EXPLORE QUEENS’ PAST AT THESE
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens is filled with
history and families can
explore the borough’s
past at several historic
sites this fall and winter.
Here are seven great
house-museums where
you can go back in time
and learn about the
borough a little better,
while participating in
fun hands-on activities
and programs.
Lewis Latimer
House Museum, 34-41
37th St., Flushing
Visit the museumhouse
of African-American
inventor Lewis
Howard Latimer (1903-
1928) and learn about his
inspiring story through
interpretive wall panels
with photographs
and text, reproductions
of patents, drawings
and poems, original
artifacts, facsimiles,
HISTORIC SITES
furniture and interactive
installations. The
museum-house also illuminates
the life and
achievements of other
black scientists.
Louis Armstrong
House Museum, 34-56
109th St., Flushing
Louis Armstrong,
the world’s most famous
jazz musician, chose to
live in the neighborhood
of Corona from 1943
until his death in 1971.
The house-museum sustains
and promotes the
cultural, historical and
humanitarian legacy
of Louis Armstrong
with its collection of
archival materials that
documents the jazz musician’s
life and legacy.
Additionally, the museum
presents public programs
such as exhibits,
concerts, lectures and
film screenings, to educate
and inspire people
of all ages, origins and
locations.
Kingsland Homestead
(Queens Historical
Society), 143-35, 37th
Ave. Weeping Beech
Park, Flushing
Learn about the history
of Queens at QHS,
the largest and most active
historical society in
the borough founded in
1968. The organization
owns and maintains the
Kingsland Homestead, a
late 18th-century Long
Island Half-House style
structure that was the
first New York City landmark
in Queens County.
It is located in the historic
Weeping Beech
Park in Flushing. QHS
offers programs for children,
adults and seniors.
There are exhibitions
and outreach programs
including slide lectures,
panel discussions, tours
and concerts.
Fort Totten/Bayside
Historical Society
Since 1984, the Bayside
Historical Society
has been located at the
Castle in Fort Totten
Park. Built in 1887, the
building was originally
used the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers as their Officers’
Mess Hall and Club.
The Gothic Revival-style
Castle was placed on the
State and National Registers
of Historic Places in
1986. The BHS serves as a
learning destination collecting
and preserving information
on the history
of Bayside. It has become
the home of events, educational
programs, exhibits
and archival collections.
Rufus King Manor,
150-03 Jamaica Ave.,
Southeast Queens
Adults and children
can learn about the context
of life in Jamaica
and the U.S. in the early
19th Century at King
Manor, located at 150-03
Jamaica Ave. The only
historic house museum
in southeast Queens,
King Manor serves a
largely minority and
immigrant community
engaging audiences
through historic site
tours, interactive exhibits,
lectures, public programs
and school/community
outreach.
Queens County
Farm Museum, 73-50
Little Neck Pkwy.
There’s plenty to do
at the Queens County
Farm Museum in Floral
Park! The 47-acre parcel
is the longest continuously
farmed site
in New York state. The
green pasture includes
historic farm buildings,
a greenhouse complex,
livestock, farm vehicles
and implements, planting
fields, an orchard,
and an herb garden.
Open seven days a week,
year-round from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m., visitors can go
for a stroll around the
farm and go on a tour
of the historic Adriance
Farmhouse and seasonal
hayrides.
Poppenhusen Institute,
114-04 14th Road,
College Point
The victorian-style
historic building in College
Point housed the
first free kindergarten
in America. The institution
provided the first
free evening classes for
adults and today operates
as a community
cultural center. It offers
programs for children
and adults that include:
karate classes, group
guitar and piano lessons,
stress workshops,
historic exhibits, school
and summer tours,
among other activities
A12 TIMESLEDGER, GUIDE TO QUEENS, FALL-WINTER 2019 TL TIMESLEDGER.COM
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