Historic Blueprints & Promotional Booklets of Forest Hills & Rego Park Unveiled To The Public Eye!

As Chair of Rego-Forest Preservation Council & as Queens VP of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, my goal is to digitize all blueprints, facade renderings, & promotional booklets of historic and distinctive Forest Hills and Rego Park apartment buildings, so they can be preserved for posterity, for the enjoyment of all generations. Some of these have not been revealed to the public eye for 70 years!

Our vision is for building residents, managements, landlords, and preservationists to work together, to ensure that Forest Hills and Rego Park sites roughly from 1906 - the 1960s will be restored and upgraded in a historically-sensitive manner, rather than altered insensitively or demolished, in order to make our community more beautiful, and help maintain and enhance property values.

The promotional booklets illustrate how no expense was spared in architectural detail, and the values of urban planning in regard to sensible development and plentiful green space, and also captures historical Queens events at the time of their development.

Let's take pride in where we live, and work cohesively to make it an even better community! Enjoy the collection, and please post your observations and share it with parties who may find it most beneficial:

1. Historic Blueprints & Promo Booklets for Forest Hills South:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157625422752583/

2. Historic Blueprints & Promo Booklets for Forest Hills: Austin St, Queens Blvd, & Vicinity:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157625540544154/

3. Historic Blueprints & Promo Booklets for Rego Park: Saunders St, 63rd Dr, Queens Blvd, & Vicinity:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157625548319210/

4. Historic Blueprints & Promo Booklets: Cord Meyer Section, Forest Hills:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157625422709563/

5. Historic Blueprints & Promo Booklets: Western Forest Hills & Eastern Rego Park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/72157625422748551/

Digitizing the historic blueprints/promotional booklets is a work in progress, so stay tuned! They will always be accessible under the "Flickr Photo Collections" on the right-hand side of this blog, or accessible under Rego-Forest Preservation Council's collections on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/collections/

Photo Series: Eye Above Forest Hills & Rego Park

 Aerials from Kennedy House

Aerials from Howard Apartments

Introducing an ongoing series of aerial views of Forest Hills & Rego Park from mainly residential high-rises! The first two photosets have been uploaded to a flickr collection, and features views of the neighborhood from the roof of 2 notable Modernist structures in Forest Hills, including the 12-story Howard Apartments at 99-32 66th Rd, and the 34-story Kennedy House at 110-11 Queens Blvd.  Both are valuable assets designed by award-winning architect, Philip Birnbaum, completed in 1952 and 1964, respectively.

Aerial Photo Collection of Forest Hills & Rego Park on Flickr

This aerial photo series makes one appreciate aspects which make our neighborhood distinctive:

1. Our architectural and cultural history
2. Urban planning
3. Garden apartment house movement and greenery.

This will benefit our historic preservation neighborhood survey work. To volunteer by recommending sites to photograph from, or to submit photos after corresponding, please e-mail unlockthevault@hotmail.com

Stay Tuned For Article on "A Forest Hills Gardens Centennial Celebration: Autumn Lights" Performance/Fundraiser

Chair Michael Perlman of Rego-Forest Preservation Council will soon post an article summarizing the well-conceived, multi-talented, historic event, "A Forest Hills Gardens Centennial Celebration: Autumn Lights," which took place on Nov 8, 2009. The article will feature interviews with some of the performers. Stay tuned! Original posting from Nov 3, 2009: http://regoforestpreservation.blogspot.com/2009/11/youre-invited-to-forest-hills-gardens.html

You're Invited to A Forest Hills Gardens Centennial Celebration: "Autumn Lights," Sun, Nov 8, 2009, 4 PM - 6:30 PM

2009 marks the 100th anniversary since the establishment of the Forest Hills Gardens, one of the earliest planned communities countrywide, and a master of urban planning, great property values, and a preservation success model. It is a prominent example of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City Movement, and is modeled after a traditional English village. It was voted the "Best Cottage Community" countrywide in 2007 by Cottage Living Magazine. Dominant styles are Tudor, brick Tudor, & Georgian. Its mansions, schools, religious institutions, few apartment houses, winding streets, lush gardens, private parks, Station Square including the Forest Hills Inn, and the Gardens' monuments are meticulously preserved, thanks to Restrictive Covenants that date back to the community's founding, and are renewed every two decades.

 One of the superb events and fundraisers that will commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime Forest Hills Gardens occasion is.........

 "Autumn Lights" - A Forest Hills Gardens Centennial Celebration
Capturing 100 years of Music in the Gardens

When: Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 4 PM - 6:30 PM
Where: Community House, 15 Borage Place

Featuring:

Emmy Award-winning & Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist, Chieli Minucci
Broadway performer, Ann Kittredge
Perry Serpa and the Sharp Things, a symphonic rock band
Belle Arti's internationally acclaimed concert artists
Other local artists including Betina Hershey, William Ryden, and Paul Beaudry

Reserve your tickets now by calling (347) 545-0515 or visiting http://www.pa101.org/
Admission: $75 per person - wine, hors d'oeuvres, desserts

Proceeds will benefit The School in the Gardens and a portion to be donated to the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation.
Event Sponsored by 5 Burro Cafe, Fox Funeral Home, Restoration Medical Supply, and S&M Klein Company, Inc.

Forest Hills Gardens History Links:

1. 100 years of FHG history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Hills_Gardens,_Queens
2. A Garden City For The Man of Moderate Means, The Craftsman, Feb 1911: http://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/brush.htm
3. Station Square History: http://www.friendsofstationsquare.org/history.htm
4. A Success In Community Planning by Historian Francis Morrone: http://www.nysun.com/arts/success-in-community-planning/64366/
5. The State & National Register of Historic Places' effect on the Church-In-The-Gardens: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20372747&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574907&rfi=6
6. Gardens Vision Lives 100 Years Later, Queens Chronicle, Oct 22, 2009: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20381268&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574907&rfi=6

Forest Hills Gardens Photos:

1. FHG Flickr slideshow (nearly 900 photos): http://www.flickr.com/groups/fhg/pool/show/
2. Historian Jeff Gottlieb's FHG walking tour, Photos by Rego-Forest Preservation Council: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/sets/72157605631544942/