Picture this A long road stretching before you Rockaway Boulevard It cuts diagonally through Queens a major artery connecting worlds.
Rockaway Boulevard isn’t just a road It’s a living tapestry woven with threads of history immigration and community. From its humble beginnings as Rockaway Road or Rockaway Plank Road it has evolved into a significant thoroughfare. It begins near the border of Queens and Brooklyn a small road widening as it heads east.
Did you know Rockaway Boulevard once had a different name? It was once known as Rockaway Road or even Rockaway Plank Road. This road saw construction by Irish laborers in the 1800s. They built the South Side Railroad line bringing mass transportation to the area. Many Irish immigrants settled nearby. They built their lives their businesses their community. Rockaway Boulevard became home to a vibrant Irish community. This community built numerous businesses. These were bars grills restaurants and hotels. Irish Town on Beach 103rd Street was a particularly bustling hub. Irish music and dance filled these places. Famous entertainers performed there. People like the McNulty family. They ran the Leitrim House a popular establishment.
The Irish presence here goes back centuries. Some of the Rockaway residents who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War were Irish. Their names like Bayles Carpenter Smith and many others. Their heritage is part of Rockaway Boulevard’s story. The area’s strong Irish heritage is evident in the numerous pubs. These were places of celebration community and storytelling.
Rockaway Boulevard isn’t just about the past. It’s a busy thoroughfare today. Buses and trains serve the area. The A train has a station near the intersection of Cross Bay Rockaway and Woodhaven Boulevards. There are also numerous bus routes serving the area.
The road continues its journey southeast. It crosses the Van Wyck Expressway and the Belt Parkway. Then it hits the Queens segment of the Nassau Expressway. It ends at Rockaway Boulevard. At that point it becomes a six lane road. Finally Rockaway Boulevard reaches the Queens Nassau border. There it becomes Rockaway Turnpike.
Remember Rockaway Boulevard. It’s more than asphalt and concrete. It’s a story of human endeavor community and heritage a vibrant part of Queens’ past present and future.