Queens

by Jason D. Antos

Overview

Queens offers a rare look at New York City's largest borough, featuring many never-before-seen images.

The borough of Queens, New York, has seen many historical and geographical changes. Marshlands, woods, and farms gave way to factories, thriving communities, and the nation's premier arterial highway system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738563084
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	01/14/2009
Series:	Then and Now
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,101,743
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Jason D. Antos, a lifelong resident of Queens, is the author of two other local history books about the borough, Whitestone and Shea Stadium.

Editorial Reviews

Title: Queens: Then & Now

Author: Jen Carlson

Publisher: The Gothamist

Date: 1/5/2009



Queens gets the Then & Now treatment as Arcadia Publishing releases their image-heavy book by Jason D. Antos, filled with contemporary and historic photographs of the borough. You'll get side-by-side shots comparing the old and the new landscapes, but the book won't hit shelves until January 19th, so here's a sneak peek at what you'll find inside.



Interesting factoid from the introduction: "Around 60,000 years ago, the territory that would become Queens and Greater Long Island was created by an enormous glacier that descended from southern Connecticut." There were even prehistoric creatures inhabiting it...and currently there are muppets living there.

Title: Author Chronicles Queens Development
Author: Joseph Orovic
Publisher: Queens Tribune
Date: 1/15/2009

A litany of books line shelves, filled with random facts and generally useless information. But for those itching to catch a glimpse of Queens pre-development, Jason Antos has answered the call.

The 27-year-old Whitestone-native and University of Miami grad's latest book, "Queens," out Jan. 19, offers page after page of before and after photos. Spanning back to the 19th century, one can see pastoral Long Island City (yes, there's even a cow) to steam engines at Jamaica Station.

"I've always been fascinated by the area and how progressive it is," Antos said.

Progressive indeed. Our Borough was, by most accounts, isolated until the Queensboro Bridge opened in March 1909. After that, Queens grew exponentially, especially after World War II.

The book is the byproduct of Antos' Queens fetish. He has a personal collection of century-old photos, as well as recent snapshots.

He garnered the collection after rooting through people's storage spaces and finding old photos that would otherwise be junked. The majority of the book's pictures come from this collection.

"A lot of them come from private collectors, or people who have them in their attic and they give them to me thinking I'll do something with them," Antos said.

While you may be stunned by the progress several decades can bring, there may be a greater message to the book: development wins.

"I think as the years go by, any property that isn't preserved or landmarked will eventually be redeveloped," Antos said. "That's always the case."

From the Publisher

Lifelong Queens, New York, resident Jason Antos presides over this "now and now" pictorial of his favorite borough. A time machine you can hold in two hands.