A Guide to Historic New York City Neighborhoods

F o r e s t C l o s e & F o r e s t H i l l s Queens The Historic Districts Council is New York’s citywide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods. The Six to Celebrate program annually identifies six historic New York City neighborhoods that merit preservation as priorities for HDC’s advocacy and consultation over a yearlong period.

The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, are selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, the strength and willingness of the local advocates, and the potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. HDC works with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

The core belief of the Historic Districts Council is that preservation and enhancement of New York City’s historic resources—its neighborhoods, buildings, parks and public spaces— are central to the continued success of the city. The Historic Districts Council works to ensure the preservation of these resources and uphold the New York City Landmarks Law and to further the preservation ethic. This mission is accomplished through ongoing programs of assistance to more than 500 community and neighborhood groups and through public-policy initiatives, publications, educational outreach and sponsorship of community events.

Support is provided in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional support is provided by City Councilmembers Margaret Chin, Inez Dickens, Matthieu Eugene, Daniel Garodnick, Vincent Gentile, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Stephen Levin, Mark Levine, and Rosie Mendez.

232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 tel 212-614-9107 fax 212-614-9127 e-mail [email protected] www.hdc.org 6tocelebrate.org

Copyright © 2015 by Historic Districts Council Forest Close

At the turn of the 20th century, the sparsely populated borough of Queens was on the brink of immense change. With little public transportation, its population was roughly 150,000. Between 1900, when the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased, expanded and electrified the Long Island Railroad, and 1910, when a groundbreaking tunnel underneath the East River was unveiled, the population of Queens nearly doubled. One of the first residential developments of these early years of the 20th century was Forest Hills, a 600-acre parcel of farmland previously known as the Hopedale section of Whitepot. Purchased by the Cord Meyer Development Company in 1906, the parcel was renamed in honor of its proximity to Forest Park and its elevation above the surrounding area.

For this new development, George C. Meyer stipulated the layout of a suburban community, with lots designated for houses, schools and churches, as well as utilities and plantings. Aesthetically, the area would be united by its architecture. Meyer hired architects Robert Tappan and William Patterson to design single-family houses that would complement one another. Cord Meyer began the development of these lots in 1906, mostly north of Queens Boulevard. The area roughly bounded by 68th Avenue on the north, 72nd Road on the south, 108th Street on the west and Grand Central Parkway on the east is still referred to as the Cord Meyer section of Forest Hills. The Long Island Railroad opened a station in Forest Hills in 1911, and in 1913-14, a trolley service began operating along Queens Boulevard from 71st Street to both Manhattan and Jamaica. Several events put Forest Hills on the map, including the 1915 relocation of Manhattan’s West Side Tennis Club to Forest Hills, where it would host the U.S. Open for the next 62 years (its 14,000-seat stadium opened in 1923). The neighborhood also gained fame in 1917, when Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech at Station Square at the onset of World War I.

Roughly 142 acres of Forest Hills was almost immediately sold by Cord Meyer to Mrs. Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, widow of Russell Sage, a very successful railroad magnate and financier. Through the Russell Sage Foundation, Mrs. Sage established Forest Hills Gardens in 1909, and the community was completed in 1912-13. This incredibly short period of construction can be attributed to the use of pre-fabricated concrete units, a revolutionary and influential technique at the time. Station Square forms the magnificent entrance into this planned suburb (see numbers 10-16), which was largely designed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

As further advancements to the area’s infrastructure were made, such as the widening of Queens Boulevard, development continued in Forest Hills through the 1920s in much the same style, with a mix of single-family houses, small-scale apartment buildings and townhouse-style residences. The first apartment building constructed in Forest Hills Gardens was the Forest Arms, built in 1924. Apartment buildings also cropped up along Queens Boulevard. Arbor Close and Forest Close, small townhouse complexes with shared gardens, were constructed in 1925 and 1927, respectively. The opening of the IND subway in Forest Hills in 1936 led to a major shift in development patterns to larger, mainly six-story, apartment buildings. After World War II and up until today, some private houses have been demolished to construct large apartment buildings, especially along Queens Boulevard.

