Myrtle Avenue (New York City)

Myrtle Avenue

The Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District in Ridgewood
Owner	City of New York
Maintained by	NYCDOT
Length	8.1 mi (13.0 km)
Location	Brooklyn, Queens
Arrondissement	Cent
Nearest metro station	Jay Street Myrtle–Willoughby Avenues Myrtle Avenue Central Avenue ZZZtemporarily closed Knickerbocker Avenue ZZZtemporarily closed Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues
West end	Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn
Major junctions	Jackie Robinson Parkway in Forest Park
East end	Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill

Route map: Google

Myrtle Avenue is a 8.1-mile-long (13.0 km) street that runs from Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn to Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill, Queens, in New York City, New York, United States.

Myrtle Avenue has been a major thoroughfare since the early 19th century, named after the myrtle trees that were plentiful in the area. Most likely, Myrtle Avenue began in Queens and was a plank road that charged a toll. The road eventually hosted the Knickerbocker Stage Coach Line, that ran stagecoach and omnibus services. After World War I, Myrtle Avenue in Glendale was a popular destination for picnickers. With a steam trolley running on the avenue, and its ample adjacent beer gardens and park space, people from as far as Eastern Brooklyn came to Myrtle. In the mid-1920s, the parks closed as a result of Prohibition. Ultimately, the parks became incorporated by the city into what is known today as Forest Park.

Currently, Myrtle Avenue is one of the primary shopping strips of Ridgewood, along with Fresh Pond Road whose south end is at Myrtle Avenue. It is also the primary shopping strip in nearby Glendale, although this stretch of Myrtle Avenue isn't as busy as the Ridgewood stretch. It was also home to the Ridgewood Theatre, which was the longest continuously operated theater in the United States, having operated for 91 years before its closure in March 2008.