By Michael Perlman

Monuments, buildings, parks, and parade routes throughout Forest Hills keep the memory of America’s bravest alive on Memorial Day and year-round. Honoring those who dedicated their soul to safeguard our country is always timely. Come along for a leisurely stroll to explore some of these historic sites.

The Captain Gerald MacDonald Statue stands prominently in Captain Gerald MacDonald Memorial Park as a bronze sculpture bearing homage to Gerald MacDonald (1882 – 1929), a Forest Hills resident and WWI veteran. He was an officer of engineers, who erected bridges and dug trenches. The sculpture was dedicated on May 27, 1934 by Mayor Fiorello Henry La Guardia, after American Legion Post 630 allocated $1,500 at the request of WWI veteran Henry MacDonald, Gerald’s brother. The granite base inscription reads: “Capt. Gerald MacDonald; Memorial Dedicated By Forest Hills Post No. 630 The American Legion; To Those Who Served In The World War; 1934.” The statue was sculpted by Henry MacDonald’s brother-in-law, Frederic de Henwood (1864 – 1948), a world-renowned sculptor whose works appeared internationally, and was designed by architect William Henry Deacy (1889 – 1967).

Gerald MacDonald Memorial Park was officially named on April 25, 1933, and historically, the brick circle was known as Flagpole Square, where a huge flagpole once existed. On May 28, 1933, the New York Times reported, “The ceremonies included a parade through Forest Hills by American Legion posts, Boy and Girl Scouts, and civic groups. Colonel F.W. Stopford of the U.S. Army, who was the principal speaker at the ceremonies, praised Mr. MacDonald’s war service as an officer of engineers at the battle of the Meuse-Argonne.” It was announced by the Long Island Daily Press that movies of the park’s dedication would be presented at the Post on November 6, 1933.

A few years ago on eBay, this columnist acquired a rare MacDonald Memorial Games brass medal that represents Forest Hills and WWI history, and features Captain Gerald MacDonald. Into the 1940s and potentially later, the Captain Gerald MacDonald Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary existed at 119-09 Sutphin Boulevard. The Veterans of Foreign Wars memorialized the captain by naming their post, The Captain Gerald MacDonald Post, No. 643 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, according to the 1934 Encyclopedia of American Biography by Winfield Scott Downs.

For over a decade, Forest Hills resident Stephen Melnick, who founded Friends of MacDonald Park, works tirelessly and recruits volunteers who also maintain and enhance the park’s landscaping and overall appeal. Undoubtedly, Captain Gerald MacDonald is watching over in pride. “It is important for the history of our community to get passed down to each generation. Respect and honor for all veterans, such as Captain MacDonald, should be instilled,” said Melnick.

The trail continues nearby with the historic Art Moderne style Midway Theatre at 108-22 Queens Boulevard, with its accordion-like façade and vertical beacon, curved corner, and oval lobby with a sweeping stairway. It was designed in 1942 by America’s foremost theater architect, Thomas Lamb, and architect S. Charles Lee. Upon making an entrance, theatergoers once took pride in a large illuminated WWII Battle of Midway map-inspired work of art. When community residents picked up a copy of The Forest Hills-Kew Gardens Post on September 18, 1942, they came across an ad stating, “The Midway Theatre has been so named and dedicated as a tribute to the gallant men of our armed forces, who achieved so brilliant a victory at Midway Island.” Patrons were ready for a single-screen theater, where they could enjoy films and attempt to escape the traumas of WWII.

On Flagpole Green, formerly Village Green in Forest Hills Gardens, stands an ornate Neo-Classical pink granite and bronze monument, which honors 102 residents and was dedicated in 1920. The WWI Soldiers & Sailors Memorial was designed by renowned American sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman (1870 – 1952), who lived nearby at 236 Greenway South and operated a studio at 234 Greenway South. The memorial reads, “Erected by the citizens of Forest Hills in recognition of the patriotic spirit and loyal devotion of the men of this community who served in the Military Forces of The United States in The Great War.” The design represents “The Call to Overseas” above the names on the tablet including Dr. Joseph MacDonald, Gerald MacDonald, Henry MacDonald, George C. Meyer who served as president of Cord Meyer, and David and Howard Springsteen of the community’s farming family, when Forest Hills was known as Whitepot. In summer 2022, residents observed meticulous restoration work, resulting in the polishing of the bronze tablet, which developed a green patina as far back as most residents can recall.

