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Hidden History of Queens
Queens has a history filled with fascinating firsts, cool characters and ramshackle ruins. Poet Clement Clarke Moore was inspired by childhood memories of Elmhurst when he wrote the poem "'Twas the Night before Christmas."
From the nation's first modern highway to the first-ever transatlantic flight, the borough has long been at the forefront of modern transportation. The infamous William "Boss" Tweed once fled jail to a secret hideout in a Bayside hotel. The remains of the old Creedmoor Hospital complex in Queens Village are haunting, as are the eerie remnants of Fort Tilden in the Rockaways. Author Richard Panchyk reveals glimpses of the hidden history of Queens.
From the nation's first modern highway to the first-ever transatlantic flight, the borough has long been at the forefront of modern transportation. The infamous William "Boss" Tweed once fled jail to a secret hideout in a Bayside hotel. The remains of the old Creedmoor Hospital complex in Queens Village are haunting, as are the eerie remnants of Fort Tilden in the Rockaways. Author Richard Panchyk reveals glimpses of the hidden history of Queens.
192 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2018
8 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Richard Panchyk
48 books21 followersRichard Panchyk is the author or editor of 14 books on a diverse range of topics, including children's nonfiction (science, history, art, politics/government) and adult nonfiction (history and folklore). His works have been translated into four languages.
Among his books are the award-winning and bestselling World War II for Kids, which is available at bookstores and museum gift shops across the nation. This book is considered as one of the top books ever published for teaching kids ages 9 and up about the war, and is used in schools and by homeschoolers from New York to Alaska. It features a foreword from the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.
He is also the author of the lavishly illustrated Galileo for Kids, featuring a foreword by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
To order autographed copies of any of his books, or for more information, you may contact the author at panchyk@yahoo.com.
Richard Panchyk's latest books are German New York City, published as part of the famous Images of America series by Arcadia and 101 Glimpses of Long Island's North Shore, published by The History Press.
German New York City is the first-ever major book to cover the story German population in one of the world's biggest cities. It features nearly 200 historic photographs.
101 Glimpses is a pocket-sized book offering a snapshot of different beautiful locales along the historic North Shore, and features a foreword by Thomas Suozzi.
Coming in 2009 - The Keys to American History, featuring more than 60 of America's most important documents and speeches.
Among his books are the award-winning and bestselling World War II for Kids, which is available at bookstores and museum gift shops across the nation. This book is considered as one of the top books ever published for teaching kids ages 9 and up about the war, and is used in schools and by homeschoolers from New York to Alaska. It features a foreword from the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.
He is also the author of the lavishly illustrated Galileo for Kids, featuring a foreword by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
To order autographed copies of any of his books, or for more information, you may contact the author at panchyk@yahoo.com.
Richard Panchyk's latest books are German New York City, published as part of the famous Images of America series by Arcadia and 101 Glimpses of Long Island's North Shore, published by The History Press.
German New York City is the first-ever major book to cover the story German population in one of the world's biggest cities. It features nearly 200 historic photographs.
101 Glimpses is a pocket-sized book offering a snapshot of different beautiful locales along the historic North Shore, and features a foreword by Thomas Suozzi.
Coming in 2009 - The Keys to American History, featuring more than 60 of America's most important documents and speeches.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2019
My husband purchased a signed copy of this book from our local bookstore, Kew and Willow Books.
I have been living in Queens for just over three years now, and I'm married to a local who adores the borough. I guess it is hard for me as a transplant to love all of the different places as those who have strong ties. It was nice to read about some of the places I do know about, like the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station on the corner of Forest Park, but the little nuggets of history mostly were too short and sounded like a laundry list.
I think I would have enjoyed this book more had it focused on fewer locations in Queens and spent more time talking about the Panchyk's search for the hidden history. I enjoyed the stories when he talks about his own experiences, like how things attracted his attention, how he tried to reconcile conflicting information, or what happened when he visited the location. But learning who passed down a house to who, who passed it down to who, etc., just wasn't all that interesting to me.
I have been living in Queens for just over three years now, and I'm married to a local who adores the borough. I guess it is hard for me as a transplant to love all of the different places as those who have strong ties. It was nice to read about some of the places I do know about, like the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station on the corner of Forest Park, but the little nuggets of history mostly were too short and sounded like a laundry list.
I think I would have enjoyed this book more had it focused on fewer locations in Queens and spent more time talking about the Panchyk's search for the hidden history. I enjoyed the stories when he talks about his own experiences, like how things attracted his attention, how he tried to reconcile conflicting information, or what happened when he visited the location. But learning who passed down a house to who, who passed it down to who, etc., just wasn't all that interesting to me.
April 23, 2019
This is a clearly-written, and often entertaining book, of Queens history, with sections sometimes including reproductions of historic postcard images, or photographs, including photographs taken by the author, of historic structures, and so forth. I found the book endlessly interesting and definitely would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more about NY history and/or specifically that of Queens.
Topics range from important agricultural advances that took place in Queens (such as the development of the Newtown Pippin apple) to transportation progress (the Long Island Motor Parkway, built by William K. Vanderbilt, and many facts about aviation in Queens, such as the once numerous small airfields that once seemed to dot the northern part of the borough). There are sections that deal with important (albeit mostly forgotten) Queens families such as the Moores (one member was the author of the poem The Night Before Christmas") and the King family (of Jamaica).