1 — Historic Districts Council — Forest Close 1 Forest Close and Arbor Close are distinct developments whose construction and history Forest Close & Arbor are inextricably linked. The two rowhouse lose Austin Street between C communities were commissioned by the Cord 75th and 76th Avenues Meyer Development Company, and each encircles (Robert Tappan, 1925-27) a shared, yet private, green space. Such a layout was appropriate for the already lush neighborhood of Forest Hills and similar to other Queens communities, such as Sunnyside Gardens and Jackson Heights, which were also developed as suburban enclaves. Cord Meyer originally intended to construct more closes extending as far as Union Turnpike to the east. However, with the stock market crash of 1929, the others were never completed. Both Arbor Close and Forest Close were designed in the neo-Tudor style, with half- timbering, slate tile roofs and brick and stucco cladding. Each grouping also includes a block of garages in the same style, which feature copper cupolas at their centers. Robert Tappan was responsible for both Forest and Arbor Closes, as well as for many single- family houses in greater Forest Hills. A concentrated number of Tappan houses may be found north of Queens Boulevard in the Cord Meyer section of Forest Hills. When the subway arrived in 1936, development patterns in Forest Hills shifted in favor of larger-scale apartment houses. Luckily, Forest and Arbor Closes managed to remain and have only increased in desirability with home buyers. This is due in part to the existence of covenants, established at the time of their construction, that protect their special character. These covenants are in perpetuity, lending some measure of stability for the continued maintenance of their architectural features and overall cohesion. In anticipation of potential internal and external pressures, the communities are investigating ways to strengthen these controls.

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Firehouse, Engine Company 305, Hook & Ladder Company 151 111-02 Queens Boulevard

(John R. Sliney, 1922-24) – NYC IL

Following the arrival of public transportation to Forest Hills, the population increase necessitated municipal services. This neo-Medieval style firehouse was one such amenity. Constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with patterned brickwork and limestone accents, the building features asymmetrical massing, steep gables with copper roofs, two square towers with arched window openings and a tall square chimney along its western façade. Sliney, in his capacity as head building inspector for the fire department, was responsible for about 70 firehouses across the five boroughs between 1902 and 1933.

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Holland House 73-37 Austin Street (Benjamin Braunstein, 1929-30)

This imposing Art Deco apartment building features red brick façades with intricate brickwork and exquisite limestone moldings. It is one of the neighborhood’s finest examples of apartment house construction that arrived in Forest Hills once both the LIRR and the subway made their way to the neighborhood. Advertisements for the building described it as a “Ten-story apartment 14 minutes from the Pennsylvania Station with all the advantages of a Park Avenue residence.” Peek down 73rd Road to see some other early apartment houses, including The Mayfair, a fanciful structure with ornate brickwork and limestone carvings.

Legend of designations National Historic Landmark: NHL National Register of Historic Places—District: NR-D National Register of Historic Places­—Property: NR-P New York City Historic District: NYC HD New York City Individual Landmark: NYC IL New York City Interior Landmark: NYC INL 3 — Historic Districts Council — Forest Close 4

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs 110-6 Queens Boulevard

(Maginnis & Walsh, 1938-39)

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs School 72-55 Austin Street The parish of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs was founded (Maginnis & Walsh, 1928) in 1912, as the development of Forest Hills was in full swing. Its original wood frame chapel building burned down in 1929, just after the completion of the church’s beautiful neo- Gothic school building. It would be ten more years until a new sanctuary would be built, with services taking place in the school’s auditorium in the interim. Modeled after England’s Durham Cathedral, the cruciform sanctuary building was constructed of granite and limestone and features an abundance of stained glass. It is the largest Catholic church in Queens. En route to site #5, walk toward Queens Boulevard on 72nd Avenue, which contains some of the earliest residences in Forest Hills, commemorated by a plaque on number 108-19.

