Hempstead Gardens LIRR Station

The above photo looks northeastward showing the Hempstead Gardens LIRR station some time after the platform and station house was moved 350ft to the north in December 1933.  Before that time, the station was located south of Chestnut St. and the crossing at Chestnut, the only one for nearly a mile north or south, made a precarious single lane "elbow route" from one side to the other where motorists and pedestrians had to navigate a dangerous sharp turn across the tracks.  (Keep in mind that until 1956, the LIRR also ran freight service along the WH line with no stops or slowdowns at the passenger stations). For years, residents and civic groups petitioned the LIRR to fix the crossing, particularly for the benefit of school children who walked to and from the Chestnut St. School, and the WH Fire Dept. who could barely manage to fit their fire apparatus through the bend that was a mere 12ft wide.  These petitions fell on deaf ears at the LIRR until August 1933 when the Public Service Commission ordered the railroad company to fix the crossing in the interest of public safety.  The LIRR made an additional improvement by building the new station so that Railroad Avenue (now called Hempstead Gardens Drive) would be unobstructed, whereas the previous station jutted out into the street.

In the ensuing years, the LIRR's improvement did little to increase safety.  In fact, the direct, unguarded crossing made the situation much worse. The site became the scene of some fatal and near fatal collisions.  Among them:

•  In November 1941, James Moores' vehicle was struck by an oncoming train and burst into flames when it hit the third rail.  A brave bystander rescued Moores from the inferno before his car was reduced to a charred skeletal heap. (Following the accident, when a reporter from the LI Star Journal questioned the LIRR about the dangerous conditions at Chestnut St, which lacked any gates, lights or warning bells, an LIRR spokesman assured him that Chestnut was a "protected crossing".  When probed further about what features qualified Chestnut as a "protected crossing", the spokesman pointed out with a straight face that there was a sign there that read "Watch out for the train".)
• In March 1942, Christoph Koenig's milk truck was struck by an eastbound train.  (The driver escaped unhurt).
• Most tragic of all, on the night of Jan. 14, 1947, a train struck the car of a 21 year-old WWII Navy veteran and WH resident named Richard Stanley and his fiance Jane Alford, killing him instantly and critically injuring the young woman.  The couple was to be married that March.  A day later, Alford too succumbed to her injuries and died at Meadowbrook Hospital.

In 1956, there was a proposal to eliminate the Hempstead Gardens station altogether, but at an LIRR meeting on Jan. 9 of that year, residents voted overwhelmingly against the proposal. (197 against vs. 67 for).

It wasn't until March 1966 when the LIRR finally got around to installing automatic crossing gates at Chestnut St.  Below is a photo of the Hempstead Gardens Station as it looked on Jan. 1, 1972 (Photo taken by Dave Keller at roughly the same angle as the above photo), with Hempstead Gardens Drive running behind it. (The street was officially renamed Hempstead Gardens Dr. by the TOH board on Jan 4, 1955).

The photo shows a station that was built at ground level, 22 months before the LIRR raised the platform five feet to accommodate their new "metropolitan trains".  The WH line was the last of all the LIRR branches to continue using the old MU trains (shown in the picture), where passengers had to navigate a flight of stairs to board and disembark their train.

Below is a "now" shot of the two photos above, (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Cox, a.k.a the Subway Nut).

Notice the white three story home at 347 Hempstead Gardens Dr. built in 1908, is visible in all three photos.

The Wilcox Bungalow in Hempstead Gardens

The following article originally appeared in the Fall 2010 edition of the West Hempstead Community Support Association newsletter.


In 1910 the famed book publisher Frank Nelson Doubleday relocated his successful publishing house from Manhattan to the small Long Island village of Garden City. The move brought Doubleday's firm closer to his Long Island roots and was in line with his company philosophy that emphasized the joys of country living, a philosophy emblemized by its flagship publication - the twice-monthly magazine called Country Life in America. A move from Manhattan out to the country for an employer of over 600 workers was not without risks, however, as Doubleday would have to make due with a talent pool on Long Island that was considerably smaller than that of the region's great metropolis. So, to help attract area talent, Doubleday created a work environment that was at the cutting edge for a company in the early 20th century. The grounds were neatly manicured and decorated with ornate gardens with flora and fauna from all over the world. A completely separate railroad station was built for the location (which still exists today as Country Life Press). The campus came equipped with a baseball diamond, tennis courts and lawn bowling greens. A registered nurse was stationed on site and a doctor and dentist was on call to service employees.

With all these amenities, its no surprise why so many existing Doubleday employees opted to stay on and relocate with their company. For many of these employees, the hunt was on to find affordable housing in the area. The grandiose estates of Garden City village were out of reach to all but the most affluent of them. It was estimated that choice lots in Garden City commanded between $5,000- $10,000 an acre. So, many set their sights to the south where properties were much more affordable, in the small, up and coming residential neighborhoods of West Hempstead and Hempstead Gardens. One such employee was a 36 year-old proof reader named Robert H. Wilcox, who moved out with his wife and son from Hasbrouk Heights, N.J. At first, Wilcox rented one of the homes on Hempstead Avenue owned by the Hutcheson family, near the current location of the Chestnut Street School. In 1912, he purchased a two acre plot of land for $1,600 that was tucked away in the northeast corner of Hempstead Gardens. The location at the time was strikingly rural and was nestled in a forested area called Parson's Woods (the area would later be developed as the Hempstead Golf & Country Club. Aside from the recently platted street (Cedar St.), little else existed in the way of infrastructure improvements for the property. The gas and lighting district would not come for another couple years. It would be over a decade before the water district was formed. There was no sewer line on the street. To access to the property one had to traverse a dangerous railroad crossing of the LIRR's West Hempstead branch. As such, a hand-pumped water-well was built to provide the water supply. A sceptic tank was installed to handle the sewage. The house was piped for gas, in anticipation of the day that the gas district would come on line. Floor plans for the bungalow was a modest 36 X 36 ft with an excavated cellar as well as a loft. Wilcox began construction in August, 1912 and with blazing speed, completed the home and moved in by October 1st. Total construction costs for the bungalow came to $3,200, a relative bargain that would translate to a little over $70,000 in today’s dollars.

Together with the indefatigable E.J. Jennings, Wilcox successfully petitioned the LIRR to deed land adjacent along the rail line so that Railroad Ave. (later named Hempstead Gardens Drive) could be built.

Over the years the home has served its owners well and stood the test of time. It can still be seen albeit with minor alterations at 555 Cedar St.