Forest Hills Gardens Station Square Reconstruction

Overview

Completed in 1913, Station Square was designed by Grosvenor Atterbury and Fredrick Law Olmsted, Jr. and is the centerpiece of the Forest Hills Gardens community. Forest Hills Gardens was developed as a planned garden community for working people with quick rail access into New York City, surrounded by shops with major streets radiating out through the community to the surrounding woodlands.

Atterbury, one of the leading architects of his time, designed the buildings in the Tudor style. Olmstead, the leading landscape design firm of the era, planned the roads, parks and open spaces. Notable events in the square included President Theodore Roosevelt giving a speech from atop the Long Island Rail Road landing to an audience crowded into the square. Station Square is considered to be one of the most beautiful public spaces in NYC.

We provided civil engineering design, restoration architecture and historic preservation services for the reconstruction of the historic roadway, which was completed in 2019.

Highlights

• We specified the removal, salvage, and cleaning of the square’s historic Patton Pavers for reinstallation over a new concrete subsurface.
• The restoration design accurately recreated the original paving pattern using the salvaged original materials.
• The reconstructed roadway incorporated improved drainage and reconstructed curbs.
• We coordinated the repair and replacement of existing utilities beneath the historic roadway surface.
• In addition, we assisted FHGA with consulting services for the restoration of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ World War I Memorial located nearby in Flag Pole Green. The memorial was designed by renowned American sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinmen and dedicated in 1920.