The Hollis Preservation Association
"From Strangers next-door to an
Informed Community of Neighbors we know."
Welcome
The Hollis Preservation Association (HPA) is a community organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the neighborhood of Hollis, Queens — one of New York City's most historic and underrecognized communities.
We believe that a strong neighborhood begins with informed, connected, and engaged residents. Whether you've lived on Hollis Avenue for decades or just moved in, HPA is here to make sure your voice is heard — and that the character and history of our community is preserved for generations to come.
Ketcham House
Woodhull School
St. Stephen's
Save the Ketcham House
The Ketcham House at 190-21 Hollis Avenue is one of Southeast Queens' most significant historic landmarks — a rare surviving Italianate farmhouse dating to before 1849, featured in the AIA Guide to New York City, potentially linked to the Underground Railroad, and immortalized in the feature film Foreclosure.
Despite its extraordinary historical significance, it is not a protected landmark and remains under threat of demolition. The HPA is actively working with the Queens Historical Society and other preservation organizations to protect this house that gave Hollis its beginnings.
- Rare surviving historic farmhouse in Southeast Queens
- Integral to the founding and development of Hollis
- Potential Underground Railroad history under investigation
Save Woodhull School of Historic St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church
Woodhull Day School operated from St. Gabriel’s Parish Hall on Woodhull Avenue and became one of old Hollis’s most essential educational anchors. By 1939, it enrolled over 100 students and was widely recognized as "A School Where Character Is Built." Its legacy reaches far beyond the classroom: Woodhull represents the civic world that defined old Hollis—a network of churches, schools, parish halls, and youth formation programs that knitted the neighborhood together.
St. Gabriel’s campus also preserves the collective memory of Hollis’s founding families, including the Ketchams, Lotts, Nagles, Laphams, and Butlers. Their names appear throughout church records, memorial gifts, and parish histories, marking them as pillars who helped shape the community’s early foundation. Today, as the campus faces the uncertainty of large-scale redevelopment, this site requires urgent attention; its preservation is vital to ensuring that the landmarks which represent the families and institutions who built Southeast Queens are not lost to history.
- Civic Anchor: Historic educational landmark at the heart of old Hollis’s civic life.
- Deep Roots: A spiritual and community legacy linked to the founding Ketcham, Lott, Nagle, Lapham, and Butler families.
- Preservation Alert: Currently dormant and unprotected; facing redevelopment uncertainty.
Protect St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, founded in 1902, emerged from the faith and determination of African American workers who, denied a full welcome at the historic Grace Episcopal Church, began building a spiritual home of their own in a nearby barn. From these humble beginnings, St. Stephen’s grew into a cornerstone of Southeast Queens, evolving into a vital institution rooted in worship, education, mutual aid, and community support. It stands as a profound testament to Black institution-building and religious self-determination in the early 20th century.
For the HPA, St. Stephen’s is more than a historic landmark; it is an irreplaceable piece of our community’s physical memory. Its survival is essential to the broader story of Hollis and Jamaica, preserving the legacy of the families who built this neighborhood from the ground up. Protecting St. Stephen’s ensures that the spaces which fostered dignity, resilience, and belonging remain visible for generations to come.
- Founded by African American workers who organized a place of worship after exclusion elsewhere
- A historic Black Episcopal institution rooted in faith, education, training, and mutual aid
- An irreplaceable landmark of dignity, resilience, and community-building
Our Mission Statement
The Mission of the Hollis Preservation Association is to help residents work together for the upkeep, dignity, history, and future of Hollis.
- 1 Enhance, preserve, and advocate for the aesthetic character, sense of community, and quality of life within the neighborhood of Hollis
- 2 Encourage residents to network and work together for the upkeep, general good, and the power to effect positive changes in Hollis
- 3 Act together with residents and appropriate agencies to preserve the historical resources of Hollis
- 4 Be a source of information about community resources while educating and informing the community about the rich history, current events, and ongoing vitality of Hollis
- 5 Implement and support programs for the general good of the community
Community Voice
HPA helps residents stay informed about the issues shaping Hollis — preservation, development, public safety, beautification, and neighborhood pride. A previous HPA campaign helped focus attention on a problem smoke shop, and its removal showed what organized community advocacy can accomplish.
Community Watch
Help residents stay informed, and connected on issues that affect quality-of-life, and provide practical ways to report problems or speak up before decisions are made without community input.
- Neighborhood alerts and quality-of-life concerns- parking, dumping, traffic, overdevelopment
- Development, zoning, preservation, and public safety updates
- Meeting reminders, reporting links, and resident action items, city services
Hollis History Spot
Hollis has a deep and fascinating history. It is more than just a place; it is a living legacy, pure history in motion. HPA highlights the people, institutions, and stories that shaped the community we know today.
Explore this amazing town through the photographs, memories, landmarks and people that shaped our community — from neighborhood industry and public spaces to the residents whose lives helped define Hollis, NY.
Hollis Historic Places
Notable Residents
Community Champions
Pioneers of Hollis Map
In Their Own Words
Then & Now
Resources & Action
We connect neighbors with community contacts, meetings, public agencies, surveys, events, and opportunities to speak up.
Your Community Contacts
Why Hollis Matters
Hollis is more than a place on a map. It is a historic neighborhood shaped by generations of families, homeowners, churches, schools, civic leaders, immigrants, artists, workers, and neighbors who built a community with pride and purpose.
- Birthplace of rap as a genre — LL Cool J, Run-DMC, and 50 Cent grew up here; Hollis is ground zero for one of the world's most influential art forms.
- Home of the original Gibson Girl — the Ketcham House itself carries a chapter of early American glamour and celebrity history.
- Pioneers at every level — Art Buchwald, the Cuomo family, Colin Powell, Al Sharpton's childhood, the Guinier family, and more are spotlighted in our ongoing History Series.
- A landscaper for the ages — Herbert W. Schmitt, whose vision shaped the grounds of the 1930s World's Fair in Chicago, called Hollis home.
- African American heritage and cultural excellence — a neighborhood shaped by generations of leaders, artists, and community builders.
- Historic architecture and green streets — rooted in the late 19th century, with homes that still tell the story of old Queens.
- The Ketcham House — a possible link to the Underground Railroad, and home to the original Gibson Girl.
- A thriving, diverse community — a proud and still-unfolding sense of place, and the list of pioneers goes on.
Connect with the Hollis Preservation Association
Join us, volunteer, or simply stay informed. Together we can make Hollis the community we know it can be. Whether you're a longtime resident, a history enthusiast, or simply someone who loves Hollis — we'd love to hear from you.
