Sergey Kadinsky
Photography
The following photographic essay about a forgotten stream was created as a local history project for Forgotten-NY, a website dealing with the hidden aspects of New York City history. Launched by Kevin Walsh in 1999, it has since been published into a book.
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Horse Brook and Kissena Creek both contributed to the Flushing River, which neatly divided Queens into two almost equal halves. |
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The origin of the Flushing River predates the Pleistocene Ice Age, when the Hudson River flowed into the Atlantic Ocean using the Harlem River and Flushing River streambeds. For thousands of years, the line between the planet's northern ice cap and terra firma ran through Queens, creating a ridge of rocky deposits. The Hudson River then changed course, running on its present path on the west side of Manhattan. The former streambed remained as a low-lying salt marsh, with Flushing River as its outlet. On this wetlands map, the western tributary of Flushing River is Horse Brook. Its eastern tributary is Kissena Creek. Its northern tributary is Mill Creek, which later became the site of the short-lived Flushing Airport. | |
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| On the right is an 1891 topographical map of the Flushing River basin. much of the landscape appears untouched since the Ice Age. | |||
At the Source...
It is not easy to pinpoint the original source of this river because its location is buried beneath the tangle of highway ramps of the Kew Gardens interchange, where the Van Wyck Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, Jackie Robinson Parkway, and Union Turnpike cross paths. In colonial days, this location was known as the "Head of the Vleigh," where the Queens Valley began, it lent its name to nearby Vleigh Place, which skews slightly off the grid. Today, only the local Young Israel synagogue hearkens to the area's old name.
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This employees-only garden is located near the entrance to the Jamaica Yard, where the Queens Boulevard subway trains are stored. In the bushes around the garden, water seeps out of the ground and flows down to Flushing Meadows. The rail yard and a smaller DOT storage yard are in the background. |
This is the Kew Gardens interchange, where the Queens Valley began. The source of the Flushing River is on the right. Queens Valley was also the name of a golf course that stood on the site of the Kew Garden Hills neighborhood until the late 1940s. . |
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The stream is forming on the right shoulder of the Grand Central Parkway. The train trestle above the parkway connects the Queens Boulevard subway with Jamaica Yard. |
Drivers are familiar that the underpass below the trestle is often wet, even when there isn't much rain. Looks like the DOT is taking note, and covering the shoulder to prevent erosion. |
Jamaica Yard
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| Jamaica Yard opened in the early 1930s, to serve the Queens Boulevard subway line, which connects to Manhattan's Sixth Avenue, Broadway, and Eighth Avenue lines; and the Crosstown Line of Brooklyn. | The yard was built on top of the wetlands where the Flushing River emerged. In 1939, the subway was extended towards the Long Island Expressway for a temporary World's Fair station. After the fair closed, so did the station. Its right-of-way was later used for the Van Wyck Expressway. | ||
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Had the 1939 World's Fair subway line been kept in service, the neighborhoods of Queensboro Hill and Kew Gardens Hills would have received a one-seat ride to Midtown. Unfortunately, the Transit Authority bigwigs thought otherwise. With the exceptions of Hillside Avenue, Archer Avenue, and Downtown Flushing, the eastern half of Queens still does not have subway service. | |
Willow Lake
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On the east side of the valley, the nascent stream widens to form the 47 acre Willow Lake.
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On the west side, a view of the valley in its natural state. On the horizon is the Pinnacle, a luxury apartment tower completed in 1989. |
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 On the west side, the entrance to the Willow Lake natural area is fenced off. After the 1964 World's Fair, the lake's shoreline was used for baseball fields, but in 1976, it was restored into a natural area. |
 On the east side, it is also fenced off. Yes, that's my bike. Walking along the Flushing River would have taken forever. The natural area closed to the public in 2000, and is open once every few months for guided tours. Vandals and the homeless used Willow Lake as a refuge, and the city fenced it off to the public. |
The corner of Jewel Avenue and Park Drive East could make
for a Greenstreets park.