Though this bank building is fairly undistinguished 5 and much changed since its construction, it is well worth a visit. The building originally housed the 108-36 Queens Boulevard Stratton Restaurant & (Theobald H. Engelhardt, Bar, which was replaced 1944-46; mural: in 1986 with the Home Richard Haas, 1989) Savings Bank of America. The bank commissioned a quirky detail for the curving façade during its tenure: a mosaic tile mural depicting Forest Hills, with Station Square in the foreground, Queens Boulevard in the middle ground and Manhattan’s skyline in the distant background. Also enclosed within its gold-tile border are boxes depicting some of the area’s distinctive architecture. The mural displays charming community pride in both Forest Hills and its broader urban locale.

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RKO Midway Theatre 108-22 Queens Boulevard

(S. Charles Lee for Thomas W. Lamb Associates, 1942)

Named for the World War II Battle of Midway, this theater boasts 2,000 seats. Thomas W. Lamb was a prolific theater designer, having been responsible for roughly 300 theaters across the country. This theater bears the distinction of being his last project and one of only a few designed in the Art Moderne style. Its undulating limestone façade features a large vertical beacon with letters spelling out “MIDWAY.” The structure currently houses a United Artists cinema along with a variety of shops and restaurants.

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Ridgewood Savings Bank 107-55 Queens Boulevard (Halsey, McCormack & Helmer, 1939- The first branch of the Ridgewood Savings Bank, 40) the location was chosen for its proximity to public – NYC IL transportation and the area’s growing population. Situated on its own triangular lot, the limestone-clad bank is a prominent structure on bustling Queens Boulevard. Aside from its location, the bank is noteworthy for its mix of Art Deco and Modern Classical style design. Its rounded ends are connected by side walls with alternating flat and curved panels, as well as large windows and decorative motifs that include eagles, wavy lines and clock faces. At the rounded ends, vertical piers mimic Classical columns and bronze doors and window grates at the main entrance feature simple spear and fan motifs. Just off of Queens Boulevard at 108-19 71st Avenue is another civic structure: the Forest Hills Branch of the Queens Public Library, a simple brick building designed by Boak & Raad and built in 1957. 5 — Historic Districts Council — Forest Close 8 Queens Boulevard was MacDonald Park expanded gradually over Queens Boulevard many years, beginning between Yellowstone in the early 1920s. After Boulevard an expansion phase in and 70th Road 1931, this small park was formed. In 1933 it was (monument: William named after Captain Henry Deacy, 1934) Gerald MacDonald (1882-1929), a World War I veteran and Forest Hills resident who was held in great esteem by the community. Toward the park’s eastern end is the Gerald MacDonald statue, which was designed by architect William Henry Deacy, sculpted by MacDonald’s brother-in-law, Frederic de Henwood, and unveiled in 1934.

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United States Post Office, Forest Hills Station 106-28 Queens Boulevard (Lorimer Rich, 1938-40) – NR-P

This Art Deco style post office is one of five constructed by the Works Progress Administration in Queens. Designed to be a showpiece in the neighborhood, the one-story building is clad in reddish brown terra-cotta above a granite base. It features a statue above the entrance on Queens Boulevard entitled “The Spirit of Communication” by sculptor Sten Jacobson. The statue was very controversial at the time of its unveiling, as it depicts a bare-breasted woman holding a clock in one hand and a dove in the other.

Walk south on 70th Avenue and turn left on Austin Street, a commercial hub in Forest Hills, then turn right onto 71st Avenue and under the train tracks into Station Square. Soak up this iconic view of the beautiful plaza, then turn right on Burns Street to visit site #10.

