Richmond Hill station (LIRR)

Richmond Hill
The abandoned station canopy viewed in October 2020.
General information
LocationHillside Avenue and Babbage Street
Richmond Hill, Queens, New York
Coordinates40°42′02″N 73°49′56″W / 40.70056°N 73.83222°W / 40.70056; -73.83222
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Line(s)Montauk Branch
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
History
Opened1869
ClosedMarch 16, 1998
Rebuilt1923
ElectrifiedAugust 29, 1905
Previous namesClarenceville (1869–1871)
Former services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station
Ridgewood Montauk Branch Dunton
toward Montauk
Location
Map

The Richmond Hill station is a closed station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The station is located at Myrtle Avenue and cuts diagonally from the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard through to Hillside Avenue. The station has two tracks and an island platform. Richmond Hill was the only station on the Lower Montauk Branch that was elevated with a high-level platform for passengers to wait for trains; the others were at ground level, with low-level platforms.

The Richmond Hill station was originally built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island in 1869 as the Clarenceville station. After New York City and the Long Island Rail Road began negotiating the elimination of numerous at-grade crossings within Queens in the 1910s, the current station was opened on a viaduct in 1923. The station was closed on March 16, 1998, along with nine others due to low ridership and the potential cost of upgrading the stations to modern standards; at the time of its closure, the station averaged one passenger per day.