Jacob Riis was a prominent photographer, journalist and reformer. His reports on slum dwellings and the abuses of lower-class urban life led to his first book, "How the Other Half Lives", and to a friendship with Theodore Roosevelt. In 1890, Riis discovered Richmond Hill and thought it the most beautiful spot he had ever seen. For almost 25 years, he made his home on Beech Street just south of Division Avenue in Richmond Hill. Today, we call that location 120th Street south of 84th Avenue in Kew Gardens.