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West Side Stadium (now Forest Hills Stadium) 10a

Clubhouse: 1 Tennis Place (Grosvenor Atterbury and John Almay Tompkins, 1913) 10b This internationally renowned tennis stadium is most famous for hosting the United States National Stadium: 69th Avenue Championship tennis tournaments, which were between Clyde Street and combined in 1968 to become the U.S. Open, from Dartmouth Street (Kenneth 1915 until 1977, when the tournament moved to the M. Murchison, 1921-23) Arthur Ashe stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The West Side Tennis Club was established in 1892 and originally operated on Central Park West in Manhattan, giving the club its name. The clubhouse was designed in the neo-Tudor style, in keeping with Atterbury’s other work in Forest Hills. The 14,000-seat stadium was designed by Kenneth M. Murchison, a well-known architect of public institutional buildings, having also designed such distinguished structures as Penn Station in Baltimore and the Hoboken Terminal. The United States’ first concrete tennis stadium, its architectural features include blue and gold glazed terra-cotta shields bearing the WSTC logo and “1923”, archways, eagles, shields, flagpoles and cornices. In 1956, the stadium hosted a major turning point in American history, when Althea Gibson became the first African American woman to compete in a world tennis championship (she won the Grand Slam). The stadium also served as a performance venue from the 1950s to the 1990s (Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan, to name a few). In 2013, after many years of neglect, the West Side Tennis Club began an overhaul of the structure to restore it for use as a music venue once more. Turn left onto Dartmouth Street to make your way back to Station Square, noting the lovely streetscapes along the way.

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Station Square Designed as the gateway to and commercial (Grosvenor Atterbury and center of Forest Hills Gardens, Station Square Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., is a brick-paved plaza surrounded by shops, 1912-16) a former hotel, apartment buildings and the – NR-P Long Island Railroad (LIRR) train station. LIRR shared the construction cost with the Sage Homes Foundation and the Cord Meyer Corporation, and the station was completed in 1913. The unified design of the square’s surrounding buildings and relationship to the architectural vocabulary of Forest Hills Gardens provides a pleasing and welcoming atmosphere that reinforces the area’s small-town character. The square is integral to Atterbury’s groundbreaking urban ideals, allowing residents to get everything they needed on foot. The square gained fame on July 4, 1917, when Theodore Roosevelt spoke at a dedication ceremony for the square’s flagpole. Taking place just months after America had become involved in World War I, the former U.S. President gave an impassioned speech in support of this action. In 1997, the Friends of Station Square launched a fundraising campaign, which resulted in a $5 million restoration by the MTA/LIRR. Friends also launched a separate fundraising campaign to landscape the square as it had been planned by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

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Forest Hills Gardens (Grosvenor Atterbury and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., 1912-13)

One of the earliest planned garden communities in the country, Forest Hills Gardens was inspired by urban theorist Sir Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City Movement, which originated in England in 1898. The movement emphasized the confluence of natural surroundings within urban residential environments. It is believed that Forest Hills Gardens was specifically modeled after Hampstead Garden Suburb on the outskirts of London. The community’s winding tree-lined streets, English- inspired streetlamps and graceful architecture are the work of architect Grosvenor Atterbury and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Atterbury grew up in Long Island, studied architecture in New York and Paris, and in his early career apprenticed at the firm of McKim, Mead & White, specializing in summer homes and country estates. He was also interested in architecture for the working poor, designing a model tenement on East 31st Street in Manhattan. Thus, his experience and interests made him the perfect fit for Forest Hills Gardens, which was intended as a model community for people of diverse income levels. Unfortunately, the exorbitant construction costs ultimately rendered the neighborhood less affordable than planned, and it remains a wealthy enclave to this day. Olmsted, Jr. was a famous landscape architect whose legendary father worked with Calvert Vaux to design Central and Prospect Parks, among many other commissions nationwide. Consisting of about 800 freestanding homes, townhouses and apartment buildings, the architecture can mostly be classified as neo-Georgian, American Arts and Crafts and neo-Tudor. In 1922, the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation was formed to manage the community’s affairs, including setting and overseeing design covenants. There are several small parks in Forest Hills Gardens, which are reserved for residents and their guests. These green spaces put the “Gardens” in Forest Hills Gardens, lending breathing space in which to relax and play, as well as providing vistas of the area’s beautiful architecture.

