In the early 1900's, the section of North Richmond Hill surrounding today's 116th Street and Metropolitan Avenue was a cornfield. In the top picture, the photographer is standing in that cornfield looking south over the Village of Richmond Hill. The street running off into the distance was Walnut Street, known today as 116th Street. The arrow indicates the Richmond Hill High School. The bottom picture, taken from a slightly different perspective, shows the changes that took place in just 40 years.