Glendale memories

posted by audrey1 on January 31, 2007 at 4:42 am

GLENDALE, NY — I grew up in Glendale living in the big apartment house on 69th Street(Fosdick Court) and Myrtle Avenue from 1946 to 1974. I attended P.S. 91 and then went on to Richmond Hill High School. I was just recently visiting Glendale and Ridewood after a 17 year absence. I was surprised to see how the old neighborhood has changed and it seemed so busy and congested from how I remembered it. There seemed to be so many more stores and people but it was enjoyable walking and driving up and down the streets remembering the past fun of growing up in a wonderful community.

As a teenager my friends and I always walked down the avenue to go to the movies and the stores. It was our weekly entertainment. There was the Acme Theatre, the Glenwood, the Ridgewood, where I saw West Side Story, and the RKO Madison Theatres. The latter played host to many Rock & Rolls Shows that Murray the K would bring. At one of the shows he introduced Little Stevie Wonder as a newcomer to the business.

I attended the Belevedere many times while living in Glendale. I grew up living in the big apartment house on Myrtle & 69th Street (Fosdick Court) from 1946 to 1974. We had so many movie theatres to go to, the Acme, the Glenwood, Belevedere, Ridgewood, & the RKO Madison. All within walking distance as that is the way we got around back then, walking the avenue.

Next to the apartment house there was the Pickle Factory. Can’t remember the name but they were right next to the old St. Pancras School building. So many times Fr. Richter (I think that was his name) caught us smoking there.

Anyway, we always knew Ridgewood as Queens. The zip code for both Glendale & Ridgewood was 11227. Prior to zip codes, our addresses were written as Glendale (Ridgewood) 27, Queens, New York. It was explained to us that we had a Brooklyn zip code only because the main post office where our mail came & went was located in Brooklyn and that was why our mail showed a Brooklyn code. We were also told that Brooklyn started when you passed Wycoff Ave., the “end of the line” for the buses and where the El entrance on the corner was for the “M” line.