“Old Bloodgood house in Flushing N.Y., built 1642—now destroyed.”
________
(1659, on Sesame Street)
Visit St George's by the light of the moon,
if you dare, there in olde Flushing
now surrounded by banks, the Chamber of
Insolence, and varied trees
with the fingerprints of Vikings and feudal serfs.
bring a metal detector
for the silver coffin in which
the blot
god sleeps, a blanket of seeds
up to the eyelids that never close,
watching how slavery on the streets above
has meanly molted, shed one outer skin,
and feasts on all makes and models
without the trappings of prejudice
in this dense hamlet of millions,
most diverse melting pot since
the dragon's breath turned all the Old World
to a cauldron of refugees,
pilgrims, migrants, swimming a stew
of gold, wrapped in beaver skinned leggings,
better bowling alleys, more
gruesome ghosts in hollow cold chain,
the burghers good on unleavened bread.
Visit St George's by the dark of the Sun,
there in New Vlissingen, if
you care, and wear the royal blue
once verboten, or the purple and green
of plants bearing our names,
once Latin, once guttural or gestured,
to show how time blooms,
covering the trails past wampum bay
over to the corner of a lot not
desecrated under a cement lid,
pry up the moss and dust off the tardigrade
guards dancing their 8 legged jig
on the silver box,
locked from within with his Captain's
fingernails grown through the inner
hardware, moisture free from 360 years
of held ancient breath, and the
speech Olde Bloetgoet took within his boob,
down to rummage the thousand years
prior, eyes open and a peck of
squash seeds ticking the inner ear,
as the Steeple of St George
heaved to the street, with the usual
superstitions acquainted with phenomena,
there on the corner of Main and 39th,
the top hats all now gone
the tall sails sallied off
the hoop skirts and whalebone dentures done,
seeds still saw
their way out of the garret as
forms of sacrifice, the blot
hanging from the trees riddled with ravens,
the bay fog warm
as it washes inland over stone joke hi-rises
mini-marts and cultural outposts,
championed by the unknown as religious
tolerance, doing unto others
as one would like done to ourselves,
in their tidy life boxes and worthless plots,
the headstones long crumbled
the peg and awl termite known
the keel under repair in a barn half built,
clocks half maintained for the public good
and hourglasses filled
half, in open sesame seed
____________________
Portland 3-2-18
"The September 16, 2010 microburst across Brooklyn and Queens destroyed the church's 45-foot wooden steeple which crashed down on top of two New York City buses parked on Main Street.
It is unknown whether the destruction was caused by the 100+ mph winds or a reported lightning strike. It was rebuilt in 2013"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_Church_(Queens)
"The first house built on the street was probably the Bloodgood House, which ... Later on, it was known as the Garretson House.
For many years, it stood opposite St. George's Episcopal Church until it was torn down in the early 20th century."
https://books.google.com/books?id=KHCVPpUnkJUC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=bloodgood+garretson+st+george%27s+episcopal+church&source=bl&ots=x9WO8foVpX&sig=ACfU3U0cXww9LttMpf53kLNdy7CCQMEfmw&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiV3u6hqeHoAhXzOX0KHYBYD48Q6AEwA3oECAwQNQ#v=onepage&q=bloodgood%20garretson%20st%20george's%20episcopal%20church&f=false
"A vanished colonial New York landmarkRare and remarkable original albumen photo of the Bloodgood – Garretson House, Flushing, Queens, Long Island, New York, circa 1870s - 1880s, the image measuring 8 x 5.25 in. on a 10 x 8 mount, scattered light soiling and foxing (the foxing light and mostly unobtrusive), losses to two corners of mount (well away from image), very good overall. The reverse of the photo bears the handwritten ink caption
“Old Bloodgood house in Flushing N.Y., built 1642—now destroyed.”
In his 2005 book Flushing: 1880 – 1935, James Driscoll briefly outlines the history of the house:
“Most small towns in American have a Main Street, and Flushing was no different…. The first house built on the street was probably the Bloodgood House, which may have been older than the 1661 Bowne House.
Later on, it was known as Garretson House. For many years, it stood opposite St. George’s Episcopal Church until it was torn down in the early 20th century….” The sad demise of the historic building was documented more fully in a New York Times article of October 24, 1909, headlined “FLUSHING LANDMARK GOING: Garretson House and Its Quaint Surroundings Now in New Hands.”
In part: “Old landmarks have lost their sacredness in the real estate development of Queens, and the latest relic of bygone days to pass from the control of its ancient holders is the Garretson homestead in Flushing, which has stood on its present site, facing Main Street, since its erection in 1642.
The old house, together with the tract upon which it stands, was sold last week to H. L. Crandell of Freeport, L.I., Vice President of the Bank of Long Island.
“The tract has a frontage of 180 feet on the Main Street, 225 feet on Locust Street, and about 250 feet on Lincoln Street, comprising in all about twenty city lots. “Said to be the oldest house in Flushing, the Garretson homestead has for more than a century been one of the landmarks and points of interest to residents and visitors to the North Shore of Long Island. The building, with its quaint, low roof and shingled sides, stands in the heart of the Flushing business section and presents a quaint contrast to the modern flat houses and business blocks surrounding it.
A rosebush said to have been brought from China more than seventy years ago clambers over one of the gable ends of the ancient structure, and adds to the picturesqueness of the old house. Old flower beds, filled with homely plants of years ago, but carefully tended, complete the picture which many old residents of Flushing now fear may pass forever out of existence. Among the fruit trees are the famous Bloodgood pear tree, planted by a Garretson more than a hundred years ago, and the original amber cherry tree. Many relics are also kept in the house, including an old-fashioned printing press.
The building was former owned by Charles H. Garretson, who died two years ago, and has since been occupied by his sister, Miss Garretson.” Among the many details visible in the photo are the street itself, w a streetcar track is visible; a stone and mortar wall running the length of the property, broken by a set of steps and topped by a neat hedge; and the house itself.
The door appears to be of the Dutch type, with the upper and lower halves opening independently; the jamb is topped by a four-light transom.
The portions of the building at far left appear to be later additions. Among the more curious details is an odd multi-paneled cornice that runs the length of the roof, just above the gutters, almost like a flower box in appearance.
Strung horizontally across the columns on the front porch are several wires, over which grow an enormous tangled vine—perhaps the “clambering” rosebush referred to in the Times article. Though the hedge is full, the vine and the visible trees appear to be mostly bare, suggesting that the image was captured sometime between late autumn and late winter."
https://books.google.com/books?id=_DbB9BPWr1EC&pg=PT23&lpg=PT23&dq=bloodgood+garretson+st+george%27s+episcopal+church&source=bl&ots=pQRPdIc9mc&sig=ACfU3U3UgA-_HjDBxKfvXK_cjXvaLfNeSA&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiV3u6hqeHoAhXzOX0KHYBYD48Q6AEwAHoECAwQKQ#v=onepage&q=bloodgood%20garretson%20st%20george's%20episcopal%20church&f=false
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