The forested Samuel Picker Square at 69^th Avenue and Burns Street features a plaque and a stone memorial bearing an inscription: “This Sitting Area is Dedicated to the Memory of Samuel Picker; Outstanding American Community Leader and Dedicated Legionnaire; 1921 – 1981; Forest Hills Post 630 The American Legion.” It also features the name of past Councilman Arthur J. Katzman, a parks advocate. A dedication ceremony was held in 1983.

Samuel Picker wore several hats, mostly throughout the 1960s and 1970s. They included Queens County American Legion Commander, Governor of District 20-K Lions International, Queens Cancer Crusade committee member, and president of the National American Legion Press Association. He served as Grand Marshal of the American Legion County Parade in Ridgewood in June 1971, which began with exercises at the War Memorial on Myrtle Avenue, and surpassed expectations with 15,000 guests.

He also served as president of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. This organization offered philanthropic gift guide dogs and rehab to qualified blind applicants, where masters and guide dogs were trained at the Foundation’s center in Smithtown. Picker owned one of the earliest extant Forest Hills shops, Continental Hardware at 102-01 Metropolitan Avenue, and was also a consultant and buyer. The Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce has been going strong since 1977, and he was its founder and first president.

“Monuments and plaques are always important, since people forget at times. It is inspiring for residents to step up and do some of the great things that Samuel Picker did for our community,” said Pat Conley, 1st Vice Commander of American Legion Continental Post 1424.

Marching in the spirit of our bravest has been a unifying theme of the Forest Hills Memorial Day Parades. Forest Hills residents can trace an extensive route of historic parades. In 1922, red paper poppies were sold by a group of young ladies for 10 cents, and the proceeds benefited the veterans’ Mountain Camp. They hoped that everyone in Forest Hills would wear a poppy, which would pay tribute to wounded soldiers in the war. Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address” was read, and the Forest Hills Choral Club led “My Country Tis’ of Thee.”

In June 1923, The Forest Hills Bulletin captured how a multi-generational community bonded and paid tribute: “On Memorial Day, the Forest Hills Post of the American Legion conducted services on the Green, in which they honored Rice Bassett, Whitney Bowles, Clarence O. Collins and Lewis Serlin from Forest Hills, who rendered the supreme sacrifice during the war. Commander Thomas B. Paton, Jr. was in charge.” A parade was led by a 15-piece Naval Reserve Band.

The publication continued, “During the services, an aeroplane circled over the Green, and Comrade John von Hofe dropped a wreath, to which was attached a message from President Warren Harding. The wreath was placed on the memorial tablet and the message, calling upon the people for renewed consecration to ‘the finest sentiments of national love, devotion and loyalty’ was read. The speakers were Robert W. McCleary, Major, Coast Artillery Corps, and Hon. Robert W. Bonynge, ex-Congressman from Colorado, who both made stirring appeals for national patriotism. The Choral Club led the singing: Lead Kindly Light was sung by the post quartette, and Dr. Latshaw led in prayer.” A Memorial Day essay contest would engage the interest of neighborhood children, including those of Public School 3.

On May 31, 1938, The New York Times read, “In Forest Hills, a Memorial Day parade was headed by a detail from the Sixty-second Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft). The American Legion and other veteran organizations took part together with youth auxiliary units. The parade started at Austin St. and Ascan Ave. and proceeded to the Flagpole Green and thence to Jerry MacDonald Park, and to the Forest Hills Theatre, where exercises were held.”

The 2025 parade will begin on May 25 with an opening ceremony at 11 AM at American Legion Continental Post 1424 at 107-15 Metropolitan Avenue. At 12 PM, the parade will proceed west along Metropolitan Avenue and culminate at Remsen Cemetery, the site of a wreath-laying ceremony. Local and statewide community or civic organizations can march by emailing americanlegionforesthills1424@gmail.com.

The 2023 parade featured over forty organizations and Fleet Week military participants. An honorable highlight was meeting 93-year-old Co-Grand Marshal Anthony Sarro in his uniform, as he paraded alongside his portrait from the time he served in WWII.

The American Legion, incorporated by Congress in 1919, is the nation’s largest wartime veterans’ service organization. It maintains a mission to mentor youth and sponsor wholesome community programs, advocating for patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to fellow service members and veterans.

