Early Days of Kew Gardens, NY

Kew Gardens, a rather tony old neighborhood in central Queens, New York, has long been known for its fine old houses and leafy curvilinear streets, Kew Gardens primarily developed during the first two and a half decades of the twentieth century.

Originally known simply as Kew, this area was laid out in the northernmost reaches of the established community of Richmond Hill. The pace of development really kicked off after 1910, when the Pennsylvania railroad was electrified and began tunneling the east river, trains now whisked passengers from the new station at Kew to Herald Square in only 15 minutes. Contrary to popular thought, Kew Gardens was not a pre planned community like its neighbor to the west, Forest Hills, streets and lots were laid out in anticipation of development, homes were designed and built by various firms, despite the fact that homes are distinct from one another, their close time frame of development lends a sense of aesthetic harmony. By the early 1920s much of the neighborhood was built up, in fact by this time a few grand apartment buildings began to appear, and people were now referring to the place as Kew Gardens, no longer an upscale section of Richmond Hill, but an independent community.