June 12, 2004: Study for a Future Project in Astoria 1
Astoria is a wonderful neighborhood at the northwest edge of Queens. Most of the blocks have these cute residential red brick two stories- the kind of house featured in All in the Family. On Broadway there is a wonderful multi-ethnic strip of stores, and along Vernon Avenue near the river there are all sorts of cool industrial buildings. As a Brooklyn kid, I'm still not exactly sure where to go when I'm photographing in Queens. So to prepare for an upcoming night study of the neighborhood, I've been visiting the area, hoping to find ten or fifteen good spots to take pictures. If you know the area, and want to suggest a place for good shots, leave them in the comments!
Comments
A buddy of mine used to live in Astoria, and driving around there one night I got lost under that huge black railroad bridge (the old New Haven Line bridge that runs parallel to the Triboro Bridge). It's cool under there, the scale is very strange and imposing (the bridge is so huge, and the streets, hills, and buildings around it so small) it could be cool. Good luck... can't wait to see the shots. TN :>)
one thing that strikes me about astoria- it seems like the power lines, or telephone lines (i'm not sure which is which) are still above ground. you see all these polls and hanging wires on every street- it almost looks like san francisco. in most queens and brooklyn neighborhoods, there are some poles in the backyards, but mostly it's underground. does anyone know why astoria still has so much on the street?
Those shots are about 2 blocks from my apartment and I recognize (and have some similar shots of) every one. Tim had a good suggestion re: under the Hellgate and Triboro bridges (Astoria Blvd stop). They both go over Astoria Park, an area where you can't really go wrong (the Olympic Pool at night is cool). There's some good industrial stuff North of Ditmars Blvd. Some good Egyptian establishments on Steinway.
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