Kingsland Homestead&nbsp;is one of the earliest examples remaining of the&nbsp; Long Island half house which were once common on the island. Doughty's descendants would live in the house until 1937 when it was sold to another family. The house had since been moved to make way for a new apartment building. In 1968, the house was moved to its current location in Weeping Beech Tree Park and underwent a few years of restoration. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Founded in 1968, the Queens Historical Society is the largest and most active organization of its kind in the borough. It preserves the economic, social, and political history of Queens. It offers outreach programs, lectures, panel discussions, and concerts during the year. The society is housed in the historic Kingsland Homestead which was built in 1774-1785 by merchant and farmer Charles Doughty. 

Queens Historical Society and Kingsland Homestead

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This very short tour starts at the local museum and proceeds along Northern Boulevard to include historical buildings and other points of interest in the heart of the Flushing neighborhood.

<div>The Kingsland Homestead is one of the oldest surviving examples of the residential style construction common in Queens during the 18th and 19th centuries. This style is defined by the wide side hall and double parlors to one side. Additional characteristics include a central chimney, three front windows on the second floor, and a dependent kitchen wing. In 1801, Captain Joseph King purchased the farmhouse from his father-in-law. King was the one who named the building "Kingsland," as he made many improvements to it.&nbsp;These improvements included adding gutters and window shutters, painting the upstairs room and kitchen wing, adding a front porch flush board siding that ran the length of the building, and constructing three out-buildings. Then, in 1839, Joseph Harris King (Captain King's son) married the daughter of James Bloodgood and moved the Bloodgood Nursery into the Kingsland property. He also brought his nephew, William King Murray, into the business. William married Annie Cornelia Mitchell in 1868, and they both moved into Kingsland to raise their children. He added an attic apartment for his older sister, Mary. Mary kept a diary which contains most of the information that we now know about the homestead. This family lived on Kingsland into the late 1800s. After the Murrays bought an apartment in Kings Court, they sold the house to the Dixon family in 1937 because of the effect that the&nbsp;Great Depression had on them. The house later became a landmark in 1965; the first in&nbsp;Queens to have received this honor.&nbsp;But, due to the fear of a shopping center being built on the Homestead land,&nbsp;the Kingsland Preservation Committee with help from the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, moved the home&nbsp;to Weeping Beech Park in 1968. This new location was suitable&nbsp;because the park was originally part of the Parsons Nursery and the historic site of America's first weeping beech tree.&nbsp;&nbsp; Later in 1971, both the Kingsland Preservation Committee and the Queens Historical Society came together and&nbsp;restored the Homestead. This allowed the Homestead&nbsp;to open to the public&nbsp;as a museum. For the past three decades, the Queens Historical Society has used the Kingsland Homestead as a headquarters, and the rooms are used as exhibits, meeting places, archives, and libraries. It&nbsp;is also part of the Historic House Trust of New York City&nbsp;because it&nbsp;is a historic house in a city park.&nbsp;&nbsp; </div>

The Kingsland Homestead, a New York City landmark, is located in Murray Hill, Queens. It was built by Charles Doughty in 1785 but later bought by Joseph King. After that, it was threatened by multiple harmful expansions leading it to become one of the first buildings in the City to be declared a landmark. After being moved in 1968, it now sits in its new neighborhood and was officially declared a museum in March of 1973.

Kingsland Homestead

Weeping beech trees came to the United States in 1847 from Belgium. The trees originated in England where they were developed in 1836. Weeping beech trees have gray bark and branches that droop creating a canopy when the leaves are full. These trees are capable of rooting into the ground and creating offspring trees that are still part of the mother tree.&nbsp; This weeping beech tree, once located in Weeping Beech Park, was the first weeping beech tree ever brought to the United States. It came to New York as a seedling from Belgium in 1847. It was planted in its current location by Samuel Browne Parsons. Parsons was a horticulturalists who aimed to further diversify the vegetation found in the United States. In 1972, the tree was designated a New York City Landmark, protecting it as New York City expanded. Sadly, 26 years later, the tree died in 1998 of old age, making the tree 151 years old when it died. At its height, the tree stood 60 ft tall and had a canopy of branches and leaves that reached 80 ft in diameter.&nbsp;

The Weeping Beech Tree located in New York City is a type of European beech tree that was brought to the United States from Belgium and planted in 1847 by Samuel Browne Parsons. Parsons was a horticulturalists that lived in New York City. His son, Samuel Parsons Jr., later became the superintendent of New York City Parks. In 1998, the tree died of old age at the age of 151. At the time of its death, the tree was 60 ft tall with a canopy that stretched 80 ft across. 

