A Queens landmark that has as rich a history as Forest Hills Stadium should not be idle. It should be treated with the respect it earned during the years it showcased some of the best athletes (and performers) in the world.Tennis venue deserves better
In its heyday, the stadium also attracted the world's best musical artists. The Beatles played at Forest Hills Stadium in August 1964. In July 1967, Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees.
The U.S. Open moved to Flushing Meadows in 1978, and concert promoters opted for larger, more modern indoor spaces.
It's important that the stadium be preserved and not left to rot. Forest Hills is a vibrant, wealthy community, deserving of a great venue. The stadium is surrounded by first-rate shopping and fantastic restaurants.
There is no reason why it should sit, a faded, decaying, hulking mess serving only as the landmark to signal when the Long Island Rail Road is nearing the Forest Hills station.
The times need to change again, in the form of a galvanized effort to bring back a structural, timeless beauty to a magnificent neighborhood.
Photo from ForestHillsTennis.com
8 comments:
s Costello there in teh early 80s
This was a very silly article. We can't put the cart before the horse. Why spend millions on this stadium if there is no desirable use for it? First you must have the demand or interest to use the stadium, then you refurbish it, otherwise you are just throwing your money away.
The failure to get this site up and running again ,
is partially the fault of some obstinate upper crust
Forest Hills folk who usually gave the thumbs down
to many suggestions by music/entertainment industry promoters etc. over the years,
to find a creative reuse for this wonderful stadium.
I guess their ideas were thought "inappropriate".
The city could work with the tennis center to turn this into a moneymaker. They do it for the "other" stadium in Queens.
"The failure to get this site up and running again ,
is partially the fault of some obstinate upper crust
Forest Hills folk who usually gave the thumbs down
to many suggestions by music/entertainment industry promoters etc. over the years,
to find a creative reuse for this wonderful stadium."
After a rap concert was held there in the late 1990's with lots of arrests and disorderly behavior, methinks the "obstinate upper crust" may be right...
Tommy Huang's momma lives (or lived) on Tennis Place. So much for the "upper crust".
3rd poster says......
Nobody said anything about staging rap concerts.
But you overly fussy folk are still a bunch of snots who would prefer to let the stadium rot, I suppose.
Well then.....so be it!
I attended the Semifinals at the Stadium on Friday. It was odd as there were only about 30 people on hand to see some pretty good tennis. Top 40 players mulled anonymously amongst the crowd. Being an avid tennis fan, I was thrilled with the intimacy of the setting, i.e., getting to talk with the players before and after their matches, but the rest of the club seemed disinterested in the whole event. I am assuming they don't promote heavily because the Stadium is essentially condemned, and if people actually turned out, there would be nowhere to seat them. I find it hard to believe that this tournament and Stadium cannot be resurrected. By the way, there must be a reason that Forest Hills Gardens is still the nicest place to live in all of the 5 boroughs.
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