Prior to the 1940s, the boulevard consisted of two sections separated by Cunningham Park, with only the northern spur officially called Cross Island Boulevard. In late 1932, the city finalized plans to extend Cross Island Boulevard south to Springfield Boulevard and Linden Boulevard in southern Queens. On November 11, 1938, construction began on an upgrade to the north end of the boulevard, in order to serve as a link between the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and the 1939 New York World's Fair. The overhauled boulevard was reopened between the bridge and Horace Harding Boulevard (then called World's Fair Boulevard; now the Long Island Expressway) a year later on November 16, 1939, at which point it was renamed Francis Lewis Boulevard. At this time, the remaining original stretch of Cross Island Boulevard in Whitestone was renamed Clintonville Street, although many signs continued to identify it as Cross Island Boulevard. The southern section of Francis Lewis Boulevard, meanwhile, consisted of narrow roads with macadam construction. Improvements to the southern leg of the boulevard were in the preliminary stages at this time.