Queens Memory collects personal histories, photographs and other records of contemporary life in Queens, New York.
Queens Name Explorer
The Name Explorer project seeks to enrich local history by increasing knowledge of individuals honored with named places in Queens – its streets, monuments, schools, parks, and buildings. This ongoing project creates a dynamic living archive, while enhancing awareness of communities not represented or underrepresented in our borough. To date, 1,300+ named places have been identified, and 1040+ of them are live on the Name Explorer map.
But your help is needed. The map still has many entries lacking information and photographs. If you can add info, an anecdote, and/or photograph, please do so by clicking the blue “Add/Edit” button in the top right corner. See a street named after a member of your community not currently on the map? Or a sign that needs maintenance and restoration? Add/Edit to let us know!
Bernie Weiss Oral History
Bernie Weiss speaks with interviewer Daniel Cumming about what it was like growing up in Brooklyn and Queens beginning in the mid-1940s. Weiss shares memories of playing games outdoors on hot summer days, spending summers in Rockaway Beach between 1950 and 1954, and swimming in a public pool which was formerly the site of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair attraction Billy Rose's Aquacade. Weiss explains how he used to catch a breeze while riding New York City subways during hot weather and describes his experience getting stuck in the subway during a blackout on November 9, 1965. Starting in 2000, Weiss became a tour director who led bus tours throughout the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, including New York City. Throughout the interview, Weiss highlights historical facts, places, and events related to New York City, particularly Manhattan, Ellis Island, and the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens.
Upcoming Events
Listen to the Queens Memory Podcast
Season Three of the Queens Memory Podcast is coming soon! In this season, “Our Major Minor Voices,” we feature stories from our neighbors of Asian descent in Queens, New York. New episodes will air each Monday, starting April 11th 2022. Click Here to listen to the trailer for the season, and to hear to new episodes, as they are released. To hear Season One of the Queens Memory Podcast, Memories of Migration, Click Here. Season One features Queens residents who moved from all over the world over the past century to settle in the “World’s Borough”. To hear Season Two of the Queens Memory Podcast, The Borough We Became: Queens Residents on Life during COVID-19, Click Here. Season Two features interviews with Queens residents and highlighted sound and video contributions to our COVID-19 Project as the pandemic unfolded.
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