When I was little I also went up to that station and watched the trains go by. That station has a lot of history. Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech on the eastbound staircase. The platform extension was a big help crowd wise, especially when they started using the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium for concerts. I just wish they invested money into matching the platform extensions to the rest of the station rather than what it is. I always felt Forest Hill Station had character but the platform extensions took some of the character away. Boston Market has since closed. Also I hope you remember AJ's Pizza which is Mad for Chicken now.
I did not know about the speech! That’s a great fun fact :) I definitely agree that the platform extensions don’t match with the design of the original station structure but I am glad the station got those extensions anyway.
Great tour! I am leading the architects on the upgrades to the station. Adding some more stairs, ramps redoing the platforms new canopies. FYI. Great video on Grand Central Madison.
Arthur Ashe was the first really great black tennis player. His peak years were the 1960s and 1970s. His hometown was Richmond, Va., but he matriculated at UCLA as a tremendously admired sportsman and person. I was a student there when he won the 1965 NCAA men's singles title. He was an all-time great who passed away far too soon due to conditions beyond his control.
Born and raised Forest Hills resident (as it seems a few other commenters are as well; me personally I live just outside the Gardens to the south of the station) and man, I don't think Station Square will ever truly get old; platforms look the same as I remember them being, and man, you describing watching trains pass by really brought up how I used to that as a kid too; I guess when the station is so ingrained in the neighborhood it's almost a rite of passage. Considering I used to walk past it (and underneath it) every day to get to school, it's kind of nice hearing another native New Yorker explain it and show everything it's got.
Great tour man I really appreciate your content. I am so home sick for New York city right now. I live in the Midwest now. Over 20 years. But when I think of home the subways and train lines hold Great memories for me as a kid. Thank you.
There used to be a Rego Park LIRR station just west of the Forest Hills LIRR station at the intersection of 63rd Aveue and next to the current Rego Park Library branch building.
The Forest Hills Garden station, the square and the Hotel, with all of the details were designed by a distinguished architect, Grosvenor Atterbury, [there is a recent book on Atterbury featuring Forest Hills Gardens] and built with exposed aggregate concrete and tile roofs. Even the greenish blue paint color was selected and these details are given landmark protection. First developed by the Russell Page Foundation to provide fine but affordable homes, it has become very expensive, due to market pressures because it is so beautiful, livable and close to Manhattan. Thanks for this tour.
I only started to pay attention to this station when I would take the lirr home after work and the train would stop at forest hills before Jamaica and I'd be so annoyed lol. I have been to the stadium for concerts a couple times and it's a neat venue
Nice tour. I used to live on Jewel Avenue in Kew Garden Hills. I would go to Austin Street a lot after coming home from work on the E train. The cookies you spoke about are called Rainbow Cookies. It is a very popular pastry found in many Italian bakeries. They are very good and delicious. Also, at times very hard to find a place that makes them just right.
Even Port Washington and Manhasset LIRR's waiting rooms are open on weekends, the ticket offices close early, but the wait rooms are open and the restrooms. Kind of irritating that they are now closing the F Hills waiting room on weekends. Hard enough to find a bathroom or any facilities nearby as it is, unless you can find something in a restaurant etc. or that pub that's over there near the station. Jamaica sucks, but at least you can always find facilities and food etc. LOL I lived in Rego Park from 1999-2002 or so, and I came here on rare occasion to get the train out to LI. More often I would take the subway to Jamaica and go from there. I would avoid Kew Gardens because the trains aren't too convenient there. That is another interesting old station, though! Great pizza around the corner on Lefferts Blvd., too! My grandparents and Uncle lived in Forest Hills Gardens for several years until 1973 or so, when they retired down to Florida. Their house was SE of the Tennis Stadium etc.
Barnes and Noble used to be there. Forest Hills used to be my favorite hangout spot. Go to B&N to read and buy books. In fact, I bought Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin and LOTR by Tolkien back in the early 2000s. I went to that movie theater in the 2000s newly renovated too. Forest Hills used to have both Game Stop and E.B. Game Store where I bought Dynasty Warrior and Armored Core 2 games. The Japanese restaurant used to be my family's yearly gathering spot around Christmas time or when we have visitors. I remember cutting class and just staying inside B&N for the whole day. Oh, I remember the comic book store that had the Marvel Vs Capcom 2 arcade. I bought my Ultimate Spiderman comic books in that place. I never experienced Forest Hills as an adult but I heard the bars were great. Great place.
@@RonGerstein I looked it up, they claim to be reopening by this summer, but I'm not sure they did or not. I was over in Rego Park a few months ago, which is rare, and I drove home down Queens Blvd. but didn't recall if TBone was reopened or not. I think they shut down for a while in 2018 and its fate was uncertain.
When I was little I also went up to that station and watched the trains go by. That station has a lot of history. Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech on the eastbound staircase. The platform extension was a big help crowd wise, especially when they started using the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium for concerts. I just wish they invested money into matching the platform extensions to the rest of the station rather than what it is. I always felt Forest Hill Station had character but the platform extensions took some of the character away. Boston Market has since closed. Also I hope you remember AJ's Pizza which is Mad for Chicken now.
I did not know about the speech! That’s a great fun fact :) I definitely agree that the platform extensions don’t match with the design of the original station structure but I am glad the station got those extensions anyway.
