Astoria, Queens: Astor's Name, a WPA Pool and the Studio at 35-11 35th Avenue

NYC Parks' history of Astoria Park states that "Stephen Halsey, who founded the village of Astoria in 1839, named the area for his friend, fur merchant John Jacob Astor (1763-1848)," and that "the pool, park, and surrounding neighborhood are named after John Jacob Astor." A Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report puts the naming in commercial terms: Halsey and his associates "purportedly named the area Astoria to attract financial backing from millionaire John Jacob Astor, who made a donation to build St. George's Episcopal Church." The same NYC Parks history describes a Lenape village at Pot Cove.

The City files Astoria Park as a neighborhood tabulation area of its own, named Astoria Park. NYC Parks records it as a Community Park of 59.96 acres, Park ID Q004, Community Board 1, under ZIP codes 11102 and 11105. NYC Parks also records that "In 1926 community members gathered to dedicate the Astoria Park Memorial in tribute to the sons of Long Island City who died in World War I" — the municipal name the war dead's home city carried at the time.

The Astoria Park Pool and Play Center is addressed to 19th Street between 22nd Drive and Hoyt Avenue North and was designated a New York City landmark on June 20, 2006. Designation report LP-2196 says that "the Astoria Play Center commands a striking waterfront location in Astoria Park," and dates the opening of the pool complex to 1936. Writing about Robert Moses's siting of the eleven WPA pools of that year, the same report states: "Moses was also known to have been insensitive to people of color, and tried to restrict access to many of his recreational facilities, including the pools. He determined that the Colonial Park pool in Harlem would be the only one for minority use. Most of the other pools, including Astoria, were placed in white neighborhoods."

Athens Square, Park ID Q436, ZIP 11102, is described by NYC Parks as "a little bit of Athens in Astoria" and its text speaks of "Astoria's citizens." Of Hallets Cove Playground, ZIP 11102, NYC Parks writes that "Hallets Point was initially the commercial center of Astoria." Park signage installed in the late 1990s at Socrates Sculpture Park, on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, explains that name as chosen "both in honor of Socrates (469-399 B.C.), the great Greek philosopher, and also as a tribute to the people of Astoria, New York's largest Greek community."

Designation report LP-0977 heads its subject "PARAMOUNT STUDIOS, BUILDING NO.1 (MAIN BUILDING), 35-11 35th Avenue, Astoria, Borough of Queens," and its body places the Famous Players-Lasky studio "at 35-11 35th Avenue in Astoria, Queens." The City's neighborhood tabulation area for that address is named Astoria (Central). Kaufman Astoria Studios publishes its own address as 34-12 36th Street: one complex with two frontages, each carrying its own street number. The Museum of the Moving Image is at 36-01 35th Avenue, ZIP 11106.

On the river side of the neighborhood, the Sohmer & Company Piano Factory stands at 31-01 Vernon Boulevard, also given as 11-02 to 11-16 31st Avenue. Designation report LP-2172 calls it "one of the most prominent structures along the Queens side of the East River in Long Island City" and locates it "in the northern part of Long Island City near Astoria" — the report's own hedge, under a section headed "The Industrial Development of Long Island City/Astoria." The City's neighborhood tabulation area for the address is named Old Astoria-Hallets Point, and Epic Theatre Center, Inc. carries the same address, 31-01 Vernon Blvd, ZIP 11106.

The Lawrence Family Graveyard, at the southeast corner of 20th Road and 35th Street, dates to 1703; its 1966 designation report labels the address line "Steinway, Borough of Queens," while the body of the same report names "Miss Ruth Lawrence, the last member of the Lawrence family to live in Astoria." The Moore-Jackson Cemetery is recorded at 51st to 54th Streets between 31st and 32nd Avenues.

The Greater Astoria Historical Society, at 32-63 48 Street, ZIP 11103, has served the Borough of Queens since 1985. Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden publishes its address as 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102. Taverna Kyclades, at 36-01 Ditmars Blvd, ZIP 11105, describes itself on its own site as Greek and "in Astoria Queens." Sweet Afton is at 30-09 34th St, and its own site calls it "Astoria's Neighborhood spot." Bahari Estiatorio is at 31-14 Broadway.

The subway line named for Astoria carries nine stations: seven in Queens, Queensboro Plaza among them, and two in Manhattan. The neighborhood's own stations include Astoria–Ditmars Blvd and Steinway Street.

Astoria Park is carried by NYC Parks under ZIP codes 11102 and 11105 and Park ID Q004. The pool inside it has its own address line: 19th Street between 22nd Drive and Hoyt Avenue North. Athens Square is recorded under ZIP 11102 and Park ID Q436, and Hallets Cove Playground under ZIP 11102.

The neighborhood's landmarks and institutions are reached by street number. The Famous Players-Lasky studio is at 35-11 35th Avenue and the Museum of the Moving Image at 36-01 35th Avenue, with Kaufman Astoria Studios at 34-12 36th Street. On the water, the Sohmer & Company Piano Factory is at 31-01 Vernon Boulevard, also given as 11-02 to 11-16 31st Avenue. The Lawrence Family Graveyard is at the southeast corner of 20th Road and 35th Street; the Moore-Jackson Cemetery runs from 51st to 54th Streets between 31st and 32nd Avenues.