The Weeping Beech Tree

The John Bowne House was named one of the best-preserved examples of Anglo-Dutch vernacular residential architecture in the United States. The original structure was first built around the year 1661&nbsp;and has gone through a variety of expansions, two in 1669 and 1680 respectively by John Bowne himself. Each subsequent restoration was put forth by his family. The current state of the house was completed in 1695. The house is a mix of Dutch and English architecture styles making it extremely unique. Its original plans were based on other Dutch plans. However, English building techniques were primarily used.John Bowne, the person to whom the house owes its name, was a known religious revolutionary in the United States. He played a direct role in the Flushing Remonstrance, which was a document signed by the various citizens of Flushing to combat Peter Stuyvesant’s religious bans. After the signing, many of the signers were arrested and the townspeople's Government of Flushing was disbanded. John Bowne openly defied the ban and aided the signers, known as Quakers, by allowing them to meet in his house. Bowne was soon arrested and banished to Holland where he fought for religious freedom against the Dutch West India Company. Peter Stuyvesant was soon forced to allow dissenting faiths to worship freely.The original Quakers emerged from England during the mid-1600s as a response to the religious turmoil coming from the Protestant Reformation. The Quakers emphasized ideas of pacifism, equality, simplicity, and integrity. The Quakers received little support for their new religion, and many were jailed throughout the time period. The missionary efforts of some of the Quakers brought them to America in hopes of spreading the young religion. Because of this, many became affiliated with Pennsylvania politics and were soon dominating the Penn state government. Quakers also played a large role in the abolition of slavery and were the first group in history to completely abolish the practice. They also were important in World War II where they helped raise funds during the war. The Quakers of today have continued their past ideals and are often associated with relief efforts.	After more than 350 years, the old Bowne house still stands in the same location, and it serves as a reminder of the difficult colonial time in America. It represents the struggle that the Quakers experienced in helping to shape the new nation, and how John Bowne was able to help the cause.<div> </div>

The John Bowne House in Queens, New York, is a historic home which is now the location of The Bowne Historical Society. It is one of the best examples of an Anglo-Dutch vernacular residence in the country. The house features 5,000 objects, documents, correspondences, and records of the Bowne family, who arrived in Boston from the Netherlands in 1649. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is also a New York City Landmark. 


John Bowne House 

George Heins, the designer of the Flushing Armory, was a partner of Heins and LaFarge, where he worked closely with George LaFarge beginning in 1886. The two architects had studied together at M.I.T. before starting their firm together. After teaming up, LaFarge served as the chief designer while Heins took over building and administrative responsibilities. In 1899, Heins was appointed as the official architect of New York State by Governor Theodore Roosevelt. He served in this position until his death in 1907.&nbsp; The Flushing Armory was designed and constructed between 1904 and 1905. The Armory was to house the 17th Separate Company, which was founded in 1876. Before relocating to the Flushing Armory, the Company had headquarters between Lawrence Street and Northern Boulevard. After World War I, the 17th became Company I, which was part of Brooklyn's 14th Regiment. The building was abandoned&nbsp;by the military in the 1990s.&nbsp;After the military left the Flushing Armory, the building became a shelter for homeless women. It was later turned into a gymnasium until the NYPD's Queens North Taskforce moved into it. The building is currently occupied by the Taskforce.&nbsp; When the Flushing Armory was designed, it was the first armory built in New York City during the 20th Century. However, Heins had designed similar armories elsewhere, including the&nbsp;Sixth Battery in Binghamton, the Third Separate Company in Oneonta, and the 19th Separate Company in Gloversville. Heins goal was to create a castle-like building that resembled those found across Europe. The building was constructed with brick and stone. To give it a towering presence, a five-story tower was added onto the corner of the building and a large entrance&nbsp;pavilion was included on the front. Thanks to its historical importance, the Flushing Armory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.&nbsp;

The Flushing Armory is located on Northern Boulevard in Flushing, New York. It was constructed between 1904 and 1905 to house the 17th Separate Company, a company founded in 1876. The Armory was designed by George Heins, who served as the State Architect in New York from 1899 to 1907. The military stopped using the building in the 1990s, and it became a homeless shelter for women. The Armory was also used as a gymnasium, but eventually, it was turned over to the NYPD's Queens North Task Force. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. 