The original Forest Hills Post 630 was chartered in 1919, and would launch and publish the Post Bulletin, which was renamed the Forest Hills-Kew Gardens Post. This post named and dedicated Gerald MacDonald Memorial Park and unveiled its namesake monument. In the 1930s, meetings were held at the Seminole Club on Seminole Avenue at Harvest Street (112th Street at 70th Road) under Commander Clarence W. Williamson, who also served as the American Legion’s Queens County Americanism Chairman.

Today at American Legion Continental Post 1424, a plaque commemorates past commanders. The earliest recorded is James P. Grimes in 1946, alongside names including Stanley J. Koerner in 1953, John Civita from 1968 to 1969, and Arthur L. Dunckelman from 1984 to 1987. Former Forest Hills resident Michael Albetta served as parade coordinator from 1978 to 1990, president and founder of the Remsen Park Coalition which helped restore and landmark Remsen Cemetery, and was coordinator of the “Colonel Remsen Memorial Encampment.” Last week’s column features Forest Hills’ earliest extant site, Remsen Family Cemetery at Trotting Course Lane and Alderton Street. It was designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1981, and reflects the Colonial period and the American Revolutionary War.

Sponsored by American Legion Continental Post 1424 and the Remsen Park Coalition, the May 30, 1979 parade was predicted to be the largest of its kind countrywide, with hundreds of marchers and nearly 5,000 spectators. It culminated with ceremonies in commemoration of veterans at Remsen Cemetery, including Revolutionary War Colonel Jeromus Remsen.

The 1980 Forest Hills Memorial Day Festival marked an expansion to a two-day event. On May 25, over 200 Colonial troops participated in the “Colonel Remsen Memorial Encampment,” held at Greenfield Park bordering Union Turnpike. Attendees acquired a taste of Colonial life, complete with the era’s crafts. The next day, over 2,000 marchers proceeded along Metropolitan Avenue from the turnpike, which was the parade’s former starting point.

Switching gears to Rego Park is Lost Battalion Hall at 93-29 Queens Boulevard. From 1938 to 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded an Art Moderne building that bears homage to the 77th Division of the U.S. Army for its heroism in the WWI Battle of Argonne in France. Over half of its 550 American soldiers perished and are remembered as members of “The Lost Battalion.” Historically, the building featured a firing range and drill hall for the Queens Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. This is also where the Civilian Defense Volunteer Office welcomed enrollees for World War II. The building was placed under Parks Department jurisdiction in 1960, and serves as a community recreation center, but awaits reopening after an interior renovation.

Adorning the historic façade is a tributary limestone inscription with two bronze tablets of the Statue of Liberty. In a most unassuming place, the gymnasium, players would encounter two “Sailor, Soldier, Marine” WPA murals of the Lost Battalion in action, which were painted by Oscar Julius in 1938. Two bronze plaques are displayed in the lobby. One features Lady Liberty with an inscription that reads, “In Memory of The Lost Battalion. Built AD 1938 By Work Projects Admin. George U. Harvey, Boro. President of Queens.” Another memorial plaque features BP Harvey’s portrait as Lieutenant colonel, DSC (Distinguished Service Cross) dedicated by the citizens of Queens in 1946. For now, these artifacts are in storage.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented a proclamation and proclaimed August 22, 2003 as “77th Appreciation Day” in recognition of the brave men and women who served on behalf of our nation. An excerpt read: “For 86 years, the 77th Army Infantry Division has protected our city and our nation in times of crisis. On its 86th anniversary, we salute its descendant, the 77th Army Reserve Command and its courageous and skilled members who continue this illustrious unit’s legacy of valor. The unit was established on August 25, 1917 in New York State, and was called the ‘Metropolitan Division’ because a large percentage of its membership was residents of New York City.”

By Michael Perlman

Last week’s column highlighted behind-the-scenes aspects and feedback on the new Forest Hills and Rego Park architectural mural, an exquisitely detailed 24-foot by 4-foot installation at The Bagel Spot at 101-01 Queens Boulevard, where the creative vision of several award-winning architects and old-word artisans is preserved. Since 2023, this columnist/Rego-Forest Preservation Council and Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance were in collaboration with the mural’s exceptional artist, Gigi Chen, appointed by this columnist as a project coordinator and historian. The highly skillful firm, Noble Signs, installed it on June 6.

