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Jackson Heights is now one of the most crowded and ethnically kaleidoscopic communities in the city. But its transit hub dates back to a time when, believe it or not, the area was sparsely populated.
In 1917, as modern development of Queens was just taking off, the No. 7 train on the elevated IRT Flushing line was extended from Corona to the quaint, well-to-do "garden city" of Jackson Heights, setting the stage for the neighborhood's growth.
The separate IND line, now carrying the E, F, V, G, and R trains, arrived more than a decade later. Jackson Heights developer Edward MacDougall - politically, but not esthetically, the Donald Trump of his day - knew the importance of convenient transportation from...