Between the Lakes...
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Between Willow and Meadow lakes, Jewel Avenue travels on a narrow tongue of land. Here, the Flushing River appears as a canal connecting the lakes. It needs serious cleaning. |
Meadow Lake
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| Meadow Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the city of New York. It was formed for the 1939 World's Fair. At the time, an amusement area surrounded the lake. Included were the Coney Island parachute tower, and a "sun-worshipper" colony. (note: link contains nudity) | This is a view looking north. On the horizon is the Jetson-esque NY State Pavilion, which was built by Philip Johnson for the 1964 World's Fair. Today, it stands abandoned by the city. | |
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The 1939 boathouse stands abandoned. Throughout the decades, there have been plans to restore it, including a proposal for a Russo's catering hall. |
The Mount Hebron Cemetery stands on the site of the Spring Hill estate, where colonial governor Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) was buried. His grandson, Cadwallader David Colden was born on this estate and later became mayor, congressman, and state senator. In 1894 the Cedar Grove Cemetery Corporation purchased the land, and later the Jewish community purchased most of the cemetery's land. It is the resting site of my grandfather and uncle. It deserves a separate story of its own. |
Leaving the Lake...
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| Amid the marshes, Flushing River leaves Meadow Lake. |
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The high water table keep rainwater on the surface for a long time .In the back is Queens' Eiffel Tower, intended as a temporary structure, but still standing decades later. |
Here's a look into the past
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This photo is looking north. In this 1930s photo, Flushing Meadows is being prepared for the 1939-40 World's Fair, and the wetlands hugging its shores have been buried. The twin bridges in the foreground are the soon-to-be demolished Strong's Causeway and the newly-built Long Island Expressway. The upper part of the river was dredged to make Meadow Lake. Below is a May 1936 photo of the Horse Brook meeting Flushing River. The huge dark heap is the ash dump. The neighborhood of Corona is on the left. |
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In the shadows...
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Above: Where Strong's Causeway once crossed, the river is now spanned by a multitude of ramps. The river has been reduced to a green-colored canal. | |
| Left: For the 1965-5 World's Fair, the upper portion of the Flushing River was buried beneath highway ramps and exhibition buildings. Since then, this is how the park landscape appears, minus the buildings. |
Before and After...
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| Above is a stretched 1938 view looking north. The borders of Flushing Meadows are delineated. Note how the western half of the photo is mapped out, while the eastern side still appears rural. | Here is a 1950 view looking south, with the Meadow and Willow lakes dredged out of the river's upper part. |
Into the ground...
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The river was diverted into tubes for the 1964 World's Fair, and the ground above was used for exhibits. After the fair, it became soccer fields. In the background are the masts of the newly-opened natatorium. |
The Fountain of the Planets is a circular pool where the Kissena Creek once met the Flushing River. The bunker in the center of the pool stands abandoned. It once powered the fountain displays. Also in the background on the left is the new Mets stadium. |
The Capital of the World
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From "New York 1960" by Robert Stern,Thomas Mellins, and David Fishman. Publisher: Monacelli 1997 |
In 1946, the nascent United Nations organization was holding its meetings in Lake Success, and proposals were being drafted for a permanent headquarters somewhere in the metro area. The proposal on the left capitalized on Flushing Meadows' reputation as the 1939 World's Fair site. It was designed by star architects Earle Andrews, Gilmore Clarke, Aymar Embury II, Wallace Harrison, and Louis Skidmore; and sketched by Hugh Ferriss. Thankfully, the diplomats preferred the Manhattan location, and Flushing Meadows remained the people's playground. Had this proposal been carried out, it would be easy to imagine foreign consulates lining College Point Boulevard. and diplomats residing in Corona. |
If I ever get elected to anything meaningful, I'll publicize my own proposal to daylight the Flushing River
