In the series ... "I REMEMBER THE ROCKAWAYS"... Stevie S. Stevens writes about
"Mott Avenue Then & Now (1912 & 2008)"

Our "before" picture was taken by a professional city-appointed photographer on March 27th, 1912. The shot is taken facing due east with the camera man's back towards Beach Channel Drive. By the year 1912, a large permanent train station had been established on a plot of land on the north side of Mott and Central Avenues (out of view on this print) and what you see in the center of the photo are a series of train tracks upon which trolley cars and Long Island Rail Road commuter trains would travel westward into the Rockaway Park area. A "gate keeper" (man in the center of the photo -left side) was assigned to this major train crossing and he would lower and raise the gates manually to protect moving vehicles and pedestrians from the trains which pulled out of the station every fifteen or twenty minutes. Notice how the streets were comprised of loam or packed mud back in those early days. At the south or right side, the 22 year old O'Kane Buildingis in view - the lower level of this office building is occupied by a real estate office and a candy store (with a working fountain and those "old time" soda jerks we see hustling up ice cream sodas back in the old black and white movies of the 1920s and 30s). Also at the right side is the large Manhattan Hotel (formerly Faber's) which will be destroyed in a major conflagration - a fire that will level most of White Street (Beach 21st Street) in the year 1916.

At the north or left side of the photo, we can see the newly-built library which occupies the northeast corner of Central and Mott Avenues. The granite structure which will shortly become "National Bank Of FarRockaway" is also seen on the left side of this view and it is still under construction - notice the scaffolding surrounding the building and the two workers standing on the roof. Obviously one of the workmen has seen the photographer because if you look very closely, you can actually see him waving to the camera man. There is no motor car activity of any kind, however, a horse and buggy is "patiently" waiting to either deposit or retrieve someone at the train station. A bicycle is standing idly by, leaning against a building - probably the property of a Western Union delivery boy - the telegraph office was also located in the office building at that time. Some features of interest not so easily seen in this old photo are (l) a wooden sign nailed to a fence offering a "complete dinner for 60 cents - served from 2pm to 2am"; (2) a postal mailbox mounted onto a telephone pole; (3) a freestanding realty office offering to "rent pianos"; and (4) a hotel (Rossmore Hotel) hidden behind the one-story brick real estate store. With the sole exception of the large five-story O'Kane Building, all of the structures on the south side (right side of the photo) will be completely destroyed within four years.

Credit for this excellent piece of photo-journalism: Queens Borough Public Library

Mott Avenue, October 23, 2008 (photo courtesy of V. Steidl, click on image to enlarge)

Quite a number of changes have taken place over the period of 96 years! This photograph was taken on October 23rd, 2008 and it shows the same basic area - the only real location difference is the modern camera person was standing back a few yards from where the original camera man had taken the 1912 picture when she snapped the shutter. We are still looking eastbound on Mott Avenue but by now, the street is professionally paved. The train station which had occupied the northwest corner of Mott and Central is long gone. The O'Kane Building is still standing - the south or right side of the picture. The rail road tracks have disappeared. A "new" subway station was built directly east (out of sight in this view) of the five-story brick office building. Most of the over-head power lines have been removed - either combined with others or placed underground. Buildings which replaced the old wooden hotels and smaller store fronts were constructed shortly after the "White Street Fire" of 1916 took its toll on the area and destroyed almost all of the commercial enterprises located within a two-block area.

Unfortunately, by the time this recent photograph was taken, the entire shopping area of Far Rockaway had been neglected and many of the store fronts, shops, and lofts remain un-rented. Today, Mott Avenue is the busiest street in the small village - especially during the hours of noon 'til three; it is difficult to drive in the area and walking can, on occasion, be a bit of a problem.

I wonder how many of the structures we see in this recent photograph will survive to see the year 2020. These days, most of Far Rockaway appears to be in a constant state of disrepair.

email: steviesstevens@cs.com