A Heat Wave And Aviation Mark July 1911

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Get into a conversation with a longtime Queens resident and youíre likely to discover a former subscriber of the Long Island Star Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaperís name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily JournalñThe Flushing Journal (1841).

Welcome to July 1911!

A heat wave persisted during the first week of the month. Tuesday, July 4th, was the hottest Fourth since the local Weather Bureau was established in 1874. The official maximum was 93 degrees, but thermometers on the street read 103 degrees. According to records, between thirty-five and forty persons lost their lives due to the heat on Tuesday alone.

Harry Atwood c. 1911 in a Curtiss Model D biplane.

On Saturday, July 1, Long Island City and Greenpoint got a good look at the first airplane, piloted by Harry Atwood, to fly between Boston and New York. His flight the previous Friday from Boston to New London, a distance of 135 miles, was the longest continuous cross-Country flight ever made in America. Atwood flew over Astoria, Dutch Kills, followed Jackson avenue to Greenpoint, and then the East River to his final destination at Governorís Island. Earlier in the morning, he made a landing in Astoria in the vacant lots on Woolsey avenue, between Goodrich and Chauncey streets. Fearing that he would be mobbed by the curious and that his plane might be damaged, he sent in a telephone call for police reserves. Sergeant Orpheus and a squad of men from the Astoria station arrived and quickly drove the crowd, estimated a 3,000, back a safe distance. ìUp in New England,î Atwood said, ìwhenever I land, I have lots of trouble in keeping people from getting too close to my machine. In some of these good-natured stampedes, I have barely escaped personal injury, to say nothing of damage to the plane.î

There were multiple incidents at North Beach during the month.

In the early morning of Saturday, July 1, several stands were completely wrecked and their contents stolen. As a result, 21 arrests were made. Six of them were young women. At about 2:30 AM, a crowd of several hundred left the College Inn to return home but decided to go on the ìwarpathî first. Four candy stands along the route to the car line were completely demolished and the contents stolen by the crowd. Coming to the Palace Casino, an open pavilion, most of the crowd swarmed into the dance hall, and one of the number took his place at the piano and struck up a tune so that the others might dance. Not being satisfied with this, they tried unsuccessfully to force their way into the barroom.

The proprietor of the establishment was sleeping on the second floor. He awoke and demanded that the crowd leave. The answer was an oath with a threat to kill if he interfered. The owner of one of the destroyed stands phoned the police, who rounded up a large crowd around 4:30 AM. Based on complainantsí identification, arrests were made. One of the young women was charged with carrying a revolver and held for Special Sessions.

Sunday, July 9, was a comparatively quiet, if hot, day, until near nightfall, when the heat seemed to take effect on some. From about 7:30 until midnight, police and the ìspecialsî at North Beach were kept busy ìdriving Manhattan toughs from place to place in order not to give them an opportunity of starting rough-house tactics.î A Manhattanite was arrested for being disorderly when he and a number of others started a fire on Grand Pier avenue, near a pleasure resort, in order to drive away mosquitoes. When the party was warned of the dangers of bonfires, some of them started to argue the question with the arresting officer. The ensuing ìmix-upî resulted in the arrest. Later in the day, Santi Massinni, sixteen, of Manhattan, was held over for Special Sessions for ìshooting up the placeî at Old Bowery Bay road and Ehret avenue. He was charged with discharging his gun five times.

Supt. Simmons, of the Queens Borough Bureau of Buildings, released some statistics showing that 1911 was a boom year in Queens. Building permits issued (3,055) in the first six months of the year were three-quarters of the total (4,138) for all of 1910. The building boom, which had struck in the Woodhaven section, continued with nearly one-quarter of all permits in the borough in that section. If this continued, Woodhaven would rival Ridgewood, which had been the supreme development district for several years.

The United States Government took title to Mill Rock, the rocky island in Hell Gate, between Blackwellís (now Roosevelt) and Wardís Islands. The Government paid $25,000 for the property, which was assessed by the city at $10,000. The rock itself was about one acre, but the purchase included submerged land, amounting to 639-1,000 acres, surrounding the rock. The purchase was made in connection with the Governmentís plan to improve the waterways about New York. It was expected that storehouses and other buildings related to this work would be built on the rock.

Negotiations were closed by which Long Island City would get another important automobile plant, the Benz Auto Import Company, which was located at West Fifty-fourth street in Manhattan. The company leased a building, which was one of the most modern in the city, at Fourteenth street and the Boulevard. The Benz was a German machine and one of the highest-grade cars in the world. The company was to import the chassis of the machine and will make the bodies, trim and do the finishing in Long Island City. The factory would employ about 100 men.

On July 19, the toll on the Queensboro Bridge was abolished. According to those interested in the automobile business, this would give Long Island City one of its biggest boosts. ìAutomobilistsî had found that they could locate their factories here and escape the high rentals in Manhattan and still be in reach of the bit automobile center around Broadway and Fifty-ninth street. It was understood that three other firms were looking for space in Long Island City, while six big factories were already located in Long Island City, which was predicted to become one of the most important automobile centers in the country.

Thatís the way it was in July 1911!

In the gallery, see the exhibit ìAstoriaís Greatest Generation -- World War II + 60 Years.î Open to the public Saturdays from noon till four.

For further info, call the Greater Astoria Historical Society at 718-278-0700 or HYPERLINK "http://www.astorialic.org"