St. Albans, Queens
Encyclopedia
St. Albans is a middle class
community in the New York City
borough
of Queens
around the intersection of Linden Boulevard
and Farmers Boulevard, about two miles north of JFK Airport
. It is southeast of Jamaica
, west of Cambria Heights
and north of Springfield Gardens
and Laurelton
.
The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 12
,
and is served by the St. Albans Post Office, ZIP Code
11412.
in 1655, the area, like much of Queens, remained farmland and forest for most of the next two centuries.
By the 1800s, the plantations of four families — the Remsens, Everitts, Ludlums and Hendricksons — formed the nucleus of this sprawling farm community in the eastern portion of Jamaica Township. In 1814, when the Village of Jamaica (the first village on Long Island) was incorporated, its boundaries extended eastward to Freeman's Path (now Farmers Boulevard), and south to Lazy Lane (called Central Avenue in 1900, then Foch Boulevard in the 1920s,
and now Linden Boulevard
), thus including parts of present-day St. Albans.
In 1850, the Baisley Pond reservoir was set up.
In 1872, the Long Island Rail Road Cedarhurst Cut-off
was built through the area, but no stop appears on the first timetables. In 1892, an area called Francis Farm was surveyed and developed for housing. There were numerous Francis families farming in the eastern portion of the Town of Jamaica in the 1880s.
Francis Lewis Boulevard
, which does not yet appear on maps from 1909, nor in 1910,
is now the eastern boundary of St. Albans.
Soon, the first street lights illuminated the crossroads that is now Linden Boulevard
and Farmers Boulevard. New shops clustered around August Everitt's lone store.
By July 1, 1898, a railroad station opened where the tracks crossed Locust Avenue (now Baisley Boulevard).
The station was razed and replaced with grade elimination October 15, 1935. Today, the St. Albans
station provides Long Island Rail Road
service to Penn Station
in Midtown Manhattan
or Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn
, with transfers available at Jamaica
station.
In 1899, a year after Queens became part of New York City (and with the Town of Jamaica and the Village of Jamaica thereby dissolved), the new post office for the 600 residents
was named St. Albans, after St Albans
in Hertfordshire, England, which itself was named after a Saint Alban
, thought to be the first Christian martyr
ed in England. The name had been in use for the area since at least 1894 for the name of the school district.
There already was a road in the area called St. Albans Avenue,
and the LIRR station was named St. Albans when it opened in 1898.
The St. Albans Golf Course, built in 1915, brought rich and famous golfers, including baseball star Babe Ruth
. The Depression forced the golf course owners to try to sell, but plans for private development fell through. The land was seized by the federal government in 1942,
and construction soon began on the St. Albans Naval Hospital, which opened in 1943.
After construction was completed in 1950,
the hospital had 3000 beds and contained a network of 76 wards. The hospital was turned over to the Veterans Administration
in 1974 and more recently evolved into the Veterans Administration St. Albans Primary and Extended Care Facility.
Many famous jazz
musicians used to live in St. Albans, particularly in some of the large houses in the small western enclave known as Addisleigh Park. The soul musician James Brown lived in St. Albans very near to the Veterans Administration facility. As a neighborhood adjacent to Hollis, St. Albans was one of the birthplaces of the "Hip Hop" and Rap music genres in the 1970s and 1980s.
St. Albans housing consists mostly of detached, one and two-family homes. Linden Boulevard
is the major shopping street.
The neighborhood and the surrounding area are considered the heart of Queens' African-American community.
Private
Sports
Other
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
community in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
around the intersection of Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, especially the area of Cambria Heights between Springfield Boulevard and the Nassau County line represents a smaller version of shopping...
and Farmers Boulevard, about two miles north of JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. It is southeast of Jamaica
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
, west of Cambria Heights
Cambria Heights, Queens
Cambria Heights is a middle-class neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Queens Village to the north, St. Albans to the west, and...
and north of Springfield Gardens
Springfield Gardens, Queens
Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton & Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the west by Farmers Boulevard...
and Laurelton
Laurelton, Queens
Laurelton is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is now a largely middle class neighborhood. In the 1930s through 1970s and beyond, the neighborhood was populated by many Jewish Americans, but succeeding generations have been made up of new migrants. The neighborhood is part...
