Progressive Housing in New York City: - Columbia University ...

Margaret Olivia Sage
Image from Crocker, p. 196.
Russell Sage
Image by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
In 1908 the foundation, under the advice of Robert Weeks de Forest, donated the money to build
Forest Hills Gardens, a model housing project in Queens. De Forest was a layer who had been
involved in the Reform Housing Movement for years and whose firm represented Russell Sage.
Mrs. Sage thought the suburbs, as she refer to the outer boroughs, needed better and more
attractive facilities for low-income families. She had been in England and had the idea of
recreating its garden cities in the suburbs, where the buildings or houses could be surrounded by
flowers and gardens and had accessibility to playgrounds and recreation facilities. She also
believed that the buildings for this complex should be of, quote, “tasteful design, constructed in
brick, cement, or other permanent material, even though of somewhat greater initial cost are
more economical in durability and lesser repair bills”, end quote. The idea was to provide
healthful homes at low rates so that families of modest means would be able to afford good
housing conditions and, by proving this method to work, encourage other such projects.
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