Some prominent families once had enormous estates in Queens, which sometimes included private family burial grounds - some of which are still extant and now NYC landmarks. And Grace Church in Jamaica includes historic Grace cemetery, "one of New York City's oldest cemeteries" which "has numerous stones dating to the eighteenth century." It is the final resting place of Rufus King, a Jamaica resident and one of the signers of the Constitution. (His manor - now the centerpiece of a city park - still stands across the street from the church.) The author has done a lot of fascinating research - and writes up his findings in an easy-to-read, unpretentious manner. This is an altogether fun read for anyone who wants to find out more about Queens, NY, history.
Topics range from important agricultural advances that took place in Queens (such as the development of the Newtown Pippin apple) to transportation progress (the Long Island Motor Parkway, built by William K. Vanderbilt, and many facts about aviation in Queens, such as the once numerous small airfields that once seemed to dot the northern part of the borough). There are sections that deal with important (albeit mostly forgotten) Queens families such as the Moores (one member was the author of the poem The Night Before Christmas") and the King family (of Jamaica).
Some prominent families once had enormous estates in Queens, which sometimes included private family burial grounds - some of which are still extant and now NYC landmarks. And Grace Church in Jamaica includes historic Grace cemetery, "one of New York City's oldest cemeteries" which "has numerous stones dating to the eighteenth century." It is the final resting place of Rufus King, a Jamaica resident and one of the signers of the Constitution. (His manor - now the centerpiece of a city park - still stands across the street from the church.) The author has done a lot of fascinating research - and writes up his findings in an easy-to-read, unpretentious manner. This is an altogether fun read for anyone who wants to find out more about Queens, NY, history.
January 9, 2019
For hometowners like me, Panchyk's history is a very enjoyable, light grab-bag of short pieces on Revolutionary War events, streets, buildings, open spaces, and disappeared institutions that us Queens locals have probably wondered about, consciously or subconsciously. Even if you haven't driven by the remote, stunningly large and well-built Steinway mansion, you probably know about the Avenue, the pianos, and neighborhood that bear the name, and Panchyk tells you the story behind it in a few pages.
I am okay with the relatively short treatment on each topic. Despite Panchyk's rather personal style, with lots of exclamation points and lots of personal reference, it is clear he's done the work: he has plowed through archives, visited most or all his sites, read the old papers, probably hundreds of hours with microfilms.
By the nature of the topic, this will probably only attract the layperson already interested in Queens for whatever reason; that's me, and Panchyk delivers the tour-guide-satisfying-curiosity experience that I paid for. I would easily have read this book if it were four times as long, so there's probably no stronger endorsement than that.
Abundant archival photos add greatly to the experience of imagining old Queens, but my one biggest point of dismay was that there is not a single map in the book. This really surprised and disappointed me. Especially when now-renamed or removed streets from the old city grid are mentioned, the description cries out for accompanying maps. I don't think these are that hard to come by -- many City record maps are available from the Dept of Finance and boro offices -- so while it's hard to believe that this was a simple oversight, I really wonder why these are missing, and wish I'd had at least a few accompanying plates of maps, if not a full location map for each entry.
I am okay with the relatively short treatment on each topic. Despite Panchyk's rather personal style, with lots of exclamation points and lots of personal reference, it is clear he's done the work: he has plowed through archives, visited most or all his sites, read the old papers, probably hundreds of hours with microfilms.
By the nature of the topic, this will probably only attract the layperson already interested in Queens for whatever reason; that's me, and Panchyk delivers the tour-guide-satisfying-curiosity experience that I paid for. I would easily have read this book if it were four times as long, so there's probably no stronger endorsement than that.
Abundant archival photos add greatly to the experience of imagining old Queens, but my one biggest point of dismay was that there is not a single map in the book. This really surprised and disappointed me. Especially when now-renamed or removed streets from the old city grid are mentioned, the description cries out for accompanying maps. I don't think these are that hard to come by -- many City record maps are available from the Dept of Finance and boro offices -- so while it's hard to believe that this was a simple oversight, I really wonder why these are missing, and wish I'd had at least a few accompanying plates of maps, if not a full location map for each entry.
March 14, 2026
LOTS OF HISTORY
As someone who was born and raised in Queens county and lived there for the first 40+ years of my life, I found this book to contain so much information on things that I had always taken for granted. It was nice to learn/discover about the history of this fascinating County. A must read for ALL people who call (or called Queens) their home.
As someone who was born and raised in Queens county and lived there for the first 40+ years of my life, I found this book to contain so much information on things that I had always taken for granted. It was nice to learn/discover about the history of this fascinating County. A must read for ALL people who call (or called Queens) their home.
December 28, 2018
This is a really fun book for people interested in the borough of Queens. The author writes personal accounts of his efforts to unearth "hidden" history in Queens. It is not comprehensive at all, but it is amusing and a great book for a rainy day. Well written and researched.
December 21, 2020
Very Interesting
I was raised in Queens Village so this was fascinating to me. The author did a good job of picking out historic information that is very interesting. Loved the cemeteries section.
I was raised in Queens Village so this was fascinating to me. The author did a good job of picking out historic information that is very interesting. Loved the cemeteries section.
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April 27, 2023I'm definitely not a history buff, but I did find this book -- with many references to places I often see -- an interesting read. It's a rather random collection of tidbits, some more fascinating than others.
January 26, 2019
For those of us born and brought up in Queens, this is almost a must-read. Fun facts. Interesting historical references. And great history with stories.
February 14, 2023
Very interesting book for anyone interested in the history of NYC, or from Queens.
June 9, 2025
Cool! Steinway & Sons of Steinway, Astoria and all kindsa cool info about queens. Very short but a good overview I think! If anything I wanted more lol
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews