Mourning the Old Flatbush Terminal
Doesn’t this photo of the old Flatbush Avenue Terminal just make you want to cry? Kevin Walsh of Forgotten NY brought this photo (and the others on this website) to our attention. (That’s One Hanson aka the Williamsburgh Savings Bank in the background.) The passenger station opened in 1907 and was completely refurbished in the…
Doesn’t this photo of the old Flatbush Avenue Terminal just make you want to cry? Kevin Walsh of Forgotten NY brought this photo (and the others on this website) to our attention. (That’s One Hanson aka the Williamsburgh Savings Bank in the background.) The passenger station opened in 1907 and was completely refurbished in the 1940s; like many historic structures in Brooklyn, the terminal was allowed to deteriorate in the 1960s and 1970s and the Transit Authority tore it down in the mid-1980s. What a waste.
I grew up in Flushing and have lived in several NY neighborhoods over 36 years. I too am obsessed with NY history, as Mr. Walsh seems to be. Our architectural and cultural history is more unique than any other city in this country.
For those of us concerned about preserving some of that legacy, Flushing is the absolute poster-neighborhood of what has gone wrong. Also one of the busiest, fastest growing neighborhoods in the city, the old and beautiful often get sacrificed for “boxes”-the very bare minimum that builing codes will allow. The cheapest possible materials in the cheapest way, so long as it is legal. Countless older, functional buildings that were torn down prior to the economic collapse have sat as empty holes in the ground for 2 years.
I find it ridiculous that the poster from dyker heights claims Walsh’s criticism of Flushing is racially motivated. Does he not also critisize white neighborhoods like whitestone? Given South Brooklyn’s history with race relations, I would worry about my own backyard, then worry about Flushing.
There are ALOT of nationalities in Flushing. We tend to get along, despite our differences.
Oh COME ON!!! I’m all for appropriate historic preservation but comparing this dump to the old Penn Station or Grand Central is just insulting. It the interior looks a helluva lot more like the current Penn Station than the old Penn Station. Good riddance. The new terminal isn’t bad, and has the advantage of not looking like the waiting room of the Albany Greyhoud depot (which this POS certainly does).
Kevin, Benson ,et.al. How refreshing to see a debate about historic NY/Brooklyn by people who’ve actually lived here for more than five minutes! I too came of age in BK in the 70’s (Marine Park/Gerritsen)and have seen the loss of wonderful things AND the revitalization of crappy areas…so I agree with both of you! now play nice
That’s amazing, island107, thanks for sharing that. I’ve always wanted to incorporate some local architectural salvage in our garden. In college the rental house we lived in had a patio made entirely of the old cobblestones that once paved the street outside.
Ah,the memories. Around 1990 when the old terminal building was demolished, the workers carefully removed and saved some of the terra cotta pieces. I asked one day if I could have some and they said take what you want..less we have to pay a landfill. So…I filled up the back of my old Volvo wagon. A complete garland like you see over the windows in the photo was incorporated into a wall in back of my brownstone on Vanderbilt. Other pieces are scattered around the neighborhood in backyard gardens. The old LIRR terminal lives!!
Well, all I have to say is: have a nice weekend!
Sometimes I can understand where you are coming from. I am about the same age as you, grew up two neighborhoods over from you (Gravesend) and am a product of the Catholic School/Southwest Brooklyn scene of the 70’s (I’m sure you know what I mean).
The world we knew is basically gone – but time marches on.
Once again, have a good weekend.
I lived in Flushing from 1993-2007 and Little Neck from 2007 to the present, so I’m writing about what I see all the time. If I lived in the Bronx, I’d complain about a lot more of the crap up there.
Private developments? I like that new building on Driggs and N 4th, Nforth. Nobody else seems to like it, but I do.
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SLICES/north4/n4.html
I don’t object to high density housing. I object to ugly high density housing.
Mr. Walsh;
I did not question your right to write what you wish on your website. I, like you, have a right to express my opinion, and that is what I was doing.
A couple of questions: if, as you claim, you do not focus on Asian areas, why do you spend so much time on Flushing and Fedders? Surely Flushing is not unique in this regard. Also, why do you wonder about the lack of variety of restaurants in Asian areas?
BTW: I’m not Asian.
Atlantic Commons is subsidized housing. We all know what they look like: traditional rowhouses. Battery Park City is also a governemental development.
Do you like any PRIVATE development? Where, in a growing city would you propose that it go? Also, let me ask you and the other “big green talkers” on this site a question: What would further reduce our dependence on the automobile: building new homes in areas ill-served by mass-transit, like East Flatbush or Mill Basin, or building denser housing in areas that are well-served by mass transit, like Crown Heights or the Atlantic Terminal area? You are trying to defy common logic wrt how cities should grow with your fetish for preserving EVERYTHING.
Benson: you are right. I have been contemptuous of what is going on in Flushing for years, whether the perpetrators are Asian, Irish or Alsatian. When you tear down perfectly good one- and two family homes and construct concrete-lawned, rusting fire-escaped, Fedders-festooned monstrosities — tearing down all the surrounding trees on the property in the bargain — I reserve the right to challenge it on my website. Racism and xenophobia are the old standby accusations on people who don’t like the new ‘esthetic.’ And if it is multifamily houses you need, there must be a better way to make them affordably than what is going on in Flushing and many other parts of town.
I do like some modern developments. I like Atlantic Commons (not the proposed Atlantic Yards but the already-built development between Fulton and Atlantic), and i would like to live in Battery Park City. The new metal-and glass front buildings have their place, but they don’t work in a brownstone context. You see one of those on a block otherwise occupied by brick buildings from 1910, and it’s jarring.
Fame? I’m a schmuck with a website. The What is more famous than me.
http://www.forgotten-ny.com