Cypress / St. Nicholas / Wyckoff / Myrtle

Borderline! Feels like I'm going to lose my mind!

Moving on with more streets in Bushwick, and this time I was walking what I believe to be the boundary between Brooklyn and Queens. I was using Google maps, but I also check the zip codes so I knew when I was in Queens and when I was in Brooklyn. Had I done this sooner, I might not have strayed into Queens on earlier trips.

Also, according to this boundary, it looks like Arbitration Rock is solidly in Queens. I could be wrong about that, but when I checked on the exhibit, I was told it was closed.

The first picture was the first house in the neighborhood of the school that was decked out for Halloween. I uploaded it by accident, but I was out walking during lunch, so I kept it.

The Taco place is on Flushing Ave near the train station. I liked the artwork.

From the station (and the taco place), I took Flushing two blocks to Cypress Ave, which is the boundary with Queens in this area. The boundary then takes a turn down Bleeker Street to St. Nicholas Ave, so I did as well.

St. Brigid's Church stands at the corner of St. Nicholas and Linden Street. St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church was established in 1882, and was renamed St. Brigid's in 1895. The first church was a wooden structure which served until about 1922 when the present building was opened.

After that I continued on until I hit Gates Ave, which brought me to Wyckoff.

The intersection with Myrtle is one I've gotten to know well with all these walks in Bushwick. I've gotten off the L train there many times. However, I haven't gotten on the elevated M train. I didn't on this day, either. Instead I walked under them with all the construction going on.

I didn't make a note of where the gazebo was, but I'll always stop to take a photo of "the dread gazebo". (Geek joke, ask a geek.)

Heisser Triangle is a small plot bordered by Knickerbocker Ave., Myrtle Ave., and Bleecker St. This parkland serves as a patriotic tribute to Charles Heisser, a brave young man who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country during World War I. In the center of the park, the statue of a doughboy bearing a rifle in one hand and a clenched fist in another honors the 156 young men from this neighborhood who served in World War I.

I couldn't get closer because of the Rat Poison. Bad timing at reaching this memorial when I did. (Unless it's an ongoing problem, of course.)

Once more, back under the el. The confluence of Evergreen, Myrtle and Sudyam made for a large intersection.

The intersection of Myrtle and Bushwick Ave is Freedom Triangle (although it's named Freedom Square on the Willoughby St side), a second WWI memorial. In fact, I discovered this one first in my travels and when I came upon Heisser Triangle for the first time, I thought I was at the same place. Who would expect that there were two WWI memorials under the elevated train just a few blocks from each other? No reason why they shouldn't be there, just a little surprising.

This is probably with I misremembered the Lithuanian monument as a WWI memorial.

Acquired by the City in 1912, this park site at the intersection of Bushwick, Myrtle, and Willoughby Avenues was named Freedom Square in 1919. In 1921, Victory with Peace, a monument depicting Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, leaning forward with an olive branch, the symbol of peace, was erected to memorialize Brooklyn’s losses during World War I.

The memorial says "In Memory of the Men of the 19th Assembly District who died in the World War 1917-1918."

It also has the names of 94 individuals who gave their lives (according the NYC Parks Dept -- I didn't count them.)

The last part of Myrtle that I walked that day, I'd walked before. However, I needed the G train to get home, so I retraced my steps. I've also taken pictures of this structure before: a relic of days gone by. There aren't any tracks up there, but there once were because the elevated train continued down Myrtle Ave.

I was surprised to see this ten years ago (before this blog) when I had to go to Bushwick for a job interview.

I was even more surprised to find out a few years ago that this line was still in operation when I was a child -- not that I ever went to Bushwick back then. I didn't even know that Brooklyn had a Broadway. I found it surprising because I used to be fascinated with train maps and I knew the letters of every train back then -- or so I thought.

I never rode the Culver Shuttle, but I remember the tracks, which remained while I was in college in the 80s until the were eventually torn down. However, when it comes to Myrtle Ave and the subway, all I know if the abandoned station just before the Manhattan Bridge, and I have no idea if it was connected to the old Myrtle line.

And that's it for this trip. Come back soon.

All of the above photos and videos, unless otherwise stated, were taken by Christopher J. Burke and are subject to copyright.

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