Mural Commemorating Helen Keller Installed In Forest Hills

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A mural commemorating Helen Keller went up Friday in Forest Hills, where the blind and deaf author and activist lived for two decades.

The mural, designed by street artists Crisp and Praxis, was installed in the Ascan Ave. underpass below the Long Island Rail Road.

The design features Helen Keller's face, her long-demolished Forest Hills home and her well-known quote, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."

A mural commemorating Helen Keller is going up this morning in Forest Hills, where she once lived. pic.twitter.com/uRsP9GgRis
— Maya Kaufman (@mayakauf) June 14, 2019

From 1917 to 1938, Keller lived at Seminole Ave. and Fife St. — what is now the corner of 112th St. and 71st Rd — with her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, according to historian Michael Perlman, who coordinated the mural project.

"It's a blessing to see a challenging project coming to fruition after two years," Perlman said Friday. "Helen Keller is a beacon of light and hope."

Forest Hills residents gathered in the underpass Friday morning to watch workers put up the mural.

The installation followed a two-day painting process at the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, which stands on the site of Keller's former brick-gabled and limestone home, which she called "our castle on the marsh," according to Perlman.

"She was an important part of our community, and I thought it was important we commemorate that in some way," said Red Pipe Café owner Rene David Alkalay, who helped sponsor the project.

City Council Member Karen Koslowitz, who represents Forest Hills, also contributed funding.

The Helen Keller mural will live across Ascan Avenue from another of Perlman's mural projects, called "A Tribute To Ascan Avenue & The Forest Hills Gardens."