Examining History Of Forest Hills Gardens

Historian Jeff Gottlieb and guests are shown at the start of the second part of his Forest Hills Gardens walking tour on Sunday, June 19. (photo: Nicholas Biondo) A recent tour of Forest Hills Gardens from Station Square to Union Turnpike revealed the community’s unique history from the early 1900s when the area began undergoing a dramatic transformation that led to making it one of the more exclusive and picturesque neighborhoods in Queens county.

Local historian Jeff Gottlieb greeted his tour group from atop a brick terrace at Station Square along Burns Avenue, the same spot where one time President Theodore Roo sevelt gave a speech on July 4, 1917, about the importance of supporting American troops during the first few months of the country’s involvement inWorldWar I.

Gottlieb, who serves as the presi dent of the Central Queens Historical Association (CQHA), pointed to the distinctive architecture of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station adorned with pitched roofs, high chimney line and orange tiles.

Gottlieb, president of the Central Queens Historical Association, led residents on the first part of his tour of Forest Hills Gardens on Sunday, June 12. “As you look around, this is not Disneyland. This is similar to a Ger man town square,” he claimed.

Gottlieb recounted that famed ar chitect Grosvenor Attlebury visited a number of European cities before coming up with his design model, which very much resembled the city of Dresden in Germany.

Attlebury was commissioned in 1909 by Margaret Slocum Sage, the founder of the Russell Sage Founda tion (RSF), to generate a blueprint for the new garden community, which was originally supposed to be built in South Jamaica prior to acquisition of 142 acres from the Cord Meyer De velopment Company.

A garden suburb was soon added for working class families of the era along a curved road, which made it hard to see from afar without the aid of public signage. The Station Square area was really the only stretch where commerce was allowed, according to Gottlieb, as he mentioned how sev eral doctor’s offices began moving in shortly afterwards.

The former schoolteacher focused on One Station Square, the first large edifice erected in the Gardens, which went from being used as a hotel, to an apartment building and later became a co operative residence. He singled out elevated walkways that allowed pedestrians to cross through build ings to reach the train station.

Elevated train lines, he added, soon became the norm in many parts of Queens starting in 1917 because of many accidents that occurred with people crossing railroad tracks, which also raised insurance rates.

Tour members were made aware of the elaborate exterior brickwork seen on the buildings of Station Square along with stucco walls con sisting of hardened malleable clay shaped in a variety of different ways.

Police booths in the middle of the square area were installed in 1914 to help officers immediately report any criminal activity they witnessed to their base station in Elmhurst.

As the gathering made its way into Greenway South, they learned that the Forest Hills Gardens com munity was originally composed of individuals of Protestant denomina tions and that Catholics according to Gottlieb weren’t initially permit ted to live there. To this day, the neighborhood is devoid of any Catholic churches or synagogues.

The first Catholic families that eventually made their way into the Gardens were of Italian descent, but even they were forced to send their

SEE GARDENS ON PG. 78 children to St. Margaret’s Catholic School in Middle Village, which was the closest parochial facility until 1932.

As a potpourri of skilled craftsmen, actors and artists began migrating into the district, the property values began escalating to the point where dwellings were being sold for $5,000, which was considered exorbitant in the 1920s.

Gottlieb noted that at one time local restrictive covenants forbade the sale of homes to Jewish people, African-Americans and those considered to be part of the lower middle classes. But that is no longer the case as a varied of mix of races and ethnicities can now be found residing in the multi-million dollar homes.

However, the Gardens requires all property owners to abide by certain specifications when renovating their homes, while parking along the local streets is restricted to community residents.

Forest Hills Gardens didn’t truly resemble what it is today until the 1930s, said Gottlieb. It was during that period when developers began building on empty lots. The grand scale construction reportedly increased after World War II.

“You see lots of pebble concrete, orange pitched roofs, stained glass windows…these weren’t your typical cookie cutter homes. You don’t see garages until you get closer to the wilderness on Union Turnpike,” said the Fresh Meadows resident.

Gottlieb spent the second half of the tour highlighting local luminaries that once resided in Forest Hills Gardens, such as “Big Mike” Miranda, long-time member and eventual consigliere of the Genovese crime family, former Vice Presidential Candidate and Rep. Geraldine Ferraro on Deepdene Road and acclaimed journalist Jimmy Breslin just a few doors down, who raised six children during his time in the area.

Also featured were the homes of Vaudeville actor Fred Stone on Greenway North and Olive Place. Stone was best known for creating the role of the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz before it was turned into a motion picture about 30 years later.

Forest Hills Gardens visitors were also led to Olivia Park, which was described as a quiet place intended for families to relax in after an evening meal. Although there were multiple green spaces that were used for passive recreation, the neighborhood reportedly lacks the presence of any real playgrounds.

“These private parks surrounded by housing are paid for by the property owners. This will be as afar as you get from Queens Boulevard,” observed Gottlieb.

Throughout the walkthrough, the tour guide communicated the absence of fences around the many estates, which was all part of Attlebury’s master plan to create a sense of flow throughout.

Presently, Forest Hills Gardens remains the only private community in Queens. Its distinctive character is preserved by guidelines put in place by the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation (FHGC). Many local homes, such as the Atterbury estate have maintained the oak linenfold paneling and dovetailed oak floors that were trademarks of the renowned architect.