WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 19
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Oak Ridge in Forest Park,
rich in Queens golf history
PRESENTED BY
THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL
AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PROJECTWOODHAVEN@GMAIL.COM
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 craft -
ing 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 at all.
In 1901, just a few years aft er the
park offi cially 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
fi rm 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 fi rst 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 fi nally 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.
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
offi ces of Forest Park.
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 fi rst
president of the Greater Woodhaven
Development Corporation.
In the 1920s a borough-wide set
of street naming conventions were
developed and almost every street
name in Queens 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.
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.
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