and-beam construction with wooden floors. There are double
Dutch doors and numerous shuttered windows. In the cellar
stands the original fireplace and kitchen that was restored by
the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society. On display inside
the house are objects found during excavations conducted in the
1970s and 1980s as well as architectural and historical exhibits.
Inside scoop: Arbitration Rock is in the backyard. This boulder,
which is about the size of a Volkswagon Beetle and surrounded
on all sides by fences, was used to delineate the border between
what is now Brooklyn and Queens in the 18th century. (It was the
towns of Bushwick and Newtown back then.)
Address: 1820 Flushing Ave., Ridgewood, and www.
onderdonkhouse.org.
VOELKER ORTH MUSEUM
In the 1890s, German immigrant Conrad Voelcker, who ran a
printing business with his brothers, bought his dream house in
Flushing. He loved his garden. And so did his daughter, Theresa
Voelker (notice spelling change), who married Rudolph Orth, and
their daughter, Elisabetha Orth.
Today, the Voelker Orth property is distinguished by its Victorian
garden, which contains many of the most popular plants and
berry bushes of the late 19th century. These plants are maintained
the old fashioned way, with time-honored gardening techniques,
such as hand-pruning. The garden attracts migrating birds —
from the more common cardinals and blue jays to hummingbirds.
Monarch butterflies usually stop by for a visit in summer.
Volker Orth hosts performances, art exhibitions, and workshops
throughout the year, “Shakespeare in the Garden” during the
summer, and Oktoberfest Flushing Style: Sauerkraut and Kimchi,
in the fall.
Inside scoop: A bee colony on site helps to pollinate the flowers
and provides a small supply of honey for the museum’s education
and family programs and for sale in the fall.
Address: 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing, and www.vomuseum.org.
Editor’s note: Flushing Town Hall is also a landmarked, historic
house, but it’s mentioned in the Flushing section.
86 QUEENS IN YOUR POCKET • www.itsinqueens.com
/www.itsinqueens.com
/www.onderdonkhouse.org
/www.vomuseum.org
/www.onderdonkhouse.org
/onderdonkhouse.org
/www.vomuseum.org
/www.itsinqueens.com
