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About Woodside
Woodside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is
bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by
Sunnyside and on the east by Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Its ZIP code is
11377. Some areas are widely residential and very quiet, while others
(especially closer to Roosevelt Avenue) are more urban. The neighborhood is
located in Queens Community Board 1 and Queens Community Board 2.
In the 19th century the area was part of the Town of Newtown (now Elmhurst). The
adjacent area of Winfield was largely incorporated into the post office serving
Woodside and as a consequence Winfield lost much of its identity distinct from
Woodside.
Throughout its history, Woodside has been the largest Irish American community
in Queens, and has a large number of Irish expatriates. In the early 1930s, the
area was approximately 80% Irish. Woodside has served as the primary destination
for more recent immigrants from Ireland as well, with many arriving in the
mid-eighties searching for economic opportunities in New York City. Even as the
neighborhood has seen growth in ethnic diversity today, the area still retains a
strong Irish American presence with many Irish, although the growth in the Irish
economy since the mid-1990s has slowed the arrival of new Irish. There are Irish
pubs/restaurants scattered in Woodside.
In the late 1990s, many Asian American families moved into the area,
particularly east of the 61st Street station. Woodside's population is now 30%
Asian American. Woodside has a large population of Korean Americans, Chinese
Americans and Filipino Americans (see Koreatown, Chinatown, and Filipinotown),
each with their own respective ethnic enclaves. There are also South Asian
Americans, particularly Indian Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, and Pakistani
Americans, as well as a large Latino population, mostly immigrants from
Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Reflecting its longtime Irish flavor, the neighborhood is filled with Irish
pubs, many catering to natives of particular cities and regions in Ireland. It
is also home to some of the city's most popular Thai, Filipino, Colombian, and
Ecuadorian eateries. A rather unofficial Little Manila stretches from 65th-71st
Streets at the strip of Roosevelt Avenue, where many Filipino businesses have
flocked to serve Woodside's large Filipino American community.
Woodside's diversity lends itself to a number of festivals and street fairs. It
commemorates Saint Patrick's Day with a parade prior to the famous celebration
in Manhattan; it also hosts several events in the summer, including an
Independence Day street fair.
The neighborhood has many places of worship, as well as many schools (including
PS 11, PS 12, PS 151, PS 152, PS 229, IS 125, Corpus Christi Elementary School,
and Saint Sebastian's Elementary School). The parks in the area include
Windmueller Park, Big Bush Park, and Laurel Hill Park.
Doughboy Park
Doughboy Park is located at the intersection of Woodside Avenue and Skillman
Avenue and is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and
Recreation. Although the park received its name by local law in 1971, its
eponymous monument has stood on the site since 1923. During the first World War
British soldiers referred to their American counterparts as doughboys because of
the large round buttons on the American uniforms; these buttons reminded the
British soldiers of the cakes or biscuits known as doughboys. Statues of
American infantry soldiers are similarly called doughboys, and there are bronze
doughboys in each of the five boroughs of New York City. The sculptor of the
Woodside Doughboy also created a doughboy for the Flanders Field Memorial in De
Witt Clinton Park in Manhattan.
The Woodside Doughboy was erected by the Woodside Community Council in
remembrance of the local men and women who served in World War I. Funded by
public subscription, the statue was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1923. The
ceremony included music by St. Marys Military Band, a rendition of the "Star
Spangled Banner" by the children of P.S. 11, the doughboy's unveiling by Gold
Star Relatives, and blessings by ministers from St. Paul's and St. Sebastian's
Churches.
The sculptor, Burt W. Johnson of Flushing, was a student and brother-in-law of
renowned artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Johnson portrayed a somber World War I
soldier holding his helmet in front and his gun to the side. The sculptor's
health was failing as the piece was being completed, and he supervised the final
work from his wheelchair. The bronze statue stands upon a granite pedestal
designed by architect C.N. Kent and inscribed "LEST WE FORGET 1917 1918."
Although the work was originally titled "The Returning Soldier," it is popularly
known as the Woodside Doughboy.
Woodside residents remember that even before the statue was erected, local
soldiers gathered here at the "mustering ground" before departing to fight in
World War I. Ten men who left from this site did not return as they made the
supreme sacrifice and gave their lives for their nation. Since the dedication
event in 1923, community members have gathered at the monument every Memorial
Day for patriotic ceremonies. In 1928 the American Federation of Arts selected
the Woodside Doughboy as the best war memorial of its kind in this century.
The City of New York acquired this land in 1893 as a play area for P.S. 11. The
land was eventually deemed too steep and overgrown for children's use; it was
assigned to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in 1957. The
site was transformed from a children's play area to a sitting area for adults,
in keeping with the dignity of the statue. Improvements included the addition of
drinking fountains, macadam walks, shade trees, and maintenance facilities.
Reconstruction of the park in 1988 provided a new path in the western portion of
the park, and additional work in 1995 added new plantings. A 1998 requirements
contract replaced fencing in the park. In 1990 the beloved Woodside Doughboy
received an extensive conservation treatment which included cleaning,
repainting, and treating with a protective wax coating.
In 2006, on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United
States a memorial plaque in the park was dedicated which reads:
Transportation
Woodside is easily accessed from the rest of the city. The New York City
Subway's IRT Flushing Line (7) has stations at 52nd, 61st and 69th Streets on
Roosevelt Avenue; the IND Queens Boulevard Line's local services (E G R V) make
stops at Northern Boulevard and 65th Street along Broadway. In addition, the
LIRR makes a stop at Woodside station, which provides a direct connection to the
7 train at 61st Street. The Q18, Q39, Q45, Q53, Q60 and Q32 buses connect
Woodside to the rest of Queens, while the latter two run to Manhattan. Access by
car is provided by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278) and Long Island
Expressway (I-495).