Jackson Heights Life

I believe the block that you are referring to was all one story,  all pre war architecture.  There were several mom and pops stores.  The  only one that I now remember was a really nice stationary store. Before the area was landmarked there were two fires.  One which partially burnt down the block---as a warning--- and an other one soon  followed that burnt down everything in its' entirety.  Although I can not personally attest to this, rumor had it that they were purposefully destroyed to make way for the monstrosity that currently exist. I remember speaking to the owner of the stationary store at the time and this is what he had told me.  The block was low density and very quaint.

Three of the stores that burned were all favorites of mine:

The Continental Restaurant was exactly that a nice Continental Restaurant with a nice bar.
Mike's Deli was a deli where you could order a sandwich or hot food and sit in a booth and eat in.
Glendale Bake Shop - was on the 82nd Street side and in addition to being a nice bakery had a nice deli section.

Florsheim's was the store on the corner of 82nd and 37th. I remember waking early that day (summer time?) and smelling fire. It was only later, when I came home from work that I saw what happened. It took years before the litigation regarding the height of the 'new' building was settled, and although arson was suspected, nothing was ever proved.

This was a real low point as that block was the cross roads of the 'old' JH.

I think there was also a camera store there. Oldst yle, they sold all types of film, developed pictures, and repaired cameras.

Yes there was and I can't recall the name of it. They were one of the last places in New York City that repaired Super 8 projectors.