.
The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 12
Queens Community Board 12
The Queens Community Board 12 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica...
,
and is served by the St. Albans Post Office, ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
11412.
History
Part of a land grant to Dutch settlers from New Netherlands Gov. Peter StuyvesantPeter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
in 1655, the area, like much of Queens, remained farmland and forest for most of the next two centuries.
By the 1800s, the plantations of four families — the Remsens, Everitts, Ludlums and Hendricksons — formed the nucleus of this sprawling farm community in the eastern portion of Jamaica Township. In 1814, when the Village of Jamaica (the first village on Long Island) was incorporated, its boundaries extended eastward to Freeman's Path (now Farmers Boulevard), and south to Lazy Lane (called Central Avenue in 1900, then Foch Boulevard in the 1920s,
and now Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, especially the area of Cambria Heights between Springfield Boulevard and the Nassau County line represents a smaller version of shopping...
), thus including parts of present-day St. Albans.
In 1850, the Baisley Pond reservoir was set up.
In 1872, the Long Island Rail Road Cedarhurst Cut-off
Cedarhurst Cut-off
The Cedarhurst Cut-off was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line split from the LIRR's Main Line at Rockaway Junction and ran south via Springfield Gardens and Cedarhurst and on to Far Rockaway...
was built through the area, but no stop appears on the first timetables. In 1892, an area called Francis Farm was surveyed and developed for housing. There were numerous Francis families farming in the eastern portion of the Town of Jamaica in the 1880s.
Francis Lewis Boulevard
Francis Lewis Boulevard
Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.-Route description:...
, which does not yet appear on maps from 1909, nor in 1910,
is now the eastern boundary of St. Albans.
Soon, the first street lights illuminated the crossroads that is now Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, especially the area of Cambria Heights between Springfield Boulevard and the Nassau County line represents a smaller version of shopping...
and Farmers Boulevard. New shops clustered around August Everitt's lone store.
By July 1, 1898, a railroad station opened where the tracks crossed Locust Avenue (now Baisley Boulevard).
The station was razed and replaced with grade elimination October 15, 1935. Today, the St. Albans
St. Albans (LIRR station)
Saint Albans is a station on the Long Island Rail Road located in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Located at Linden Boulevard and Montauk Place , the station has an island platform between the two tracks. Listed as a West Hempstead Branch station, it is mostly served by...
station provides Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
service to Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
or Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, with transfers available at Jamaica
Jamaica (LIRR station)
Jamaica is a major hub station of the Long Island Rail Road, and is located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. It is the largest transit hub on Long Island and is one of the busiest railroad stations in the country with over 200,000 daily passengers...
station.
In 1899, a year after Queens became part of New York City (and with the Town of Jamaica and the Village of Jamaica thereby dissolved), the new post office for the 600 residents
was named St. Albans, after St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
in Hertfordshire, England, which itself was named after a Saint Alban
Saint Alban
Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
, thought to be the first Christian martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed in England. The name had been in use for the area since at least 1894 for the name of the school district.
There already was a road in the area called St. Albans Avenue,
and the LIRR station was named St. Albans when it opened in 1898.
The St. Albans Golf Course, built in 1915, brought rich and famous golfers, including baseball star Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
. The Depression forced the golf course owners to try to sell, but plans for private development fell through. The land was seized by the federal government in 1942,
and construction soon began on the St. Albans Naval Hospital, which opened in 1943.
After construction was completed in 1950,
the hospital had 3000 beds and contained a network of 76 wards. The hospital was turned over to the Veterans Administration
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
in 1974 and more recently evolved into the Veterans Administration St. Albans Primary and Extended Care Facility.
Many famous jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians used to live in St. Albans, particularly in some of the large houses in the small western enclave known as Addisleigh Park. The soul musician James Brown lived in St. Albans very near to the Veterans Administration facility. As a neighborhood adjacent to Hollis, St. Albans was one of the birthplaces of the "Hip Hop" and Rap music genres in the 1970s and 1980s.
St. Albans housing consists mostly of detached, one and two-family homes. Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard
Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, especially the area of Cambria Heights between Springfield Boulevard and the Nassau County line represents a smaller version of shopping...
is the major shopping street.
