| The Van Wyck northbound finally hears the fat lady begin to sing, as we navigate the curve leading to the old viaduct over College Point Blvd, into the Whitestone Expwy. |
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Back in the olden days before it's early 60's transformation,
this bridge you see us boarding carried the old Whitestone Pkwy
to and from the Grand Central. Back then, College Point Blvd
was known as Rodman Street and the only SUV's on the road were
Jeeps, the REAL Jeeps, not the Caravan/Blazer/Bronco/Pathfinder
etc Jeep-like things. The Ford Explorer featured in the billboard
was still science fiction. The original parkway viaduct now deals with the traffic heading to and from the Van Wyck. It runs side by side with its early 60's counterpart, which now handles the Grand Central, Northern Blvd and Shea Stadium traffic. |
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Having dispensed with the passing of College Point Blvd, we
barrel towards Linden Place. To those who are picky about such
things, we are no longer on the Van Wyck at this point, but on
the Whitestone, who's namesake bridge can be seen in the distance,
on the left. Linden Place is one of those rare streets designated
a "Place" that actually has some impact in its neighborhood. The background, which is gradually filling up with government and corporate facilities, used to be Flushing Airport. The Whitestone's lampposts used to include little red runway warning lights, to forstall any errant Cessnas from adding to the Whitestone's traffic. For the rest of the world, we are still on Interstate 678. Those who were still kids back then, will remember Adventurers Inn at Linden Place, which was the pre-Pacman arcade of choice for Queens. |