Photo by Argenis Apolinario

In an ideal city, the featured historic buildings would be landmarked, but some underwent demolition. In the spirit of the Architectural Uprising movement, lost treasures can be replicated. Now it is time to explore architecture and history of what embodies “a living museum.”

Hollywood Lanes at the Metropolitan Industrial Bank Building ~ Opened on November 8, 1952 on 67th Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, and built at $400,000, the popular Hollywood Lanes housed 30 lanes, and offered lunch, dinner, a cocktail lounge, and a snack bar. General Manager Mannie Rose envisioned grand tournaments. The opening ceremony’s special guest was Dick Hoover of Akron, Ohio, who was the youngest bowler to win the All-Star tournament at age 21. Hollywood Lanes accommodated professional bowlers, championships, open bowling, and birthday parties. By 1990, New York City had 44 bowling alleys, in comparison to approximately 160 in the 1960s. It remained in operation until 2002, and is now occupied by New York Sports Club.

Architect Philip Birnbaum designed this bank, retail, and recreation building in partnership with builder Alfred Kaskel. The façade features concave polished stainless-steel horizontal fins. Swedish granite columns with vertical polished stainless-steel fins convey continuity throughout this Mid-Century Modern property, which won a first prize award by the Queens Chamber of Commerce in 1952.

Midway Theatre ~ This historic Art Moderne style theater stands proudly at 108-22 Queens Boulevard, with an accordion-like façade and vertical beacon, curved corner, and oval lobby with a sweeping stairway,  and opened in 1942. It was designed by America’s foremost theater architect, Scotland native Thomas Lamb and consulting architect S. Charles Lee, and achieved a record as one of Queens’ longest continuously operating movie theaters.

Upon making an entrance, theatergoers once took pride in a large illuminated WWII Battle of Midway map-inspired work of art. When residents picked up The Forest Hills-Kew Gardens Post on September 18, 1942, they came across an ad stating, “The Midway Theatre has been so named and dedicated as a tribute to the gallant men of our armed forces, who achieved so brilliant a victory at Midway Island.” Patrons were ready for a single-screen theater, where they could enjoy films and attempt to escape WWII traumas.

Opening attractions were the U.S. Navy’s Technicolor short subject, “The Battle of Midway,” as well as “The Pied Piper” and “Just Off Broadway.” Other popular films were “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Casablanca,” “Pride of the Marines,” “Help!,” “West Side Story,” and “Saturday Night Fever.” Among the celebrities who made appearances were Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.The Midway screened first-run films, Walt Disney cartoons, and up-to-the-minute news, and operations shifted from RKO to Skouras to United Artists. It also transitioned from a single screen to a quad to nine screens.

 Forest Hills Stadium with an eagle sculpture, and Frank Sinatra concert and Davis Cup tickets ~ The first tennis stadium countrywide was completed on August 11, 1923 in time for the Wightman Cup. The arched colonnade, graced with eagles and West Side Tennis Club crests, was designed by West Side Tennis Club member Kenneth Murchison, a foremost public buildings architect, and in partnership with engineer Charles Landers. It was erected by the Foundation Company of New York, whose expertise was superstructures and substructures internationally. In a 1922 edition of MIT’s “The Technology Review, an ad referenced it as “America’s Tennis Stadium.”

The nearby Tudor clubhouse features an extensive tennis player “wall of fame,” including portraits of Bill Tilden, Helen Jacobs, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Andre Agassi, Billie Jean King, and John McEnroe. A series of firsts transpired on the stadium’s hallowed grounds. In 1953, Maureen Connolly Brinker was the first woman to win a Grand Slam. This was the U.S. Open’s birthplace. Singles and National Championships and the Davis Cup also made history. Since tennis was a segregated sport, racial color barriers were broken when Althea Gibson was the first African American to win a U.S. National Tennis title in 1957, and Arthur Ashe was the first African American man to achieve the U.S. Open title in 1968.

As of 1971, the stadium began hosting annual Robert F. Kennedy Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournaments. The 1976 event, which benefited the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, featured influential tennis players including Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas and Wimbledon crown recipient Björn Borg, who were joined by the Kennedy family, Chevy Chase, Walter Cronkite, Art Buchwald, and Muhammad Ali.

Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Trini Lopez, The Who, Hall & Oates, The New York Pops, and Santana are a miniscule percentage of musical legends since the stadium’s adaptation as a concert venue. The Forest Hills Music Festival originated in 1960, and the Stadium underwent a rebirth in 2013, where Mumford & Sons launched a new era. The stadium was also the setting of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, “Strangers on a Train” (1951), and The Beatles’ helicopter landing on grass courts before performing, which was among the most dramatic moments in 1964.

Howard Johnson’s ~ Rego Park residents were fortunate to have “The largest roadside restaurant in the U.S.” at 95-25 Queens Boulevard, which opened in 1940, a short distance away from the World’s Fair. The three-story, $300,000 restaurant occupied a Georgian Colonial mansion-like restaurant, designed by chief architect Joseph G. Morgan of the restaurant chain, and the building earned a 1st prize Queens Chamber of Commerce award. It was owned by Howard D. Johnson, who commissioned the Fair’s esteemed seafood chef, Pierre Franey. This is also where chef Jacques Pépin worked, and was later the recipient of an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The façade featured sculptures, ornamental cast stone, pilasters, a portico, dormers, shutters, and urns, and was topped off with a cupola. An Art Deco roadside neon sign boasted 28 ice cream flavors, a grille, a cocktail lounge, steaks, chops, and chicken. The seating capacity was 700 indoors and 300 on its terraces. The Colonial Room and Empire Room dining spaces were available for weddings. Crystal chandeliers, murals designed by famed Parisian colorist Andre Durenceau (rescued by this columnist last year), and a winding grand stairway in the rotunda were regal appointments. By the early 1970s, industry standardization and a change in taste called for fast food, causing this American icon to undergo demolition in 1974. The Rego Park restaurant is depicted in author Paul Freedman’s book, “Ten Restaurants That Changed America.”

1939 World’s Fairgrounds featuring the Trylon & Perisphere monuments rising above Constitution Mall with the George Washington and Four Freedoms sculptures ~

“The World of Tomorrow” was a dominant theme of the 1939 – 1940 World’s Fair, which attracted millions of New York residents and tourists to Flushing Meadow for a celebration of technological innovations and cultural history like no other. It spanned the period of April 30, 1939 to October 27, 1940. Over 44 million visitors attended during the summers.

A linen postcard, designed for the Exposition Souvenir Corporation by the Grinnell Litho. Co. read, “On the theory that the best commemoration is a re-dedication, the New York World’s Fair 1939 celebrates the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the U.S. by dedicating itself to the task of building a ‘Better World of Tomorrow.’”

The Fair’s centerpiece was the symbolic Trylon and Perisphere monuments, which were a 700-foot spire and a 200-foot in diameter sphere, respectively, designed by Wallace K. Harrison and J. Andre Fouilhoux. In March 1937, Fair President Grover Whalen said, “Entering the sphere, the visitor will emerge on the moving platform. The effect will be that of suddenly stepping out into space. Far beneath he will see cities and towns and farmland, and all the interdependent activity that links them.”

Fairgoers would exit the Perisphere across a bridge to the ground by steps inside the obelisk or by an exterior 900-foot Helicline, a sweeping ramp around the fountain, which offered a commanding view. The Trylon’s monumentality was evident structurally and atop through a beacon of light. It was estimated to be the equivalent of five to ten million candlepower, which would be evident for 30 miles at sea and approximately 200 miles by plane.

Gulf Service Station ~ Rego Park once had its own version of the Empire State Building, as in a streamlined illuminated glass block Art Deco tower of the Gulf Station on the northeast corner of Queens Boulevard and Horace Harding Boulevard. A curved façade with curved windows and stainless steel accents were among the other novelty features, since nearby service stations exhibited Tudor and Mediterranean influences. It was erected by John Meehan & Son Construction Company for Gulf Oil Company. It was deemed futuristic, coinciding with the 1939 – 1940 World’s Fair’s “World of Tomorrow” theme, and was situated en route to the Fair when Horace Harding Boulevard was briefly known as World’s Fair Boulevard. The Gulf Station earned a 1st prize award by the Queens Chamber of Commerce in the commercial construction category. The site was redeveloped in 1987 when the 17-story Queens Boulevard Tower opened at 92-29 Queens Boulevard.

