All these things I have seen…
-Photo by Mitch Waxman
Ribald pleasures have colored the recent holiday- celebrating the rebellion against the Hanoverian King of England, George the third, here in the Newtown Pentacle. Although a solidly Tory part of the colony of New York in 1776, Astoria defines itself as a fiercely federalist district of the United States in modernity. Expressions of this pride in the Republic developed in an autochthonic fashion in a thousand different locations, and manifested in a citywide orgy of carnivorous gluttony that might do any German prince proud. The fat and happy children of our saturnine village were then treated to a vast and uncoordinated campaign of pyrotechnic detonations perpetrated by an army of unpaid and unsolicited volunteers.
Glinting suggestions of fear filled canine eyes, staring from beneath beds and behind partially closed closet doors was hinted at by whispers in the darkness of Astoria’s landscaped and wooded yards.
I also enjoyed two noteworthy experiences upon the Hudson River, which I will be discussing in detailed postings later this week.
Astoria was here in 1776, but wasn’t called that yet- it was Hallet’s Point at the time. Another German Prince would someday put Astoria on the map, one who dreamt of the music of the spheres. That man would be called… but this post isn’t about him, or even about about the most successful terrorist operation in history- its about Newtown Road.
-Photo by Mitch Waxman
Newtown Road winds through the street grid of Eastern Astoria. Distinct and geographically separated from the fabled Newtown Creek, this ancient pathway was one of the principal sites where British troops were garrisoned after the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Brooklyn, before they were sent to pursue the rebels across Manhattan. These troops were here to inflict disaster on the colonial army of Washington, and upon those that might support the rebel cause. Incidentally, Forgotten-NY has been down Newtown Road before, check out their slant on the place here.
-Photo by Mitch Waxman
Amongst their number were the Seventeenth regiment of Light Dragoons, the Maryland Loyalist, and the Royal Highlanders— commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Sterling— with cannon and horse; and the thirty-third regiment commanded by Lord Cornwallis himself. Also, a motley band of Hessian and mercenary irregulars were attached to the main garrison. Their connection with the place ended when they crossed the East River -at the mouth of Newtown Creek moving west into Manhattan’s Kip’s Bay (approximately 34th street)— to pursue and harass the rebels. I need not recount the story of Washington’s ignominious retreat or the ghoulish horrors heaped upon occupied New York City by the vengeful British Empire.
-Photo by Mitch Waxman
During the eighteenth century, this meandering street followed a stream which the local Mespaetche indians described as “bad water.” This stream still flows beneath the modern streets, in dank tunnels and dripping stone sewers. Remember, the actual ground is a minimum of ten to twenty feet down in New York City. Who can say what else may be buried down there, and perhaps— what else may still exist down there.
The Newtown Pentacle 
[…] hill which is buried deep below the masonry of modern Astoria. 1 block from the ancient pavings of Newtown Road, which knew British and Hessian armies- and later carried an iron ribbon of Trolley Tracks, and is […]
Astoria zen « The Newtown Pentacle
August 17, 2009 at 4:17 pm