A Quiet Street as a Signature for a Citywide Legacy: Ankener Avenue and Its Visionary Namesake
Walk down Elmhurst’s Ankener Avenue, and all may seem unremarkable at first glance. It’s a peaceful, tree-lined stretch, its tidy homes providing a window into decades of Queens history. But beneath your feet lies more than concrete and soil; you are connected to one of New York City’s most quietly influential pioneers.
Ernest Ankener, an engineer who helped map the modern city and a proud Freemason who embodied the fraternity’s highest ideals, Ankener’s presence lingers in every inch of this borough.
A Street With a Backstory
Unlike many New York streets honorifically named after civic figures, Ankener Avenue stands apart; it was named during Ernest Ankener’s own grand effort to survey and transform Queens from rural farmland to a grid of vibrant neighborhoods. As Ankener drafted block after block into existence, this avenue’s name was left as a subtle but lasting signature of his work.
Today, Ankener Avenue serves as a living monument. While it hasn't hosted grand parades or captured historical headlines, it has witnessed Queens’ transformation into one of the world’s most diverse communities. Its existence reminds us that some of the most meaningful tributes are not carved in stone, but drawn onto the very maps that guide future generations.
The Quiet Genius Behind the Name
Who was the man behind the avenue? Born in 1847 in Karlsruhe, Germany, Ernest Ankener was educated in classical engineering and instilled with the values of faith, fraternity, and diligence. He immigrated to New York at 21 and overcame early struggles to join the ranks of the city’s leading surveyors, making his mark on projects such as calculating the monumental stress and strain required for the Brooklyn Bridge. Widely recognized in his lifetime for this pivotal work, Ankener went on to transform Queens with unparalleled precision. As the historian of Advance Lodge, when I come across meeting minutes that both Ankener and Dr. Rainey attended, I can’t help but imagine their technical discussions of bridge structure.
But perhaps his greatest contribution came in 1898, when the challenge of merging five boroughs into Greater New York demanded a new, official city map. Ankener responded by building a hundred-foot wooden tower at his home in Astoria (part family residence, part surveyor’s laboratory) known as “Ankener Station.” From its heights, he and his team triangulated distant landmarks, plotting the invisible grid that still shapes Queens’ neighborhoods today.
A Masonic Master in Spirit and Action
Much like his survey lines, Ankener’s influence radiated through the city’s civic and social life. He and his son, Angelo, were dedicated Freemasons and life members of Advance Lodge, respected for their integrity, mentorship, and quiet leadership. Ankener’s achievements were recognized by both City Hall and his Masonic brothers; his retirement was honored with a grand ceremony and a custom silver medallion set with diamonds; a token of gratitude for his extraordinary contributions, designed especially because Ankener himself rarely spoke of his works.
A key engineer in the design of the Brooklyn Bridge, Ankener is forever connected to one of the city’s greatest landmarks. When the bridge opened, an inaugural walk by hundreds of citizens ended in a panic; many feared the bridge would not hold. To dispel these worries, P.T. Barnum, after consulting with Ankener, famously led a parade of elephants across the span, proving the bridge’s strength to the world.
Works Both Celebrated and Unsung
Ankener’s brilliance extended far beyond bridges. From 1873 to 1897, he served as engineer for the Long Island City Improvement Commission, working along side brother’s Peter Van Alst and Robert Graham, where he directed the growth of roads, sewers, and utilities across the city. He was also the surveyor and engineer for William Steinway and George Ehret’s North Beach resort, a vibrant pleasure destination for generations of New Yorkers, now the site of LaGuardia Airport. In its day it was referred to as the Coney Island of Queens. Ankener also played a crucial role in mapping out both Brooklyn and The Bronx.
A Legacy in Queens and Masonry
Ernest Ankener lived to see Queens transformed from open fields to a modern cityscape, passing his craft and values to three sons who each became engineers, a testament to the power of example. When he died at 83 in 1930, his towering home remained a neighborhood landmark for decades, a tangible reminder of his vision.
At his passing, every member of Advance Lodge, alongside the Frohsinn Singing Society and the Long Island Turn Verein athletics society, gathered for an evening of music, community, and fraternity in his home; a final tribute to a man who built both bridges and bonds.
Although his tower and house are gone today, the unseen geometry that mapped Queens, the avenues he plotted, and the ideals he lived by remain as influential as ever. Every time you cross Ankener Avenue, contemplate the lines and boundaries of our neighborhoods, or marvel at the Brooklyn Bridge, remember the Mason whose vision helped build our city and whose story continues to inspire the brotherhood of service and connection.
In the heart of Queens, a quiet avenue, and the legacy of a Mason, run straight and true.
