When The "City of the Future" was built at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, the Cord Meyer Company had already been serving the people of Queens for over forty years, and the Meyer family had been an integral part of the community life for almost a century.

By the early 1890's, Cord Meyer, Jr. had recognized that Queens would not remain a rural outpost or the limited preserve of a few wealthy landholders. He envisioned a vital, growing neighborhood with homes, schools, shops, and services. As a result, he purchased a farm in Newtown from Samuel Lord, co-founder of Lord & Taylor, and renamed the area Elmhurst. He laid out subdivisions and streets, installed sewers, and established trolley connections. The area prospered and inspired similar growth in the adjoining areas.

The family real estate firm was originally structured as a partnership with Cord's brothers, Christian and John, holding equal shares. In 1899, the partnership became a corporation: The Cord Meyer Company.

As the Twentieth Century began, he pursued his interest in real estate. He acquired a substantial parcel of land in the Hopedale section of Whitepot, designed street layouts, introduced utilities, and built single family homes. Schools and shopkeepers soon followed, and as time unfolded, Cord named his town "Forest Hills." The creation of Forest Hills marked the advent of Cord Meyer Development Company, which was incorporated in December of 1904 with Cord Meyer, Jr. as its first president.