, lawsuits, financial woes, and the constant flooding of the site by an underground spring caused the project to be shut down entirely in 1893. Tunnels originally built for trolleys had to be modified for subway trains In June of 1915 the tunnel opened to IRT service, which at first was just a shuttle between Grand Central and Vernon Boulevard.

Prior to the construction of the East River tunnel to Pennsylvania Station, ferries traveled from East 34th Street in Manhattan to the railroad terminal in Long Island City.

Bodine Castle, razed in 1966, was a typical example of the mansions built along the shore in Ravenswood to attract the wealthy. The site is now part of the Con Edison plant.

The Hunter’s Point station opened in February of 1916, and in this photograph workers are building the tracks that lead out of the Steinway Tunnel to the next station, Court Square. The building under construction to the left was known for a time as the Queens Subway Building, where the County Seat was located, as well as the Degnon Contracting Company, who controlled the freight terminal nearby. The building was later taken over by Paragon Oil, and is currently a storage facility.

2 Ely Avenue, 1913.

2 Ely Avenue, 1920. As industry grew in Long Island City, many saloons opened in the area.

Before the construction of the elevated railway, Queensboro Plaza was a major streetcar intersection. Today, dozens of buses wend their way around the complex. The red brick Brewster Building still stands on Queens Boulevard and 27th Street, although it’s lost its clock tower. It’s currently a JetBlue office, but once housed businesses such as Rolls-Royce (1930s) and Metropolitan Life (1990s).

The Queens Boulevard viaduct’s appearance was carefully considered to make it appealing since it was so large. Streetcar service used to run underneath, but nowadays it’s mostly used for parking.

The landscape between what is now 114th Street and 120th Street was desolate in 1923, just before construction of the Willets Point Station. The area is named for Robert Willets, whose Elm Wood farm was nearby. The Willets Point Station, opened May 7, 1927, started life as a small local stop located at the convergence of Roosevelt Avenue, Willets Point Boulevard, and 126th Street. This area is now the entrance to the Corona Yard, “Home of the 7 Train.” When it was announced that the 1939 World’s Fair was going to be in Flushing Meadows, plans were made to expand the station in anticipation of Fair crowds, and move it to its current location.

Drawing For Grand Central Station Signage.

From the Eastbound platform of the Willets Point station the Unisphere, in the process of construction, can be seen to the left. Six months after this photograph was taken the World’s Fair opened. After then fair was over the grounds were converted into Flushing Meadow Park.

The Long Island Rail Road has been serving Flushing since the 1870s, but the original terminal was built in 1853 as part of the New York and Flushing Rail Road.

Broadway (Northern Blvd.) and Lawrence Street (College Point Boulevard), possibly for survey along the Flushing Line of the LIRR.

St. George’s church, seen near the center of the photo, was established in 1702, but the building it occupies (the third on this site) was built in 1854. In 2010 the steeple was torn off during an intense storm. It was rebuilt in 2013.