Great tour! I am leading the architects on the upgrades to the station. Adding some more stairs, ramps redoing the platforms new canopies. FYI. Great video on Grand Central Madison.
I grew up in Forest Hills and walked by the LIRR Forest Hills Station almost every day. Nice to see how it looks today.
Arthur Ashe was the first really great black tennis player. His peak years were the 1960s and 1970s. His hometown was Richmond, Va., but he matriculated at UCLA as a tremendously admired sportsman and person. I was a student there when he won the 1965 NCAA men's singles title. He was an all-time great who passed away far too soon due to conditions beyond his control.
Arthur Ashe died as a result of AIDS through a contaminated blood transfusion.
Born and raised Forest Hills resident (as it seems a few other commenters are as well; me personally I live just outside the Gardens to the south of the station) and man, I don't think Station Square will ever truly get old; platforms look the same as I remember them being, and man, you describing watching trains pass by really brought up how I used to that as a kid too; I guess when the station is so ingrained in the neighborhood it's almost a rite of passage.
Considering I used to walk past it (and underneath it) every day to get to school, it's kind of nice hearing another native New Yorker explain it and show everything it's got.
Great tour man I really appreciate your content. I am so home sick for New York city right now. I live in the Midwest now. Over 20 years. But when I think of home the subways and train lines hold Great memories for me as a kid. Thank you.
There used to be a Rego Park LIRR station just west of the Forest Hills LIRR station at the intersection of 63rd Aveue and next to the current Rego Park Library branch building.
The Forest Hills Garden station, the square and the Hotel, with all of the details were designed by a distinguished architect, Grosvenor Atterbury, [there is a recent book on Atterbury featuring Forest Hills Gardens] and built with exposed aggregate concrete and tile roofs. Even the greenish blue paint color was selected and these details are given landmark protection. First developed by the Russell Page Foundation to provide fine but affordable homes, it has become very expensive, due to market pressures because it is so beautiful, livable and close to Manhattan. Thanks for this tour.
It is RUSSELL SAGE, not Russell Page.
I only started to pay attention to this station when I would take the lirr home after work and the train would stop at forest hills before Jamaica and I'd be so annoyed lol. I have been to the stadium for concerts a couple times and it's a neat venue
Yeah. If you aren’t going there, it does seem like it would be an annoying stop :)
Nice tour. I used to live on Jewel Avenue in Kew Garden Hills. I would go to Austin Street a lot after coming home from work on the E train. The cookies you spoke about are called Rainbow Cookies. It is a very popular pastry found in many Italian bakeries. They are very good and delicious. Also, at times very hard to find a place that makes them just right.
Fun video! I am reminded of the Forest Hill MUNI station in San Francisco, which is only similar in name.
Even Port Washington and Manhasset LIRR's waiting rooms are open on weekends, the ticket offices close early, but the wait rooms are open and the restrooms. Kind of irritating
that they are now closing the F Hills waiting room on weekends. Hard enough to find a bathroom or any facilities nearby as it is, unless you can find something in a restaurant
etc. or that pub that's over there near the station. Jamaica sucks, but at least you can always find facilities and food etc. LOL I lived in Rego Park from 1999-2002 or so,
and I came here on rare occasion to get the train out to LI. More often I would take the subway to Jamaica and go from there. I would avoid Kew Gardens because
the trains aren't too convenient there. That is another interesting old station, though! Great pizza around the corner on Lefferts Blvd., too! My grandparents and Uncle
lived in Forest Hills Gardens for several years until 1973 or so, when they retired down to Florida. Their house was SE of the Tennis Stadium etc.
Barnes and Noble used to be there. Forest Hills used to be my favorite hangout spot. Go to B&N to read and buy books. In fact, I bought Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin and LOTR by Tolkien back in the early 2000s. I went to that movie theater in the 2000s newly renovated too. Forest Hills used to have both Game Stop and E.B. Game Store where I bought Dynasty Warrior and Armored Core 2 games. The Japanese restaurant used to be my family's yearly gathering spot around Christmas time or when we have visitors. I remember cutting class and just staying inside B&N for the whole day. Oh, I remember the comic book store that had the Marvel Vs Capcom 2 arcade. I bought my Ultimate Spiderman comic books in that place. I never experienced Forest Hills as an adult but I heard the bars were great. Great place.
I remember Barnes & Noble very well! If I recall correctly, it got turned into a Target unfortunately.
This one I remember ☺️
Nice tour.
😍😍You watched the express train with your parents to calm yourself down 😍😍
Forest Hills is also written in a unique font on the LIRR sign to reflect the historic character of the neighborhood.
I graduated from Forest Hills Highschool. Gorgeous Neighborhood. But I'm from Ridgewood
I forgot the Tower diner closed in 2021. That sucks! I liked that diner a lot, though I didn't go there tons.
Has T-Bone Diner closed, or has it reopened?
@@RonGerstein I looked it up, they claim to be reopening by this summer, but I'm not sure they did or not. I was over in Rego Park a few months ago, which is rare, and I drove home down Queens Blvd. but didn't recall if TBone was reopened or not. I think they shut down for a while in 2018 and its fate was uncertain.
Dont Confuse Forest Hills LIRR To Forest Hills 71st Ave E F M R
Sept 3rd, my birthday!
September 2nd is MY birthday.