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Greenway Terrace St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 85 Greenway South (Grosvenor Atterbury and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., (Robert Tappan, 1924) 1912-13) – NR-P Just off of Station Square is Greenway Terrace, a triangular “village green” flanked by roadways and cohesively designed houses that feature especially detailed ornament. The terrace includes several seating areas, a prominent World War I monument and a section called Flagpole Park, so named for the 100-foot-tall mainmast of the yacht Columbia, a gift from area residents installed here in the 1920s. The Columbia won the America’s Cup race in both 1898 and 1901, and the seagull at the pole’s crown refers to its nautical past. The World War I monument was sculpted by Adolph A. Weinman, a Greenway South resident (number 23) and famous sculptor who also created “Civic Fame” at the top of Manhattan’s Municipal Building, as well as the American coinage reliefs of the Mercury dime (1916-45) and Walking Liberty half dollar (1916-47). Along the north side of Greenway Terrace is the First Church of Christ, Scientist, designed in the Moorish Revival style by Bernhardt E. Muller and built in 1933. The sandstone structure is small in scale, yet stands out for its impressive details, including ridged turrets, arched openings and cruciform engravings.

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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 85 Greenway South

(Robert Tappan, 1924) – NR-P

Robert Tappan, prolific architect of residential architecture in Forest Hills and a neighborhood resident, donated his architectural and construction management services to the construction of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. At the time, Tappan was also managing the construction of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as an associate in the architecture firm of Cram and Ferguson. St. Luke’s was designed in the English Gothic style and constructed of salvaged brick with wood trim and beautiful stained glass windows, some of which were created by a prestigious studio in London, England. The church’s square bell tower rises to just 70 feet, a cost-saving measure at the time, but a contributing feature of this charming structure and appropriate to its suburban context.

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PS 101: The School in the Gardens 2 Russell Place (William H. Gompert, 1927)

To accommodate the neighborhood’s children, a small frame schoolhouse was constructed on this site in 1914. With the growing population, a larger school became necessary and the current structure was built. Interestingly, the four-story brick and limestone school features an octagonal tower that directly references the Forest Hills Inn at Station Square, though it was not designed by Atterbury. This shared architectural feature forms distinctive bookends for Greenway Terrace, the heart of Forest Hills Gardens.

11 — Historic Districts Council — Forest Close 16 Donated by Mrs. Sage, this English-style country Church in the Gardens church’s mission was to incorporate people from 50 Ascan Avenue differing religious backgrounds. After polling (Grosvenor the congregation, it was decided that Church Atterbury, 1914-15) in the Gardens would be a Congregational Church in the Gardens church, and its first service was held in 1915. Community House The stone structure with wood frame details 15 Borage Place features asymmetrical massing with steep gables, overhanging eaves, an imposing square entrance (Grosvenor Atterbury, 1926) tower and tile roofs. Some of the arched and – NR-P square window openings include lovely stained glass. In 1926, Atterbury added a Community House to the church’s east end to provide a meeting and recreational space for area residents. Community houses were common fixtures in Queens garden suburbs, including Jackson Heights and Sunnyside Gardens. The stone and stucco building follows the same architectural vocabulary as the church, with half-timbering, steep gables and tile roofs. Turning the corner on Borage Place, walk north to get a view of one of Forest Hills Gardens’ picturesque green spaces, Hawthorne Park. The green is bordered by beautiful sets of adjoining rowhouses along Beechknoll Place to the south and Burns Street to the north.

12 — Historic Districts Council — Forest Close This nearly century-old ice 17 cream parlor, serving homemade confections, is considered to be one of the best in the city. Its interior Eddie’s Sweet Shop 105-29 Metropolitan Avenue architectural details, including tin ceilings, wood-paneled walls, marble (Seelig & Finkelstein, 1925) counter and a vintage wooden phone booth give the customer the impression of stepping back in time. The row of two- story brick buildings in which the business is located were designed with shops on the ground floor and residences above. The architects were also responsible for several apartment buildings north of Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, including the Town House, The John Alden, The Raleigh and The John Adams.

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