Jackson Heights Life

Hadn't been by there is a while.  Went there today and saw so sad to see the house has been completely torn down.  It's just an empty lot now.

Yes - there was a security guard there today too.  Nothing left to guard - I don't know why they are needed..

The only thing permanent is change....

One other interesting thing is Aunt Lillian (who was my father's sister) was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants and grew up over my grandfather's cigar factory in East Harlem, alongside the Third Ave. "el" train.   She worked her way through college and became a very successful writer, back in the 20's when women were still new at careers.  She married Tobias Watson and together they built their "dream" mansion in Jackson Heights, across from his hospital, where they lived an elegant lifestyle.  The office for his private practice was also part of the house, with a separate street entrance.  He kept an office nurse on duty, complete with white starched uniform and cap.  As a child, whenever I visited the home, I was always intrigued by the private doorway that would lead from the main house into the doctor's office.   A local pediatrician, Dr. Borah, also shared the office and was my family doctor.

Thanks for sharing this.  I can almost picture it from your description.

Ditto!  If it's sad for us to see the fall of this lovely house and property without even knowing its history, it must be so much worse for you.

I'm so glad you gave us this information.

The whole Eichler family settled in the Jackson Heights area.  My paternal grandmother Sally (Lillian's mother) eventually settled there as well in a much more modest attached house on 85th St., which still stands.  My father lived there with her until he married (at age 42) and he and my mother moved to an apartment in Elmhurst, where I grew up.  Uncle Toby delivered all of the babies in the Eichler family, including me, and I was born at Physicians Hospital as I noted.  I also went to P.S. 89 and JHS 145 (we had our graduation at the old Boulevard movie theatre--is that still standing?).   The Watsons had two children--Richard who went into advertising like his mother and Anita who became a doctor like her father (Richard is deceased, but Anita lives in Palos Verdes, CA.  (I'm in Los Angeles).  I'll check for any family photos.  There is a children's etiquette book that Lillian wrote, "Wee Moderns," which is filled with photos of Richard and Anita acting out the various etiquette lessons, all photographed in the Jackson Heights home.  Lillian's many books are all out of print, but can be found on such sites as eBay and Amazon under either "Lillian Eichler" or "Lillian Eichler Watson."

I graduated from 145 (Joseph Pulitzer JH) in 1958.  Then we moved out to L.I. and I began the 10th grade at Syosset High School.

I still remember the antiseptic "hospital" smell of walking through those hallways as a child and whenever I feel that same smell in a hospital today it reminds me of Physicians....