Forest Hills Inn
1966 postcard Photo by Colorcraft Studios Courtesy of Michael Perlman via Forest Hills Times
Known Name(s)
Forest Hills Inn
Address
I Station Square, Forest Hills 75 Queens, NY
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Extant
Description
Forest Hills Inn is located in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is a sprawling series of interconnected buildings that rings brick-paved Station Square on the west, south, and east sides. The complex is adjacent to the Long Island Railroad and includes the Forest Hills stop. Covered arched bridges span the entrances to Station Square to the south, west, east, and southwest, allowing passage between buildings. The entire complex is built in a mock-Tudor style, with terracotta roof tiles and facades with faux half timbering with brick infill. Most of the buildings are three stories, with hipped or gable roofs and dormers, except for the centerpiece of the square, which is a six-sided, eight-story tower, with a tall multi-sided roof. A smaller tower-like structure projects from one side of the roof of the tower. On the ground level of a building to the southwest of the tower is a large set of double doors under a flat metal awning with “Forest Hills Inn” printed on the front. The complex has many manicured trees, bushes, and flower beds.
The tower is on the southwest corner of Station Square and was exclusively hotel rooms. The rest of the buildings housed the Inn’s restaurants and meeting rooms, as well as other lodging rooms. The largest dining room was the Windsor. There were also Garden and Terrace rooms to rent, a grill restaurant, and the Unicorn Lounge Bar. The interior was luxuriously decorated with plush carpet and wood panel, giving a sense of “relaxed orderliness.”
Detailed History
Opened on May 1, 1912, the Forest Hills Inn was created as part of the planned suburban community of Forest Hills Gardens. Its tower welcomed visitors into the square and the community. The entire area has a similar Tudor style and is accented on the exterior with vegetation. Forest Hills Gardens was a product of a collaboration between landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and architect Grosvenor Atterbury, with the goal of creating a garden community that evoked an idyllic English town. Station Square was a center for the community, and even hosted Helen Keller and Theodore Roosevelt in 1917.
Since the Forest Hills Inn’s opening, it has been a space to host wedding receptions, dances, and talks. During its time being featured in the Green Book, the Inn hosted a series of lectures on world religions, a local civic association, and a performance by a group of blind actors, as well as many other events and receptions. With nearly 7 ½ acres, 300 rooms, a bar, restaurant, tea garden, and banquet rooms that could accommodate up to 200 people, it could be a setting for a night out, an intimate event, or just a place to stay.
A set of apartments were built onto the inn in the 1930s. Forest Hills Inn was sold in 1960, then sold again and refurbished in 1965, before finally being converted into apartments in 1967. The tower still houses apartments to this day. Surrounding buildings are restaurants, bars, and offices, not too dissimilar from their function in the 1960s. Station Square was accepted as a historic district listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places (USN 08101.012440) in 2018.
