The elevated plain just north of Van Cortlandt Park was transformed into a neighborhood of winding and leafy streets with commodious dwellings beginning in the late 1880s. The opening of a train station nearby offered easy access and the developer behind the neighborhood, the American Real Estate Company, added a further enticement by installing an elevator from the station to their new neighborhood on the hill. They enthusiastically pitched their project in booklets, ads, and advertorials with the promise of relief from tiny city homes.