Woodside, Queens, New York

A recent piece on Tony Bennett in the New York Times speaks of his enduring love for the Astoria section of Queens, New York, where he was born and raised. I noticed it particularly because celebrities and most ordinary folk do not commonly reminisce — as does Mr. Bennett — about the glories of that part of the world.

As it happens, it is the place where a progenitor of mine put down his roots. In 1853, at age 18, he had come to New York, without money or family to support him, and, unlike many others, he had, by the end of the century, established himself as a prominent merchant, philanthropist, and supporter of social causes. By all accounts he made his way without any of the ruthlessness which characterized the robber barons who were his contemporaries. Indeed, one of his reasons for emigrating was the failure of the 1848 revolution in Germany and his native Müunster which he ardently supported; and he counted among his friends men like the radical reformer Carl Schurz.

My father, his grandson, remembered him as a portly man of generous spirit — genial, outgoing, and cheerful. Here are two images of him from the turn of the century.

{Louis Windmuller; source: National cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1895}

{Louis Windmuller from Empire State Notables (1914); source: columbia.edu}

He lived first in Manhattan, then Brooklyn, and finally Queens. There, he bought a small estate in the Woodside Section on a hill, as he said, "the highest point for many miles around," which would later be turned into a public park bearing his name: Windmuller Park.

This panoramic view shows the playground area:

{source: Sean Hopkins on picasaweb, May 25, 2009 }

The NYC public parks web site describes the man and the place:

This park, located between 39th Road and 39th Drive and running from 52nd to 54th Streets in Queens, is named for Louis Windmuller (1835-1913), a civic leader and businessman who summered on this Woodside hill until his death in 1913.

Born in Westphalia, Germany in 1835, Louis Windmuller emigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He began working in the banking industry and soon became successful, chartering several banks that served New York’s growing German immigrant population. Windmuller also helped found the German-American Insurance Company in response to the devastating fire that destroyed Chicago in 1871. Later in life Windmuller devoted his energies to civic service, becoming active with the Reform Club, the New-York Historical Society, the Legal Aid Society, the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Windmuller wrote frequently for publications about a variety of topics, including economic policy and civic issues.

Windmuller was a staunch advocate of parks and he served on the Heine Monument Society, which helped secure a spot for the fountain in what is now known as Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx. A fervent walker, Windmuller also established the "Pedestrian Club" which even counted Mayor William Jay Gaynor as a member. In the summer, Windmuller often walked an hour from his Woodside home to his Title Guaranty and Trust office downtown (via a ferry at Hunter’s Point); he once remarked that "a good rule to make your tramp a really enjoyable pastime is to be careful and not walk too fast."

In 1912 Windmuller’s daughter Anna burned to death in a house fire and it was said that he never recovered from the shock. Suffering from dementia and unresponsive, by September 1913 Windmuller was declared incompetent to manage his own affairs. Windmuller died less than a week later. An editorial in the New York Times called him "an exceedingly simple and likable man, whose kindly disposition and unfailing sympathy secured to him a host of sincere friends."

The land comprising Windmuller Park was acquired from the Windmuller family in 1936 and the park was officially opened to the public in 1937. Other portions of the Windmuller property were sold in the 1940s to build one of the many "garden apartment" developments that took root in this part of Queens. Neighboring Doughboy Park was fully improved and opened in 1957, and in 1959 the section of 54th Street that ran between the two sites was closed to traffic and converted to parkland, joining the two parcels.

When Parks Commissioner Richard Clurman urged individual communities to unite with the city to keep their neighborhood parks clean and safe, several Woodside residents heeded the call to turn around Windmuller Park. The Windmuller Park Neighborhood Association was formed in the spring of 1973 and in response to the community’s enthusiastic support, Parks returned the favor that summer by making significant repairs at the site. After the park survived no further break-ins or vandalism, Windmuller Park was hailed as a model for Parks’ fledgling partnership program. The park was so successful that it became one of the few in the city where a flag actually flew on the flagpole installed at the site -- flag theft being a widespread problem at that time. . . .

The park now features a large, fenced dog run giving local canines a place to safely run free.

The NYC parks dept gives a link to a map for the park.

Here is another view of the park:

source: http://www.nycgovparks.org/
And a link to some 360° panorama shots

The archives of the New York Times contain quite a few articles about the man and his doings. Here are links to a couple of them:

THEIR GOLDEN WEDDING.; Mr. and Mrs. Louis Windmuller Keep It at Their Home In Queens.

November 24, 1909, Wednesday
Page 6, 1062 words
Surrounded by their three children, their three grandchildren, and a number of intimate friends, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Windmuller celebrated yesterday in their home on the hillslope of Woodside, Queens Borough, the golden anniversary of their wedding. They were married in Hoboken in 1859, six years after Mr. Windmuller emigrated from Munster, his birthplace. Mrs. Windmuller was Miss Anna Eliza Lefman of New York. . . .

