Long Island City by Greater Astoria Historical Society with Thomas Jackson and Richard Melnick

Images of America Series


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Although Long Island City is a part of New York City, it was an independent city from 1870 to 1898 with its own distinctive history and story. The community still retains the character of a city with its own unique residential, commercial, and industrial districts. Minutes from midtown Manhattan, Long Island City is a magnet for those seeking the charms of a small town with the advantages of a great city.



A new book in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, Long Island City by Greater Astoria Historical Society with Thomas Jackson and Richard Melnick, features more than 200 vintage photographs to portray the community’s history and culture. Long Island City captures the unique flavor of a former city nestled between Manhattan and Queens that retains its identity to this day.



Among the photographs and stories in Long Island City, readers will find:



• The Silvercup Studios and the Kaufman Astoria Studios, a National Landmark building.

• Creative and innovative people who have called Long Island City home, including Chester Carlson who borrowed a spare room in his mothers-in-law’s beauty parlor to invent the photocopy process.

• The renowned Bohemian Hall & Park, New York’s last surviving beer garden.

• Distinctive housing from planned communities on the National Register to unique blocks that are New York City landmarks.

• The oldest colonial artifact— a millstone, lying in the busy streets of Queens Plaza.



The Greater Astoria Historical Society is a dynamic group known throughout New York for its vigorous efforts in community preservation, lively programming, and imaginative history articles featured in many publications. Board members Thomas Jackson and Richard Melnick successfully create this defining book on “New York’s Other City.”



Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, on-line bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-2665. Contact Laurie Butcher at lbutcher@arcadiapublishing.com or (603) 436-7564 if you would like to receive additional review copies, promotional copies to give away, photos for promotional use, or to contact the author for an interview.