Above -  Depot Road at intersection of Northern Bouelvard, 1911

Forgotten New York , the must read historical blog which chronicles New York history, has thoroughly and quite competently explicated the historical chronology of the Flushing, New York 'Broadway Station' as the station went through a massive grade crossing renovation that was completed in 1913.  This inaugural article seeks to expand on the  Forgotten New York  2014 article with continued contextual nuance in the form of historical insight and images.  The below article  will explore Depot Road, Crocheron Avenue and the adjacent surrounding areas of the Flushing, New York Broadway Railroad Station..

Pictured at top is a charming image of the Broadway Flushing area on Depot Road from 1912 just before final completion of the station.  The captured image was used in postcards of the era and is especially rare and highly valued in the collectors market with a market value over $1000.   The image itself is a snapshot of early 20th Century Flushing  life.  Attention to the foreground should be noted with a higher density of trees and foliage peeking over the metal trestle then the present day; along with a temporary make-shift work station of which the use is unclear to the author.  Perhaps it was a temporary ticket office in the final year of completion of the Broadway Station or a work station as construction of the station extended into its final year.


Broadway Station - 1921 (Above) -  a little less then a decade after its construction.    



DEPOT ROAD BETWEEN 165TH AND 166TH STREET, 1920's

Above we have a historic postcard  which illustrates the hilly topographical contours of Depot Road.  The steeper gradient of the hill and housing on the left situates the position on Depot Road as between 165th Street and 166th Street.  The LIRR concrete barriers to the platform and tracks  are no longer in existence as they were replaced by fabricated metal in the recent 2009 renovation.  In comparing the postcard to the present day, the de facto parking of cars in adjacent parallel manner to the tracks is  no longer the behavioral practice and  much of the maintained shrubbery which landscaped the premises of many private homes in Flushing is no longer a nuanced feature of contemporary decoration.  A sad demise of classy style as evidenced in the above picture.




DEPOT ROAD AND NORTH EAST CORNER OF 164TH STREET, 1940

Here above we have Depot Road, Flushing, NY at 36th Avenue circa 1940.  A great deal has changed since the image was taken and where once Drug stores, candy shops and confectionery establishments were a mainstay of business.  Today, this establishment is a Korean bar and  lounge and typifies the transformation of the Flushing neighborhood from the early 20th Century as Asian immigrants have populated North Flushing in strong numbers.  In the 1980's this location was a Greek coffee shop that the author recalls from firsthand remembrance.


DEPOT ROAD AND NORTH WEST CORNER OF 164TH STREET, 1930's

Commercial enterprise along Depot Road in Flushing, NY employed a myriad of architectural styles from the aforementioned Tudor style, to Brick Facade, as well as Flemish stucco.  The image above is of the architectural Flemish stucco style and the building still stands on the corner property today.  At one time the building was occupied by 'Depot Pharmacy'.  From the image, the next door lot is empty and one can see the faded vestige of a  'realtor' advertisement on the west side wall, as the selling of real estate has always been a lucrative business mainstay in Flushing.


BROADWAY TAVERN 162-07 DEPOT ROAD- CIRCA 1933

Along Depot Road, next to the railroad, other commercial stores were quick to capitalize on the increased customer traffic flow from the Railroad opening in 1902 by offering a variety of wares and services.  One of the more famous locales at the early turn of the 20th Century was the Broadway Restaurant Tavern seen above at 162-07 Depot Road, opened in 1933.  The name 'Broadway' being the former name of what is today known as Northern Boulevard.  The building which housed the restaurant was in the English Tudor style which was a style popularized by local architect James Callan of 35-42 161st Street who constructed many of the Tudor homes in North Flushing.  The Broadway Tavern later became known as Nettie’s Broadway Lounge and in 1984,when the author was growing up, the Broadway Tavern landmark was similarly a drinking establishment known as the Casey Jones Tavern.



 DEPOT ROAD CIRCA 1960


Depot Road has had many historical iterations from the early 20th Century onward.  The above image shows one such iteration in the early 60's in which a section of land was turned into a makeshift diner called 'The Royal Diner' which was buttressed up against Broadway Station itself.


CROCHERON AVENUE AND 164TH STREET, 1940

Depot Road runs perpendicular with 164th Street and this block similar to Depot Road itself was a strip for commercial activity.  In the 1940's the block was occupied by varied types of business ranging from Supermarkets to drinking establishments.  On the Northern Corner today of Crocheron and 164th Street stands a Korean Grocery that back in the day operated in a similar capacity.  This Flushing, NY snapshot reveals that for the most part the development and growth of the Broadway-Flushing area over the last 80 years has been quite subdued as compared with the Main Street, Flushing and downtown area.