MISS WINDMULLER BURNED TO DEATH; Daughter of the Merchant Set Ablaze in the Kitchen of Her Father's Home.
April 14, 1912, Sunday
Page 1, 219 words
Miss May Windmuller, daughter of Louis Windmuller, Treasurer of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, died at 9 o'clock last night at the Windmuller residence, on Woodside Heights, Queens, from burns sustained during the afternoon. . . .

He was sufficiently prominent to be profiled in the biographic dictionaries of his time. Here is a representative sample of this genre:

Windmuller, Louis; extract from Who's who in Finance, Banking, and Insurance (N.Y. 1911) Merchant, banker; born Münster, Westphalia, Germany, 1835; educated Gymnasium Carollnum, Münster; came to the United States, 1863; since then resident of New York City; married, New York City, Nov. 23, 1859, Annie Eliza Lefman.

Successfully engaged in business in New York City as a merchant; senior member of ths firm of Louis Windmuller & Roelker of New-York and Frankfort-on-the-Maln, Germany; president Maiden Lane Savings Bank; first vice-president and director Maiden Lane Safe Deposit Co.; director and one of the founders German- American Insurance Co., Title Guarantee and Trust Co., German Alliance Insurance Co., South Manhattan Realty Co.

Who's who in Finance, Banking, and Insurance (N.Y. 1911)

Windmuller, Louis

Merchant, banker; born Münster, Westphalia, Germany, 1835; educated Gymnasium Carollnum, Münster; came to the United States, 1863; since then resident of New York City; married, New York City, Nov. 23, 1859, Annie Eliza Lefman.

Successfully engaged in business in New York City as a merchant; senior member of ths firm of Louis Windmuller & Roelker of New-York and Frankfort-on-the-Maln, Germany; president Maiden Lane Savings Bank; first vice-president and director Maiden Lane Safe Deposit Co.; director and one of the founders German- American Insurance Co., Title Guarantee and Trust Co., German Alliance Insurance Co., South Manhattan Realty Co.

Independent; supported Cleveland on tariff issue, and in campaign of 1892, with Carl Schurz and others, formed the German-American Cleveland Union, contributing effectually to the Cleveland success of that year. Supported McKinley on financial issue, 1896; chairman German American Hughes Alliance, aiding in election of Governor Hughes 1908.

Member New York Chamber of Commerce, New York Board of Trade and Transportation (managing director); treasurer Legal Aid Society, giving gratuitously legal aid to helpless strangers. Life member New York Historical Society; member Germanistic Society, Germanic Museum Ass'n of Cambridge, Mass, (vice-president); vice-president Heine Monument Ass'n, Arion Society.

Recreations: Long walks; art and book collector.

Clubs: Merchants', Lotos, Press, Underwriters, New York Athletic, National Arts, Reform (treasurer since 1889).

Contributor on Economic, civic, and financial questions to North American Review, The Forum. Outlook, New York Times, New York Evening Post, New Yorker Staats Zeitung. Meyer's Konversations. Lexicon, the Berlin Nation and other periodicals.

Residence: Woodside, Queens Borough. Office: 20 Reade St., N. Y. City.

In 1900 he gave some information about his property:

Extract from testimony of Louis Windmuller to the Special Committee of the Assembly appointed to investigate the public offices and departments of the city of New York and of the counties therein included (New York, 1900): I am a merchant. I have been engaged in business in the city of New York for forty-five years. I am sr property owner in the borough of Queens. I reside in that borough, my residence is near Woodside. The land comprises one hill which is the highest point for many miles around, about one hundred and fifty feet above tidewater. I own about twelve and a half acres of ground.

A famous walker, he made a jocular proposal for a walking club of New York celebrities. His idea was written up in the New York Times and Long Island Star Journal:

FEBRUARY 1913
Astoria Historical Society

Get into a conversation with a long time Queens resident and you're likely to discover a subscriber of the Long Island Star- Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaper's name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal - The Flushing Journal (1841). . . .

At the suggestion of Louis Windmuller, Woodside's 'grand old man,' the most exclusive, distinguished and enthusiastic walking club in the country had just been organized. The mayor's office announced the formation of the 'Pedestrians Club.' The charter members are Mayor Gaynor, Joseph Choate (a former ambassador to Great Britain,) William Hornblower (a Wall Street financier,) and John Parsons (a senior judge of the New York Bar.) Others notables contemplating joining include Andrew Carnegie, financier Jacob Schiff, and General Wingate.

Windmuller, who walks at least four hours each day, suggested that their first walk start at City Hall and ends up somewhere in Bronx Park, Coney Island or Queens. Says he, "I delight in people. To enjoy walking one must use his eyes and the brain as much as he does his legs. I prefer to look at the faces of people to looking at buildings and into shop windows. Don't let automobiles frighten you. Learn to dodge. They nearly got me once, but they can't and I'm seventy-eight years old." The combined ages of the five charter members was 367 years making an average age of 73.

This map shows his home and place of work, just a portion of his daily perambulations.

View Woodside, Queens, NY in a larger map