Forest Hills

Environment

Since its founding more than 80 years ago, Forest Hills has remained a distinctive neighborhood. Almost all of its more than 200 residences exhibit the ornamental architecture and craftsmanship that blossomed in America between the Two World Wars, charming visual echoes of English Cottages, Tudor Manors, French, Mediterranean, Colonial and other styles, with roads planned by one of America's premier landscape architects and graced with ornamental lampposts... an abundance of trees, many towering (the great Oak on East 58th Street is over 200 years old), many blooming in the spring, most ablaze with autumn colors... beautiful gardens continuing Mrs. Stevenson's example... and borders marked by our brick and Indiana limestone columns.

Anything else that's important to mention - people buy homes in Forest Hills because of the homes themselves, but they stay because of the neighborhood. Neighbors who have left invariably return for neighborhood events. You really never leave Forest Hills.

History

Forest Hills was part of Stevenson's Woods, which a century ago was given to Benjamin Stevenson and two of his sisters. In 1911 Benjamin Stevenson built an imposing house for his bride, Earla Bowers Stevenson. Earla Stevenson was an avid gardener, whose spectacular flowers attracted many visitors, and she also earned great acclaim as a golfer, winning the first Indiana Women's Golf Association Championship in 1922, the same year her husband subdivided his part of Stevenson's Woods and named it Forest Hills. With construction of the new Forest Hills roads, the Stevenson house acquired a new address, 718 East 57th Street, in the Town of Broad Ripple (soon to be annexed to the City of Indianapolis), where this fine house is still admired today.

Historic Designation

Forest Hills received a National Register of Historic Places designation in 1983, becoming the first neighborhood in Washington Township to be so recognized.

Entryways and Landmarks

Forest Hills may be entered through six portals, wo each along Northview Ave., College Ave., and Kessler Blvd., each framed by brink Indiana Limestone topped columns bearing plaques indicating the name of the neighborhood and its designation on the National Register.

As noted above, Forest Hills is home to a wide range of architectural styles. Because our streets curve, they naturally form no less than four huge open areas which serve to host various neighborhood events. Visit the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association website for a slideshow of many of their homes.