The Kew Gardens station is a station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). It is located in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens, New York City, near Austin Street and Lefferts Boulevard. The station is located within the City Terminal Zone, part of LIRR fare zone 1. It contains four tracks and two side platforms for the outermost tracks.
The Kew Gardens station was built on the site of a station named Hopedale, which operated from 1875 to 1884 and served the Maple Grove Cemetery nearby. Another station named Maple Grove was built even closer to the cemetery in 1879. The station closed in 1909 as the LIRR was rerouted onto a more direct alignment with the construction of the Maple Grove Cut-Off. Maple Grove was replaced by the current Kew Gardens station in 1910. The station's opening played an integral part in the construction of the community of Kew Gardens. The Kew Gardens train crash took place east of the station on November 22, 1950, which killed 78 people and injured 363 others in the worst crash in the LIRR's history.
One of the Kew Gardens station's unique features is the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge, which has one story commercial buildings on both sides for local businesses. The stores were built over the tracks in 1930. While the neighborhood's charm has been attributed to the bridge, it has been under threat of demolition multiple times. Since the bridge is deteriorating, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which operates the LIRR, had proposed demolishing the bridge. However, the bridge was saved after local residents and politicians strongly opposed demolition.
History
Background The city of Brooklyn banned the LIRR from using steam propulsion within city limits effective July 1, 1851. In early October, the LIRR stopped freight and passenger trains at Jamaica, directing passengers to take Fulton Street stages to Bedford and transfer there to "Jamaica Line" stages. Laws passed on April 19, 1859 allowed for the appointment of commissioners, empowered to contract with the LIRR to close the Cobble Hill Tunnel, cease using steam within city limits, and instead run horse cars for freight and passengers to the city line or East New York, connecting with steam trains to and beyond Jamaica there. By the fall of 1861, both use of steam as propulsion and of the tunnel had ceased.
In order to maintain access to New York, the LIRR chartered the New York and Jamaica Railroad (NY&J) on September 3, 1859, , March 2005 Edition and a supplement to the LIRR's charter passed March 12, 1860 authorized it to buy the NY&J and build a new main line from Jamaica to Hunters Point. The LIRR carried through with the NY&J purchase on April 25, along with the purchase of a short piece of the Brooklyn and Jamaica at Jamaica. , May 2004 Edition The new line to Hunters Point was officially opened on May 9, 1861, with regular service starting May 10, using a portion of the tracks of the Flushing Railroad between Winfield and Hunters Point.
Hopedale station The first station in the vicinity of the current Kew Gardens station was known as Hopedale, and was located opposite Hopedale Hall on Union Turnpike to the west of Queens Boulevard in the hamlet with the same name. The station was established in July 1875 along the new main line to Hunters Point to serve the newly opened Maple Grove Cemetery. The station building, whose construction was funded by the people of Richmond Hill and Whitepot (modern-day Forest Hills), was built in October 1875. Trains started stopping here on November 15, 1875, and the station was first listed on the timetable of May 1877 which showed three daily trains going west and one daily train going east. As part of a major refurbishment of the railroad, the rails from Hopedale to Jamaica were replaced in March 1879.
This station was used by passengers going to the nearby Maple Grove Cemetery, until the Maple Grove station, which was only away from the cemetery, opened. Due to the opening of the Maple Grove station and the planned construction of a second track, the station was closed by August 28, 1884, and its building was purchased by John Burdett, relocated, and converted into a private residence.
Maple Grove station In order to better serve Maple Grove Cemetery, a new station was opened at Maple Grove, near the cemetery's western entrance. This station opened in May 1879. The station was a flag stop, with trains only stopping upon request. Funeral trains also served the station, and received special rates. It had low-level platforms located to the rear of where the Mowbray and Kew Gardens Plaza Apartments are located today. The eastbound platform had a station building which was designed by James Ware. To the west of the station, there was a grade crossing with Lefferts Avenue (now Lefferts Boulevard). In summer 1879, a new depot was installed at the station, which opened up to a new western entrance to the cemetery.
On January 1, 1881, Austin Corbin took over the Long Island Rail Road and sought out to install new rails on the Main Line from Winfield Junction to Jamaica. In February 1881, all service on the Main Line was halted, and this station was temporarily abandoned at this time. Starting in April, the old rails were torn up and used on the South Side Railroad of Long Island. The temporary abandonment inconvenienced visitors to the Cemetery, and during this period, the managers of the cemetery made arrangements to have visitors transported free of charge to the Richmond Hill station on the Montauk Division.
