Glendale In Queens, NY Walking Tour

Original Film Date: Tuesday July 15th, 2025

Glendale is a small neighborhood located in the west-central part of Queens. It is located next to Ridgewood, Middle Village, Forest Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, and Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. It also includes Highland Park and a few cemeteries, bordering with Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.

Glendale was once built on a swampy area previously called Fresh Pond. In 1847, New York State's Rural Cemetery Act ended the creation of any new cemeteries in Manhattan. The borough of Manhattan was getting too full and overpopulated, so they decided to visit the outer areas like Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Cemetery owners were encouraged to build in Brooklyn and Queens. Glendale quickly became almost encircled by cemeteries being located in what is called the "Cemetery Belt" of New York. Queens has a few of the largest cemeteries all over New York and the whole United States in modern history.

A German population started to move here in the 1880s to create a farming community. After World War I, Glendale's economic base shifted from farming to textiles and breweries. The largest employer was a big industrial park called the Atlas Terminal, consisting of 16 factories. The skilled work force were living in the area and the many small machine shops located in Glendale.

This played played a big part in the war effort during World War II and in the Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bombs. During World War II, most of the aircraft and military equipment made on Long Island was shipped by rail through this area. Glendale and Ridgewood used to share the same zip code 11237 until the 1977 blackout all over New York City. Following the big blackout, the communities of Ridgewood and Glendale decided to disassociate themselves from the Brooklyn neighborhood Bushwick. Residents voted on a proposal to create a new ZIP code and they won in a majority of votes for a new zip code. The communities were given the ZIP code 11385 in 1980. In the 1980s, Glendale became a quiet neighborhood and a safe community with a low crime rate, a middle class population, and some working class residents.

In the early 2000s, some of Glendale's industrial buildings were redeveloped. The Atlas Terminal was demolished in 2004 and replaced by a outdoor shopping center called The Shops at Atlas Park, which in April 2006. Modern companies like Trader Joe's and Chili's took over former industrial buildings. Glendale is a veteran-friendly community that serves and honors Memorial Day and Independence Day (Fourth of July) every year. For the Irish American residents, they even celebrate St. Patrick's Day every year on March 17th.

Glendale has a community of Irish Americans, German Americans, Polish people, some Italian-descent people, Serbians, Romanians, Albanians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, some Jewish residents, and some Chinese people.

Background song: Kenny G - This Moment