The neighborhood and the surrounding area are considered the heart of Queens' African-American community.
Schools
Public- I.S. 192 the Linden School
- P.S. 136 Roy Wilkins School
- P.S. 233
- P.S. 36 St. Albans School
- Pathways College Preparatory School
Private
- St. Albans Christian Academy
- St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic School
- True Deliverance Christian School
Notable residents
Music- Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
(1904–1984), jazz pianist - Brook BentonBrook BentonBrook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.He made a comeback in 1970...
- James Brown (musician)
- Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
(jazz musician) - John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- Eddie "Lockjaw" DavisEddie Davis (saxophonist)Edward Davis , who performed and recorded as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:...
saxophonist - Mercer EllingtonMercer EllingtonMercer Kennedy Ellington was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington...
- Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- Milt HintonMilt HintonMilton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
- Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
(1917–2010), singer - Illinois JacquetIllinois JacquetJean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo....
- LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
- Bill KennyThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
of the The Ink SpotsThe Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop... - Eileen SouthernEileen SouthernEileen Jackson Southern was an African American musicologist, researcher, author and teacher.-Early life:She attended public schools in her hometown, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota...
, musicologist - William Grant StillWilliam Grant StillWilliam Grant Still was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major...
, classical composer - A Tribe Called QuestA Tribe Called QuestA Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, Hip-Hop Group - Fats WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, jazz pianist - Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
, jazz musician - Clarence Williams, jazz pianist and composer
- Lester YoungLester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist
Sports
- Bad News Allen, 1976 bronze medalist (Olympic Judo) and pro-wrestler
- Roy CampanellaRoy CampanellaRoy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
- Bob CousyBob CousyRobert Joseph "Bob" Cousy is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'1" , 175-pound Cousy played point guard with the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1963 and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969–70 season...
- Joe LouisJoe LouisJoseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, heavyweight boxing champion - Floyd PattersonFloyd PattersonFloyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
, heavyweight boxing champion - Will PooleWill PooleWilliam Starling Poole is an American football defensive back who is currently playing for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
- football player - Jackie RobinsonJackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League... - Babe RuthBabe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, baseball legend - Eddie SweatEddie SweatEdward "Eddie" Sweat was an American groom in Thoroughbred horse racing who was the subject of the 2006 book by Lawrence Scanlan titled The Horse God Built: Secretariat, His Groom, Their Legacy.-Career:...
, Secretariat'sSecretariat (horse)Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
groom - Rob ParkerRob Parker (sports journalist)Rob Parker is an American sports columnist for ESPNNewYork.com and ClickOnDetroit.com. Parker is also a regular on ESPN's First Take, where he debates Skip Bayless on the 1st and 10 segment...
, ESPN writer, analyst
Other
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Anna Lee Tingle Fisher, M. D. - astronaut
- James McBrideJames McBride (writer)James McBride is an American writer and musician whose compositions have been recorded by a variety of other musicians.-Early life:McBride's father, the late Rev. Andrew D...
- Al RokerAl RokerAlbert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. is an American television meteorologist as well as an actor and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today. On Monday, July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show, Wake Up with Al, on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays...
, meteorologist - Karl GrossmanKarl GrossmanKarl Grossman is a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury. For more than 45 years he has pioneered the combination of investigative reporting and environmental journalism in a variety of media...
, professor of journalism and journalist - Father Robert S. SmithFather Robert S. SmithRobert S. Smith , the Robert R. Colbert Sr. '48 Catholic Chaplain and Distinguished Scholar at Cornell University, was a Catholic priest, author, and educator. His interests ranged from philosophy and theology to the ethics of medical care to interfaith dialogue...
, American Catholic priest, author, and educator - Roy Wilkins, Longtime NAACP Head. Civil Rights activist
External links
- Queens Jazz Trail
- Jazz Tour of Queens
- "St. Albans Lot Sale", Brooklyn Eagle, June 30, 1902
- 1990 Population Demographics
- 1898 map of area shows Baisley Blvd, Farmers Blvd, Linden Blvd, and LIRR line which runs through St. Albans
- More on famous residents, including former addresses
- Queens Library article on St. Albans
- Excerpts from To Stand and Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York City by Martha Biondi
- Some History of Addisleigh Park