Trylon Theatre ~ With the advent of the 1939 – 1940 World’s Fair, Cooper Union alumnus Joseph Unger (1896 – 1996), designed an Art Deco neighborhood theater at 98-81 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills to reflect the Fair’s technological innovations and respond to a booming population. It was named after the Fair’s symbolic monument, the Trylon, which was alongside the Perisphere. Analogous to the Fair’s theme, “The World of Tomorrow,” the theater was “The Theater of Tomorrow.” The marquee once boasted classics such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Gone With The Wind,” and “The Ghost Breakers” starring Bob Hope.

Unique stone façade offered striated and fan-like details, an elliptical white tile marquee, and a sleek vertical glass block projection tower. The marquee and projection tower illuminated Queens Boulevard at night, much as the Trylon and Perisphere monuments made efficient use of light in Flushing Meadows. The projection tower was Joseph Unger’s rectangular variation of the globular Perisphere. The centerpiece of the entrance pavilion’s floor was terrazzo, bearing a 3D mirror image of the Trylon monument, complementary to the Trylon on the semicircular mosaic ticket booth. The floor was accompanied by a delightfully colorful array of inlaid mosaic tiles on both sides in a classic chevron pattern. The single-screen auditorium featured a stepped ceiling with curves among sleek accents, and the proscenium featured pilasters with thematic murals depicting media and sculpture in a growing city. The standee area featured a backlit Trylon mosaic fountain.

In 1999, the theater closed. In 2006, Ohr Natan, a synagogue and community center opened, but in 2022, the congregation was forced to relocate despite opposition due to condo plans.

 Tower Diner bank building ~ Opened in 1993, Tower Diner at 98-95 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills was a representation of a Greek-American dining classic. Owners Spiro and John Gatanas and their parents creatively adapted the Colonial Revival style Emigrant Savings Bank. Authentic features included an imposing clock tower/cupola with a weathervane and eagle, Corinthian columns, a slate pitched roof, a portico, and a cornice. Tower Diner was a must-stop for an extensive American and cultural menu, including chicken souvlaki, turkey burgers, spinach pies, cranberry chicken, and pasta primavera.

Earlier incarnations were a nightly dancing spot at Manna-Hatin Restaurant, which featured Billy Rose’s Aquabelles from the 1939 World’s Fair’s Aquacade, and Croft Chemists which housed a soda fountain. The corner Art Deco building was rebuilt for the City Savings & Loan Association circa 1963, and is believed to have been designed or inspired by Massachusetts native and award-winning architect George L. Bousquet, who once worked under Thomas Lamb, a foremost architect. Despite community resistance, Tower Diner was forced to shutter its location in late 2021, and was replaced by a condo.

 Jay Dee Bakery ~ In Mid-Century Modern style pinkish red neon, massive Art Deco letters read “Jay Dee Bakery,” a neighborhood cornerstone at 98-92 Queens Boulevard from the early 1950s through 2009. Philip Kampin and Maurice Goldstein were noted as the owners in 1952. It recalled an era where rye bread, Napoleons, and assorted cookies were freshly prepared on premise, and the staff and patrons exchanged stories. Jay Dee catered numerous social functions. The window was a neighborhood showcase filled with multi-layer cake models. The façade’s whimsical Ravenna glass mosaics in green, orange, and gold were a work of art, and Moderne curves characterized the interior ceiling and walls, where indented clouds displayed cake models. In 2009, this columnist rescued the sign among other relics.

 Forest Hills Theatre ~ The Tudor-style former theater at 107-16 Continental Avenue was designed by a foremost public buildings architect, Kenneth Murchison, and retains an ornate Tudor façade with lions, heraldic shields, fruits, knights, vines, urns, and tilework. For $300,000, the Sheer Amusement Company of Queens formally opened “the finest moving picture house on Long Island” on December 5, 1922, and it was the most complete of its kind and size countrywide. The façade would complement Forest Hills Gardens and was part of the adjacent section’s nickname, “The Village.” Its marquee boasted classics such as silent film “Through The Dark,” “Too Many Girls, “The Wizard of Oz,” “Alias Nick Beal,” “Planet of The Apes,” and “Dirty Dancing.”

The theater offered a resident orchestra and organist who played a rare four-manual Smith Unit Organ, sometimes embellished by singers and dancers for a silent film prelude. This also where the Garden Players of Forest Hills and Kew Gardens performed, and on Saturday mornings, children’s films endorsed by the Schools Motion Picture Committee were screened. The theater later featured mainstream and art films, and closed-circuit boxing broadcasts. In 1926, Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan lectured to benefit the American Foundation for the Blind’s mission. In 1971, Roger Williams, known for “Autumn Leaves,” played tunes, gave autographs, and introduced a computerized method of teaching piano and organ.

