About

St.Albans

History

The colonial history of St. Albans is rather vague in as much as it wasn’t until about 1899 that it received its present name. A committee of residents selected the name St. Albans for the railroad station after the English village of the same name in Hertfordshire, England. It is known that it was an early farming community owned by the families of Nicolas Everitt, Benjamin Carpenter, and Everett Remsen.

The St. Albans Golf Club opened in 1919 along Merrick, Linden, and Baisley Boulevards. Addisleigh Park, a beautiful residential section was developed overlooking the golf course in 1926.

The post-war boom period, which followed 1920, unprecedented expansion in real estate was responsible for bringing in most of the residents who poured into the area. The creation of the government financing agency for home building in the 1930’s caused another spurt in real estate activity. The sale of the 100-acre St. Albans Golf Club to a building organization in the 1930s for a housing development did not materialize. The U.S. government acquired the property and the Department of Defense built the St. Albans Naval Hospital. The buildings and grounds are an architectural asset to the community. When the hospital closed in 1974, the Veterans Administration converted the facility into an extended care center. Fifty-three acres were given to the City of New York in 1977 which developed the Roy Wilkins Park.

During the 1940s, the population became more ethnically diverse as Lena Horne, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Roy Campanella, and other prominent African-Americans moved into Addisleigh Park. By the early 1970s, St. Albans was considered an African American community; during the 1980s, immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa, and the United Kingdom settled in the community.

Seyfried, Vincent, “St. Albans” The Encyclopedia of New York City, Yale University Press, 1995:1032-1033.

The Library in St. Albans has a unique history. Then, as now, community involvement has factored into the design and delivery of library services to the residents of St. Albans. On July 16th, 1918, the St. Albans Library was established as a small library called a village collection utilizing the services of volunteers. The Ladies Society and Red Cross workers spearheaded the project. The lending collection was housed in a small room in the Ladies Social Club building on Baisley Boulevard near Farmers Boulevard. Books were given out each week on Wednesdays.

The Library was taken over by Queens Borough Public Library in 1920 and also became a station collection the same year. The club house building was sold and the volunteer librarian relocated. The Library faced closure. The Mother’s Club of P.S. 36 came to the rescue. A small bunkhouse which looked like a “lunch wagon” was purchased and made into an attractive library. It was a small building on wheels. The use of a lot on a street very near the railroad station was donated by the owner. The building opened in January 1922. The wagon was used at this site for several years, until development in the area necessitated the moving of the wagon to a new location on Everitt Place where the lot was rent free.

In July 1931, the Library moved to a storefront at 187-10 Linden Boulevard and became a full-fledged branch.

On February 5, 1947, the library received a certificate of registration from the Board of Regents of the State of New York.

The building of the present site, 191-05 Linden Boulevard was erected in 1968. This facility was designed by an African-American architect, Frank Thompson. The city owned building was dedicated on March 10th, 1969.

Special Services

Queens Library HealthLink

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one of two American men and one of three American women will have some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime. Queens Library HealthLink seeks to increase access to cancer screening and cancer treatment among medically underserved communities in Queens. Queens Library HealthLink is a partnership between Queens Library, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital and the American Cancer Society.