Thursday, November 26, 2009

Walking tour of Astoria

 

You notice any mistakes? Heard a big one at the beginning...

12 comments:

Kevin Walsh said...

To be fair to Toni!!! While the exteriors for the Bunkers actual home were filmed on Cooper Avenue in Glendale it's been implied that 704 Hauser Street was in Astoria. The opening credits for Archie Bunker's Place show a 31st Street street sign.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Queens Crapper said...

That's not the mistake.

georgetheatheist said...

The so-called "walking tour maven" referred to Hallet's "Cove" as Hallet's "Point".

What do I win? A year's supply of "bacava"?

Queens Crapper said...

That is also a mistake, but I am thinking of something that comes out of her mouth at the beginning. And then something else he says about the Hallett family.

georgetheatheist said...

I don't hear him saying anything about Hallet's [one "t" or two?] "family". Just that Stuyvesant granted him 1500 acres.

Speaking of Hallet's family, there is an interesting account of them on Wikipedia uder Hallet's wife's name, Elizabeth Fones.

Hallet was English. Toni says the area was "settled" by Dutch and Germans.

This site is sooo educational!

Anonymous said...

the Dutch and the GERMANS in the 17th centuary?

Queens Crapper said...

Thank you. It's about time someone caught on to the German problem.

And the Halletts are still in Queens. They own a funeral parlor on Northern Blvd.

georgetheatheist said...

Arrrrgh. Now, you're splitting hairs. There was no political entity at that time known as Germany just the geographical one. "Germany" is an ancient appellation going back to the Roman exonym "Germania".

BTW, Peter Minuit, the legendary "purchaser" of Manhattan, the Director-General of New Netherland, was a German. (Born in the city of Wesel in the present German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Then, politically, part of the Duchy of Cleves. (German: Herzogtum Kleve. Dutch: Hertogdom Kleef.)

That aside, isn't it great that our bubbly hostess Toni says that Astoria is known for Archie Bunker?
That's the first thing out of her mouth. A fictitional character! Couldn't she have said it was the home of Whitey Ford? Ethel Merman? Maria Callas? Tony Bennett? George the Atheist?

Noooo? When will they ever learn?

Queens Crapper said...

The point is it was settled by Dutch and English. Germans started coming much later.

Yeah, Tony Bennett is the most famous Astoria resident.

Anonymous said...

Crapper, what did she say about the Hallet family that was wrong?

Anonymous said...

Tony Bennett doesnt give two shits about Astoria, naming an album after the community but never shows up or gives anything back.

He is just a Rat Pack wannabee that caught (with little effort) the attention of those two bright lights up near Ditmars (we know who you are) and got them to back HIS school named after HIS BUDDY Frankie. NOW he thinks he rise to level of the Rat Pack. Never can happen buddy. Never in a million years even if you rename 'Astoria' to 'Hoboken' can it happen.

Astoria is Ethel Merman and always will be. A lot of people around here still remember her.

Its a damn shame those two bit talents up there by Ditmars disrespected a true Dame of the Community. A lot of people from the neighborhood are still pissed that the school was not named for her.

What is even more galling was the school is built just a few blocks from Ethel's house.

It should be named for her and someday it will be.

georgetheatheist said...

Who knows the addresses of Whitey Ford, Maria Callas, Ethel Merman, Tony Bennett? Just curious.