By Michael Perlman

Forest Hills Gardens, which was established in 1909, harbors an extensive history of residents who became known for their achievements on local to international levels. Back in 1914, the community began coordinating annual large-scale Fourth of July Festivals in an exquisitely decorated Station Square, often with activities at the Forest Hills Inn and Tea Garden, Olivia Park, and along Greenway Terrace and Flagpole Green, formerly Village Green.

One hundred and eleven years later, it is time to take a look at three of the community’s well-known artists with patriotic influences, whose success reached far beyond New York. They were Will Phillip Hooper and his wife Annie Betty Blakeslee Hooper of 84 Greenway South, as well as Herman Brown Rountree of 176 Slocum Crescent, but today they are long-forgotten.

Circa 1915

Circa 1915

Will Phillip Hooper (1855 – 1938) was a painter and illustrator who was born in Biddeford, Maine and pursued his studies in Boston and The Art Students League of New York. He founded the Hooper Advertising Service at 200 Fifth Avenue, and was a New York Watercolor Society member. Among the publications which featured his illustrations were Harper’s Weekly, LIFE, St. Nicholas, and The London Graphic. In 1892, “The Legend of The Lantern” featured his photogravures.

Annie Betty Blakeslee Hooper pursued her studies at San Francisco Art School, and then relocated eastward to study with Melville Dewey and Will Phillip Hooper. Her specialties ranged from bookplates to dinner plates, and was a remarkable patriotic poster artist. She exhibited bookplates at venues including the Pen and Brush Club of New York.

The spirit and voice of late artists educate current generations. In January 1916, she told The Christian Science Monitor of Boston, “Your book plate must try to express in symbols your occupation, special interests or hobbies. It may symbolize your home, your love of nature, your ideals, your activities, or your vision. It should be typical of you and you only, and the designer must blend all these symbols into a design which shall have both beauty and significance.” She continued, “After the design is made, it must be etched on copper or in cheaper form, on zinc, and printed on paper of fine quality. Collectors of book plates must look to the symbolism embodied in the composition, and also to the composition itself and to the fineness of line and delicacy of workmanship in its execution. Rare book plates are in demand, and those of famous people are greatly desired by the collectors, who are a growing class.” Orders for book plates were taken by first-class booksellers and jewelers who would retain plates to have a name inserted.

 Forest Hills Gardens was six years old when “Why We Have Chosen Forest Hills Gardens For Our Home” was published at the Village Press in 1915, after W.P. Hooper originated the idea and collaborated with Forest Hills Gardens resident Frederic Goudy, a prominent type designer, artist, and printer. At the time, Forest Hills Gardens featured 166 private homes, the Forest Hills Inn which operated as a hotel with 44 live-in staff members, and the adjacent Housekeeping Apartments (renamed The Marlboro) on the west and The Raleigh on the east. Between the apartments and houses were approximately 720 residents. Hooper selectively approached residents, and 53 entries were published alongside Goudy’s typography and decorations. Spontaneous expressions of villagers were captured and complemented by half-tone illustrations of homes.

In the publication, W.P. Hooper responded to his own question: “After looking in the vicinity of New York for six years to find a place for a home, after buying lots in two localities, I finally decided that Forest Hills Gardens was my choice, because I liked the place, the people, and the prospects. The place – because it’s beautiful; the people – because they’re interesting; the prospect – because property will increase in value.”

W.P. Hooper designed a poster in 1915 featuring a continental soldier carrying the flag and leading a child. His wife Annie designed an Independence Day 1916 “A.B. Hooper” signed poster announcing the circus coming to town. It depicts a whimsical child-like clown riding an elephant, whose upwards trunk is holding a 4th of July flag over a dog on its hind legs in anticipation. The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin read, “It is not the animal of our books on natural history. But no finer specimen of the poster elephant has ever been seen in captivity. We are profoundly impressed with the peculiar expression conveyed by the treatment of the subject’s eye. Undoubtedly Leonardo da Vinci could have made his famous Mona Lisa smile about fourteen degrees more mysterious if he had seen this elephant first. There is something intensely human about the look in the said eye, suggesting that Mr. Hooper generously contributed that feature to the design.”

