HOLLIS
Geographic Setting
Bounded by Hillside Avenue to the north, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east, Hollis Avenue and 104th Avenue to the south, and 180th Street to the west, Hollis lies in southeastern Queens—a historic residential enclave whose tidy streets, tree canopies, and civic institutions reflect both the borough’s suburban aspirations and its deep cultural legacy. Nestled between Jamaica, St. Albans, and Queens Village, the neighborhood occupies a gentle slope that rises southward from Hillside Avenue toward the low ridge separating Jamaica from the southern flatlands. Hollis today remains defined by its mix of single-family homes, strong community organizations, and a long tradition of local pride rooted in music, education, and working-class achievement.
The neighborhood’s primary arteries—Hollis Avenue, Francis Lewis Boulevard, Jamaica Avenue, and Hillside Avenue—carry the pulse of local life, lined with small businesses, churches, schools, and family-owned storefronts. The Long Island Rail Road’s Hollis Station, along Hillside Avenue and 193rd Street, provides direct rail access to Midtown Manhattan, while bus lines connect the area to the Jamaica transit hub. Architecturally, Hollis presents a cohesive suburban landscape: early- and mid-20th-century Colonial, Tudor, and Cape Cod–style homes, many with gardens and driveways, interspersed with modest apartment houses near the commercial corridors. The community’s sense of separation from nearby Jamaica—reinforced by the LIRR tracks—has helped preserve its quiet, residential identity even as the surrounding region urbanized.
Etymology and Origins
The name “Hollis” was officially adopted in the 1880s by real estate developer Frederick W. Dunton, a nephew of railroad magnate Austin Corbin and an early planner of suburban Queens. The area was part of the colonial Town of Jamaica, settled by English farmers in the 17th century, and remained primarily farmland for nearly two centuries. The name likely derives from the English village of Hollis, New Hampshire, where Dunton had business ties. He chose the name to lend a sense of New England gentility to what he envisioned as a pastoral commuter suburb.
Hollis developed around the Long Island Rail Road, which extended service to the area in 1885, making it one of Queens’ earliest true “railroad suburbs.” Dunton laid out streets, built homes, and marketed the district as a retreat for professionals working in Manhattan and Brooklyn—“country living within the city’s reach.” Early maps show a grid centered on Hollis Avenue and Hillside Avenue, with large lots, tree plantings, and a planned station area designed to evoke small-town order.
The Neighborhood
Early 20th Century: Suburban Growth and Civic Identity
By the early 1900s, Hollis had blossomed into a thriving residential district, part of the wave of middle-class development that followed Queens’ consolidation into Greater New York City in 1898. The neighborhood’s large plots and proximity to Jamaica made it particularly attractive to professionals and tradesmen. Brick and frame houses multiplied along 188th and 190th Streets, while small businesses emerged around Hollis Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard to serve the growing population.
Community institutions soon followed. P.S. 35Q, established in 1905, became one of the area’s earliest public schools. Churches—among them St. Gerard Majella Roman Catholic Church, Hollis Presbyterian Church, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church—anchored neighborhood life. Civic associations promoted beautification and local improvements, while residents lobbied successfully for improved roads, streetlights, and sewers. By the 1930s, Hollis was firmly established as a solidly middle-class enclave defined by homeownership, family life, and civic pride.
The neighborhood’s character during this period was notably stable and suburban, even as Jamaica to the west evolved into a dense commercial center. Hollis Station on the LIRR provided a direct commute to Manhattan, reinforcing the area’s identity as a commuter community. The architectural coherence of its single-family homes—many built by the same developers who shaped nearby Queens Village—gave Hollis a sense of planned unity that endures today.
Mid-20th Century: Community Shifts and Cultural Renaissance
The decades following World War II brought significant demographic and cultural change. As new highways and bridges facilitated suburban expansion, many white residents moved eastward into Nassau County, and African-American families—many veterans and professionals—began purchasing homes in Hollis and nearby St. Albans. By the 1960s, Hollis had become a center of Black homeownership, civic activism, and cultural pride, one of several Queens neighborhoods that symbolized the rising Black middle class in New York.
With this shift came a remarkable cultural flowering. During the 1970s and 1980s, Hollis gained national fame as a cradle of hip-hop music, home to pioneering artists such as Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Ja Rule, whose lyrics and style reflected the neighborhood’s mix of suburban aspiration and streetwise creativity. Hollis Park and local schools became gathering places for early rap and breakdancing culture, while Hollis Avenue—lined with record shops and barbershops—formed the neighborhood’s cultural corridor.
Despite the city’s financial struggles in the 1970s, Hollis remained relatively stable thanks to strong local institutions and a tradition of civic engagement. Block associations, church groups, and youth organizations helped maintain property values and community safety. The Hollis Local Development Corporation, formed in the 1980s, worked to revitalize commercial corridors and support small businesses.
Late 20th–21st Century: Stability, Diversity, and Renewal
By the turn of the 21st century, Hollis had evolved into one of Queens’ most diverse yet cohesive neighborhoods. While African-American families continued to form its core, growing populations of Caribbean, South Asian, and Latino residents enriched its cultural and culinary landscape. The housing stock—predominantly one- and two-family homes—remained well maintained, a testament to the neighborhood’s strong tradition of ownership and pride.
Commercial life along Hollis Avenue, Francis Lewis Boulevard, and Jamaica Avenue continues to balance old and new: soul food restaurants beside West Indian bakeries, beauty salons alongside halal markets. Schools such as P.S. 118, P.S. 134, and I.S. 192 reflect the multilingual character of modern Queens, while civic associations like the Hollis Homeowners and Civic Association advocate for local infrastructure, flood prevention, and green space. The proximity to major transit routes—the Hillside Avenue buses, LIRR, and the Grand Central Parkway—ensures both accessibility and suburban calm.
Environmental and resiliency initiatives in recent years have focused on stormwater management and green infrastructure, particularly in low-lying areas near 104th Avenue. Meanwhile, the Hollis Playground, Latimer Playground, and Hollis Veterans Square serve as communal anchors where residents gather for block parties and neighborhood festivals.
Spirit and Legacy
Hollis’ enduring spirit lies in its balance of history, culture, and community. From its origins as a 19th-century railroad suburb to its mid-century reinvention as a beacon of Black middle-class pride, the neighborhood has consistently embodied the ideals of stability and self-determination. Its musical heritage endures in the rhythms that once pulsed from basement studios and park concerts, while its tree-lined streets and tidy homes remind visitors that Hollis was—and remains—a place of belonging.
New York City
Use this custom Google map to explore where every neighborhood in all five boroughs of New York City is located.
The Five Boroughs
One of New York City’s unique qualities is its organization in to 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. These boroughs are part pragmatic administrative districts, and part vestiges of the region’s past. Each borough is an entire county in New York State - in fact, Brooklyn is, officially, Kings County, while Staten Island is, officially Richmond County. But that’s not the whole story …
Initially, New York City was located on the southern tip of Manhattan (now the Financial District) that was once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Across the East River, another city was rising: Brooklyn. In time, the city planners realized that unification between the rapidly rising cities would create commercial and industrial opportunities - through streamlined administration of the region.
So powerful was the pull of unification between New York and Brooklyn that three more counties were pulled into the unification: The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. And on January 1, 1898, the City of New York unified two cities and three counties into one Greater City of New York - containing the five boroughs we know today.
But because each borough developed differently and distinctly until unification, their neighborhoods likewise uniquely developed. Today, there are nearly 390 neighborhoods, each with their own histories, cultures, cuisines, and personalities - and each with residents who are fiercely proud of their corner of The Big Apple.
