Myrtle Avenue - in Queens

In Queens

Myrtle Avenue has been a major thoroughfare since the early 19th century, named after the myrtle trees that were plentiful in the area. Most likely, Myrtle Avenue began in Queens and was a plank road that charged a toll. The road eventually hosted the Knickerbocker Stage Coach Line, that ran stagecoach and omnibus services.

After World War I, Myrtle Avenue in Glendale, Queens was a popular destination for picnickers. With a steam trolley running on the avenue, and its ample adjacent beer gardens and park space, people from as far as Eastern Brooklyn came to Myrtle. In the mid 1920s, the parks closed as a result of Prohibition. Ultimately, the parks became incorporated by the city into what is known today as Forest Park.

Currently, Myrtle Avenue is one of the primary shopping strips of Ridgewood, along with Fresh Pond Road whose south end is at Myrtle Avenue. It is also the primary shopping strip in nearby Glendale, although this stretch of Myrtle Avenue isn't as busy as the Ridgewood stretch. It was also home to the Ridgewood Theatre, which was the longest continuously operated theater in the United States, having operated for 91 years before its closure in March 2008.

Although Myrtle Avenue isn't a very big street, it is the head of many other major throughfares in Queens that were built later. This includes Union Turnpike, whose west end is in Glendale near Woodhaven Boulevard, and Hillside Avenue, which starts off from Myrtle Avenue in Richmond Hill.

The Queens stretch of Myrtle Avenue is served by the Q55 bus line.