Astoria, Queens: everybody’s neighborhood

Written by Abbey Kurtz

Astoria reminds me of my third grade class geography project — 20 students studying 20 different countries and putting together a visual presentation to share with the other kids and their families for world culture day. We had rows of desks filled with food, artifacts, clothing, posters, and dictionaries lining our small, cozy classroom. Making your way around the room, you accumulated delicious food, colorful jewelry, new ways to say “hello,” and the excitement of feeling like you’d stepped into a different world — even if it was just for a few minutes.

This is what it feels like living in Astoria. One minute you are wandering down Steinway Street smelling the sweet, fruity aroma of hookah smoke in Little Egypt, and the next you are seeing window displays of spanakopita and baklava in storefronts with doors painted the same bright blue as the Greek flag.

Every few blocks is like entering a new country, complete with local food, wares, and the best part of traveling around the world: the people. During the 2014 World Cup, every single bar, cafe, and restaurant was bursting with fans cheering for their home countries to win. Each competing country had a robust crowd of supporters waving flags and honking horns, showcasing the true diversity and spirit of this 10.5-square-mile neighborhood — a neighborhood that, it turns out, has been developing for hundreds of years.

In the early 17th century, Astoria was settled by Dutch and German immigrants, who were followed by the Irish from the 1800s into the early 1900s. The latter part of the 1800s saw even more German immigrants coming in, many of whom were furniture and cabinet makers. While these craftsmen’s shops are long gone, many of the stores found on Astoria’s main streets sell furniture and other household necessities, making it easy to imagine what it was like to walk through the neighborhood in its early development.

Italian immigrants also came to settle in Astoria in large numbers after World War II, which helped to make it into the hub for Italian restaurants, shops, and grocery stores that Ditmars Boulevard still is today. A bit later, during the 1960s, an influx of Greek immigrants moved into Astoria, forming the largest Greek population outside of Greece itself. Greek churches, taverns, restaurants, bakeries, and more, bring the flavor of the Mediterranean to this part of the Queens borough.

Making up yet another significant part of Astoria’s population, Lebanese, Egyptian, Tunisian, and Moroccan immigrants began to move into Astoria in the mid-1970s. Albanian, Bosnian, Brazilian, and Bulgarian immigrants have found a home here as well.

One of Astoria’s busiest and most historical streets, Steinway Street, is another interesting part of Astoria’s immigrant history. The street was named for the profound impact of one settler, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons in 1853. The family established a sawmill, foundry, streetcar line, and the Steinway Village, which provided education for their workers in both German and English, and contributed greatly to the lives of the working class in Astoria during that time.

Besides its extensive immigrant history, Astoria has been a big part of the film and television industries — and remains so to this day. In 1920, Lasky Corporation, which was later renamed Paramount, was built in Astoria, and contributed about a quarter of the production company’s films. In 1942, the US Army renamed the studio Signal Corps Photographic Center, and began producing wartime movies as well as training and educational films. In 1988 it became the Museum of the Moving Image, now a popular destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike. To this day, Astoria is a key part of the movie and film business. It is the proud home of Kaufman Studios, where shows like Sesame Street and Orange is the New Black are currently being filmed. (Look for me in the background shots of OITNB, I tried to sneak into a few shots!)

There are so many interesting aspects of this Queens neighborhood. A 20-minute subway ride from Manhattan, Astoria is culturally rich, historically fascinating, has all kinds of delicious food, and is alluring for young professionals, families, and retirees. Stop by sometime, and make your way around the world — one street at a time.