The tracks were relaid during September and October 1882, and the line was rebuilt as a double-track line with iron rails. The line was reopened on October 25, 1882 for freight only to allow the Montauk Division to be exclusively used for passenger service. Service resumed on May 30, 1883 with one daily train in each direction after the managers of the cemetery made a request to the directors of the Long Island Rail Road. In 1886, the station was moved to provide space for a lawn and flowerbed.
After Hopedale station closed in 1884, this was the only station on the Main Line between Winfield and Jamaica, and as of 1897, the line was mostly used for freight, with the exception of some passenger service during commuting hours. In 1888, commutation fares were not offered for the station, the fare to New York was 25 cents, and the station was served by three daily eastbound trains and one daily westbound train. At the time, there were two nearby bridges over roadways spanned by pratt trusses and wood track stringers. While this was originally a single-tracked line, it was double-tracked between 1888 and November 1902. As part of the construction of the Maple Grove Cut-Off, the station was removed in 1909, and replaced by Kew station in 1910.
Maple Grove Cut-Off In order to provide fast service for the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad's East River Tunnels in 1910, the Long Island Rail Road completely rebuilt the Main Line between Winfield and Jamaica from one track to four tracks, with two additional tracks between the Glendale Cut-Off and Winfield. 40 grade crossings were eliminated as part of the project. In addition, the line was electrified using a third rail. This was expected to reduce the running time between Jamaica and Sunnyside Yard from 18 minutes to 12 minutes.
To speed up service through Kew Gardens, the LIRR undertook the construction of the Maple Grove Cut-Off for $500,000. The Cut-Off shortened the Main Line by , and sped up service with the construction of a new straightened four-track route that ran at a lower grade. The Cut-Off branched from the original line about north of Ascan Avenue in Forest Hills, and continued to 84th Drive in Kew Gardens, or about east of Lefferts Avenue. The original line ran straight from Winfield to within a few feet of Queens Boulevard at Lefferts Avenue (now Boulevard) and then curved sharply southeast around the southern edge of Maple Grove Cemetery, slowing service.
The land for the right-of-way to the west of Lefferts Avenue was acquired from the Cord Meyer Development Corporation, while the land to the east was purchased from Alrick Man, the founder of the urban neighborhood of Richmond Hill. While he had to sell the property of the Richmond Hill Golf Club and 25 acres of estate, he still owned a lot of the land in Richmond Hill, and therefore financially benefitted from the move. Since the golf course was going to be cut in half by the railroad, Man closed the course in 1906, and decided to sell the course and turn it into a residential community. The right-of-way initially had room for six tracks, of which four tracks were built. The two additional tracks would have been used for freight. The LIRR's right-of-way increased from to . Crystal Lake, which was in the path of the Cut-Off, was drained in 1909. As part of the initial agreement, bridges over the new right-of-way were to be built over Quentin Road (now 80th Road) and Lefferts Avenue.
The Maple Grove station was moved from its location south of Kew Gardens Road (old Newtown Avenue) to a spot south along the north side of tracks on the west side of Lefferts Avenue, closer to the built-up portion of Richmond Hill. Man built streets through the property of the old golf club, and built elegant homes close to the new railroad station, creating what is known as Kew Gardens today. On November 20, 1908, the New York Public Service Commission approved the LIRR's application to complete the Maple Grove Cut-Off.
Limited construction began on the Cut-Off in November 1908, with real work beginning in March 1909. On December 4, 1908, the New York City Board of Estimate approved the plans for bridges at Union Turnpike and Ascan Avenue, but did not approve the plans for the bridge carrying Quentin Road and Lefferts Avenue over the line as these streets were not yet included on the city's map. The plans were modified in 1909 to add bridges at Penelope Avenue and Ascan Avenue. The grading of the right-of-way and the laying of track was completed by September 1909. On July 26, 1909, eastbound trains started running over the Maple Grove Cut-Off. On July 30, westbound trains began running via the cut-off with its completion. Following the completion of the Cut-Off, riders who patronized the Richmond Hill station on the Montauk Division were concerned that passenger service to their station would be discontinued, requiring them to use the station replacing Maple Grove on the Main Line. The LIRR stated that the station would continue to receive service.
Provisions were left for future crossings at Roman Avenue (72nd Avenue), Puritan Avenue (75th Avenue), and Allegheny Avenue (77th Avenue). The floor system of the Union Turnpike bridge was designed to allow for two trolley tracks to pass over it. All of the bridges completed as part of the project were constructed with concrete floors, heavy steel girders, and watertight steel.
As part of the agreement with the Long Island Rail Road, the property occupied by the old right-of-way was transferred to Cord Meyer and Alrick Man. The old railroad right-of-way was built up with residences, but in 1936, portions of the right-of-way within Forest Hills, around Austin Street and 75th Avenue, were still unused.
Kew Gardens station