Don’t Blink!

Happy New Year! I think I’ll start sharing more images from my ever-growing collection of Gravesendiana because, well, everyone loves a good picture, right? I’ll put them up and let them speak for themselves. If the mood strikes me, and if time is on my side, I can always go into detail. But to make life easier — and to keep you interested, hopefully! — I’ll try to post more frequently and simply. And please remember: your comments are always welcome!

Real photo postcard view of 1634 West 2nd Street. {Collection of Joseph Ditta}

Screen capture of Google’s Street View of 1634 West 2nd Street from September 2014. (https://goo.gl/maps/mJxSTd9jZmN2)

Here is the last purchase I made in 2015. It arrived, nicely, on January 2nd. It is a postcard, mailed on October 9, 1908, by Anna Studwell, of 1634 West 2nd Street, between Avenues P and Q (Avenue Q had not yet been renamed Quentin Road) in the now-forgotten real estate development of “Marlboro” (misspelled “Marboro” in red ink on the front of the card, just like the lost Marboro Theatre on Bay Parkway, which many of you will remember). She invites a friend or family member from Manhattan to come out to see the house with these simple directions: “Take Culver train [today’s F line] and get off Ave. P. Walk west, you will see house.” In 1908, there was little else to see on the largely empty blocks of Marlboro.

Although its skin had been modernized over the years, the house remained largely the same (it was rather plain to begin with). It stood until last fall, when it was demolished to build a mini-mansion on the site. I didn’t want this to be a sad post, but hope it serves as a reminder to keep your eyes peeled before every last scrap of Gravesend history disappears before we know it.

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Ditta (webmaster@gravesendgazette.com)