Friday, April 1, 2022 – AN INTIMATE ENCLAVE SO CLOSE BY, BUT NO MORE TEA GARDEN
TODAY, APRIL 1, 2022 IS THE FIRST DAY YOU CAN SEARCH THE 1950 CENSUS RECODS. SEE https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1950]
FOR INSTRUCTIONS.
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022
The 638th Edition
THE FORGOTTEN
FOREST HILLS
TEA GARDEN
FROM UNTAPPED NEW YORK
LIVING IN FOREST HILLS AS A TEEN-AGER WE ALWAYS ENJOYED SHOPPING ON AUSTIN STREET AND GOING TO THE MOVIES THERE. THE “GARDENS” WERE AN EXCLUSIVE ENCLAVE AWAY FROM THE COMMERCIAL DISTRICT. THE TENNIS STADIUM WAS IN THE HEART OF THE PRIVATE HOME STREETS. THE ONLY TIME I WAS IN THE STADIUM WAS THE 1972 U.S.OPEN WHEN I SAW THE MATCHES FOR $6-. MUCH HAS CHANGED AND NOW THE STADIUM IS REVIVED FOR MUSIC.
At the back of the historic Forest Hills Inn at 1 Station Square lies a long-lost architectural gem, the Forest Hills Tea Garden. Opened in 1912 behind an ornate gate, the Tea Garden hosted everything from weddings to dinner dances. Though the remains of the tea garden remain today, most residents probably are unaware of its history. According to Michael Perlman, an author and historian who has been raising money and awareness to preserve the Tea Garden, the structure is just a shell of its former self, though it has the potential for restoration and revitalization. Perlman, a fifth-generation Forest Hills resident, spoke with Untapped New York about the history of this mostly forgotten but rich historic site.
Forest Hills Gardens was established in 1909 as a Tudor enclave. One of the country’s first planned communities, the area was developed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., whose father helped designed Central Park. The community was inspired by the English Garden City movement, which at the time stressed providing housing to people of all income levels. Perlman came across the “veritable fairyland and hidden gem” in around 2011. The Tea Garden was in continuous operation from 1912 to about 1968, around when the Forest Hills Inn was converted from a hotel to a residence. Forest Hills featured numerous music festivals in the 1960s, and after the U.S. Open moved from Forest Hills Tennis Stadium to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in 1977, the demographics of the area shifted. As the potential for the Tea Garden dwindled, it fell into disarray, and after Jade Eatery opened in the former inn, Perlman began working with the owner to preserve it. He wanted to open the tea garden for not just large events but also for flower shows and plays — over a century ago, the Garden Players, a local organization, put on plays such as Prunella. The tea garden was also open for festivities on July 4, when Station Square hosted parades.
“I wondered how I’ve passed by it for so many years and never noticed,” Perlman said. “It had a charming and serene feel and simultaneously a somewhat mysterious feel. I appreciate that the Tea Garden feels like it’s somewhat uncharted territory, and I like the history in it too, it’s amazing.”
The Tea Garden had an 11-foot-tall “Ring for Tea” stand, at which people on their rocking chairs would pull a cord and ring the bell for tea. Afterward, hotel staff members would come out of the Forest Hills Inn and provide tea to guests. Many rooms in the original Forest Hills Inn attracted celebrities and often had regal names, as well as names reflecting the nearby community such as the “Tournament Grill” inspired by the nearby tennis stadium. By the 1950s, the Tea Garden was referred to as the Patio-Garden, featuring “a bubbling fountain, candlelight, large umbrellas, and tall trees.”
A 1924 edition of The Forest Hills Bulletin read, “The Tea Garden of the Forest Hills Inn is a veritable fairyland, when lighted with Japanese lanterns, with the trickling fountain heard in the background, and a new moon shining overhead. There is no more delightful place in Greater New York for one to spend the dinner hour.”
Barry Manilow, Roger Williams, and Lucille Ball likely performed at or attended social events at the Inn, and it is likely that The Beatles and Frank Sinatra passed through the Inn, according to Perlman. There was a feature outside known as Celebrity Walk near the Inn that featured about 25 concrete slabs featuring names like Barbara Streisand, Sammy Davis, Jr., and perhaps Arthur Ashe. Many of the figures on Celebrity Walk would spend time in the Tea Garden, which offered afternoon teas and performances by the Inn Trio, who performed pieces such as Dvorak’s “Humoresque” and Albeniz’s “A Night In Seville.”
FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
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THURSDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
GEORGE WASHINGTON ON A HORSE IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN.
ED LITCHER, LAURA HUSSEY, SUMIT KAUR ALL GOT IT RIGHT.
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