A 1917 Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin features their residence that offered a studio on the first floor and a third floor for billiards. Then in 1919, the couple relocated to 51 Summer Street.

Springfield, Missouri native Herman Brown Rountree (1878 – 1946) was a painter, newspaper artist, and magazine illustrator who designed posters for early 20th century Independence Day celebrations, where he served as the Chairman of the Poster Committee. He lived with his wife Nell Lamoine Lee, daughters Helen Cynthia and Eleanor Lee, and a Cuban servant. Forest Hills Gardens principal architect Grosvenor Atterbury designed their home at 176 Slocum Crescent with a two-story rear studio, which offered much light.

The July 12, 1919 Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin stated, “Mr. Rountree is one of this country’s most brilliant poster artists.” He is depicted on an ornate and whimsical 1927 N.M.F. caricature map of Forest Hills Gardens, Forest Hills Stadium, Austin Street, and Queens Boulevard, which features an artist in front of an easel.

Rountree’s illustrations were published for the foremost authors in leading magazines such as “Gunter’s Magazine,” “Appleton’s Booklovers Magazine,” “The Sportsman,” and Frank Buck’s “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” and the “Old Warden” series in “Field and Stream.” He illustrated for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, as well as newspapers in St. Louis, and Hartford, and one of many illustrated works was “On Many Trails.” In his obituary, he was regarded as “one of America’s best-known wildlife illustrators.” His paintings of animal life encompassed race horses, polo ponies, African hunting expeditions, and western ranch life.

Rountree’s 1916 poster, “Yes Mule – It’s The Greatest Show on Earth!!” captured the expressions of astonished children watching a clown that embraced a mule, sitting on its hind legs. The bottom further captured the Gardens’ festive and playful spirit with a lineup of a frivolous clown, a dog act with a carriage being pushed, a ballerina on a horse, boxers, acrobats, as well as a dog playing an instrument while balancing on a ball next to a woman holding a baton. The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin drew a comparison of his poster to a mural decorative style. Referencing the mule, it stated, “Its neck is beautifully garlanded with flowers, which proves that Rountree is equally at home in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as well as in our glorious republic. Your true artist is quite impartial in his attitude toward the various forms of government.”

His 1917 poster featured Forest Hills Gardens during WWI on Village Green (now Flagpole Green) with a 48-star American flag being raised and a backdrop of the iconic Forest Hills Inn. It depicted a planned garden community as a center for American values. This is where the community dedicated a new concrete base and bronze collar for the flagpole, in which American sailors assisted in flag-raising exercises. Also depicted are village residents, including a child who is witnessing history first-hand, alongside his mother. He displayed a sign of respect by tipping his hat.

Rountree’s colorful 1919 poster features an extravagant masquerade, bright lights, and the Long Island Railroad Station of Station Square as a backdrop. In July 1919, Long Island Life referenced his poster for its unusual charm and artistic value. It read, “Each year he has donated a poster, commemorating our Fourth of July celebration. They have all been good, but this year Mr. Rountree has fairly outdone himself. This poster (the original of which is on exhibit at the Inn) is of such high quality that the committee would not resist reproducing it in color in the Bulletin. We take occasion to thank him, in the name of the residents of Forest Hills Gardens.”

He also specialized in men’s style illustration for clothing manufacturers in New York. “Mr. Rountree’s wonderfully life-like work, not only in fashion portrayal, but also as a magazine and book illustrator, has singled him out as the most brilliant of the younger school of artists. His drawings interpret superlatively well that environment of good breeding and luxurious living which many artists attempt and few – very few – achieve,” read an ad by advertising agents Sherman & Bryan at One Union Square, which secured his services. It was published in a 1907 edition of “The Clothier and Furnisher.”

Rountree’s entry in “Why We Have Chosen Forest Hills Gardens For Our Home” read, “A friend used to bore me with wonderful stories about the beauty, convenience, and general superiority of Forest Hills Gardens. So, to prove him wrong, I came out here one afternoon. Within half an hour I was explaining to him that he didn’t half appreciate the place. And now after having lived here for over two years, my wife and I feel we are in the right place on account of the convenient location, the beautiful surroundings, and above all, the good people we’ve met here.”

If readers are aware of additional posters by these notable artists, have their portraits, are aware of descendants, or would be interested in designing new local patriotic among holiday posters to continue the tradition, please email mperlman@queensledger.com