Forest Hill station for kids
The Oldest Subway Stop in the West. The true story of Forest Hill station, near San Francisco, CA, told for kids.
Read along
Rumble, rumble! Did you know there's a train station hidden inside a hill near here? It's called Forest Hill station. It was built way back, from 1916 to 1918, when people dug a long tunnel right through the hill. Digging through a hill is like poking a straw through a giant pizza!
And here's the whoa part. People say it's the oldest subway station west of Philadelphia and east of Istanbul. That's a super-duper long way! So this station is older than everybody's grandma's grandma's cat, probably. Even movie makers liked it.
They filmed scenes for two movies down inside. Now here's your job. Look for a train that goes into a hill and pops out the other side. Can you say rumble, rumble when it goes in?
Quiz the back seat
What did people dig through the hill to make this station?
Show the answer
A tunnel. A tunnel! The station used to be named Laguna Honda, and you can still see those old letters carved on the building.
3 fun facts
- Forest Hill station was built from 1916 to 1918 as part of the Twin Peaks Tunnel.
- It is the oldest subway station west of Philadelphia and east of Istanbul.
- Scenes from the films Dirty Harry and Milk were shot inside.
For grown-ups
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Sources
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Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).