28 TIMES • MARCH 5 - mARCH 11, 2015 old timer Viewing Forest Park from Woodhaven PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Brooklyn’s Forest Park (as it was originally christened), boasts some of the highest lands on Long Island with spectacular views overlooking Jamaica Plains. Sitting high on top of a massive rock formed by glacial movement, the views from Forest Park stretch all the way to Jamaica Bay and overlooks all of Brooklyn to the west, with Manhattan sitting in the distance. Although much of Forest Park’s 538 acres consists of natural woodland, the park itself was planned and designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. However, the idea of crafting a park at that location came from James S.T. Stranahan, a Congressman from Brooklyn who was instrumental in securing the funding and support for building Prospect Park. Mr. Stranahan’s original concept was one giant, continuous park stretching from Brooklyn all the way to Jamaica. However, in the few years since the land for Prospect Park was purchased by the city, the population advanced and much of the property east of Brooklyn began to be developed. In fact, the rate of development was so swift that the city had to rush and purchase the remaining land at a much higher price in 1895 than it would have paid just a few years earlier when Mr. Stranahan conceived of the idea. Had they waited even one more year it is likely that Forest Park would never have been created. In 1901, just a few years after the park officially launched, a nine-hole golf course was opened to the public. By 1905, the popularity of the golf course would prompt it to expand to 18 holes, stretching south all the way to Ashland Avenue, where residential homes marked the start of Woodhaven proper. As part of the expansion, a Dutch Colonial golf clubhouse was built on the course in 1905 by the architectural firm of Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell, who also designed the landmark Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower in Brooklyn. Surrounded by the golf course, a set of stairs led from the building directly to the first tee. The club house had lockers, parlors and bathing facilities for the golfers. In July of 1914, Queens Parks Commissioner John Weier met with residents of Woodhaven who had been pushing to have some of the golf course turned over to the community. In particular, the residents were looking to have the part of the golf course south of the clubhouse, near Ashland Avenue, converted into a playground. The Parks Department agreed to shift 4 holes of the golf course directly off of Ashland and extend the course northward, picking up the land to build 4 replacement holes near the Myrtle Avenue side of the park. Development of the playground (referred to at the time as the Lott Avenue Playground) was delayed by World War 1, but finally opened in June of 1923. With these changes, a second golf clubhouse was built, at 80th Street and Myrtle Avenue, and over time, the original clubhouse found itself on the outside of the course it was built for. The road that ran past the clubhouse was named Forest Park Drive and formed a connection between Woodhaven and Glendale. At the same time, the Forest Park Golf House became the focal point for Memorial Day ceremonies as a grove of Memorial Trees were planted along orest Park Drive, one tree for each soldier from Woodhaven killed in World War 1. A large granite monument was placed on the knoll on the road in front of the building and each year the Memorial Day Parade would stream through Woodhaven to this spot, where a ceremony honoring the dead would be held. Although the world around us has changed vastly over the last century, much of Forest Park has not and everything described thus far is still visible. The Forest Park Golf House (now known as Oak Ridge) went through a beautiful restoration and currently houses the administration offices of Forest Park. This beautifully preserved turn-of-the century former golf clubhouse also doubles as a community center and is available for rentals for parties. Today, the Lott Avenue Playground is named after Mary Whalen, a longtime community activist who served on Community Board 9 and as the president of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association. Ms. Whalen was also a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of American Legion Post 118 and was the founder and first president of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation. In the 1920s, due to the fact that most towns in Queens had completely different systems for naming streets and numbering houses, a boroughwide set of standards were imposed and almost every street name was changed. Ashland Avenue, on which the southern end of the golf course originally bordered, became Park Lane South and Lott Avenue became 76th Street. Of the 70 Memorial Trees that were planted, over 50 still remain standing nearly a century later. This year, for the first time in many decades, American Legion Post 118 and the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society will revive the tradition of decorating these trees with red, white and blue ribbons to remember those fallen soldiers. In 1942, the large granite monument dedicated to the soldiers was moved to the new home of the American Legion (which had to move from its original location on Woodhaven Boulevard due to the widening of that road). Forest Park is rich with beauty and history and shared by the residents of many neighborhoods in Queens. When James S.T. Stranahan conceived of Forest Park well over a hundred years ago, he envisioned one large park stretching for miles from Brooklyn to Jamaica. But what we ended up with is a large park that belongs to us; a park that’s packed with beauty, history and traditions – and Oak Ridge sits at the center of it all. If you have any stories or photographs of Our Neighborhood that you would like to share with our readers, please write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386, or send an email to neighborhood@timesnewsweekly. com. Any print photographs mailed to us will be carefully returned to you. Here’s a look at the intersection of Myrtle and Forest avenues in Ridgewood in this undated photo. We believe it was taken between the 1920s and 1930s based on the Model Ts and trolleys along the streetscape. Note some of the local businesses, such as Sandmann’s Drug Store (at left) and Sarnoff Irving Hats (at right). We wonder if any of our readers have relatives who owned or shopped at these locations or remember other businesses on Myrtle Avenue of decades past. Feel free to share your memories with us by writing to neighborhood@ timesnewsweekly.com.
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