Flushing Armory

Flushing Town Hall was built in 1862. It was designed in the Roman Romanesque Revival style, which was popular at the time. This round arch&nbsp;style of&nbsp;architecture&nbsp;originated in Germany&nbsp;and was used by many U.S. buildings during the Civil War era. Originally, the Town Hall was painted a very light color but was no longer used after problems arose during a restoration.&nbsp;During the Civil War, thousands of people from Long Island were sworn into the Union Army in the Town Hall's upstairs assembly hall. The ground floor of the Hall housed Flushing's civic offices. At the latter part of the 19th century, an extension was added to the original building. Flushing Town Hall then became a venue for theatrical productions and light opera. Famous performers at the time, such as&nbsp;P.T Barnum and Tom Thumb, performed in the Town Hall quite frequently.&nbsp; From 1902 until the early 1960s, Flushing Town Hall served as a courthouse. After the extension was added to the Town Hall, it also served as a jail. In addition, the lobby contained a bank branch, while the upstairs assembly hall&nbsp;continued to host community meetings and dances.&nbsp; The building that is now used for multicultural events was once used as a venue for important speakers. In 1645, it served as the seat of the government for the village of Flushing, formerly&nbsp;known as Vlissingen. Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands. With its convenient location between&nbsp;the Scheldt&nbsp;river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbor for centuries. Flushing Town Hall served as the seat of government until the consolidation with New York City occurred in 1898. This was when they expanded the city of New York to include the East Bronx, Bronx, Staten Island, and most of Queens County.&nbsp; One major historical event that&nbsp;occurred&nbsp;in Flushing Town Hall involved famous abolitionist and&nbsp;former slave, Frederick Douglas.&nbsp;In 1865, Frederick Douglass delivered his speech in Flushing Town Hall on the role of African Americans in antebellum America.&nbsp; In 1967, Flushing Town Hall was given protected status rights by&nbsp;the Landmarks Preservation Commission. It was also placed&nbsp;on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. This all contributed to the building's neglect from 1960 to the late 1980s. However, in 1990, with the help of&nbsp;Queens borough president,&nbsp;Claire Shulman, the City rescued the building and started looking for a &nbsp;non-profit organization to manage the&nbsp;facility.&nbsp;Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (FCCA) was chosen and helped restore the landmark by donating eight million dollars. They restored the Flushing Town Hall into a lively center for the performing arts. Today, Flushing Town Hall&nbsp;includes a 308-seat concert hall, a gallery, a classroom, offices, a garden that accommodates up to 250 people for outdoor events, and a gift shop.&nbsp;

Flushing Town Hall is a historic town hall located in Flushing, Queens. Originally established in 1645 to serve as the seat of the government of Flushing, it now serves to engage and educate people about Queens by holding global art events.Today, the building houses the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (FCCA). It was built in 1862 as a 2-story, brick building with a basement and attic. 

Flushing Town Hall 

Since 1977, the Old Quaker Meeting House in Flushing, Queens County&nbsp;has been&nbsp;recognized as a National Historic Landmark, an Individual New York City Landmark, and has also&nbsp;been&nbsp;listed in the&nbsp;National Register of Historical Places.&nbsp;It is a symbol of the earliest struggle of religious freedom in America alongside views against slavery, injustice, and violence. Notable figures&nbsp;like&nbsp;George Washington, John Woolman, and William Penn have all visited the Old Quaker Meeting House. Built in 1694 by John Bowne and his contemporaries,&nbsp;the Meeting House's original purpose&nbsp;was to serve as a venue for Quaker meetings and worship. At the time, the Quakers tolerated severe religious persecution by both Governor Peter Stuyvesant and the Flushing townspeople.&nbsp;Punishments ranged from&nbsp;fifty pound fines&nbsp;to banishment from the community. In 1662, Bowne was arrested for hosting a private, religious meeting, meanwhile&nbsp;refusing to pay the fine associated with the charge. Governor Stuyvesant sent Bowne across the ocean on a ship set for&nbsp;Holland. There, Bowne reached the West Indies Dutch Company and pleaded&nbsp;for help&nbsp;from greater authorities.&nbsp;A year later, Stuyvesant received a letter from the burghers in Holland&nbsp;demanding religious tolerance in the New World. Stuyvesant accepted their request and lifted the harsh punishments set upon the Quakers. Upon&nbsp;returning to New York,&nbsp;Bowne and John Rodman purchased three acres of land on Northern Boulevard to build a religious meeting house and graveyard by its side. Typical to the 17th&nbsp;century style architecture, the Quaker Meeting House is built upon&nbsp;a&nbsp;42-foot long oak-wood&nbsp;frame structure both plain&nbsp;and rectangular. The steep, hipped&nbsp;roof is almost as tall as the two stories below that support it. On the interior, the room features warm-toned&nbsp;floorboards with simplistic benches scattered around&nbsp;and hand-cut timber ceiling beams. Next to the Quaker Meeting House is a graveyard,&nbsp;burial grounds&nbsp;for many prominent figures of Long Island including John Bowne,&nbsp;William Burling, Matthew Franklin, and Samuel Leggett. Because the Quakers did not use headstones, those buried earlier were difficult to identify. Even when the headstones were incorporated, they were really small and bare with only initials to show for names. Over time, the headstones slowly sank into the ground, shifted positions, or were stolen. For the last 300 years, the Quaker Meeting House&nbsp;has and continues to be&nbsp;not only a place for free, religious&nbsp;worship, but also&nbsp;a symbol of education and a setting where people advocate for what they believe in.&nbsp;Nowadays, the site is used for the Peace &amp; Social Action Committee, book discussion groups, Library Committee, etc.&nbsp;Every Sunday, worship meetings are held&nbsp;at 11:00AM while tours are available from 12:00PM to 12:30PM.&nbsp;

The Old Quaker Meeting House, also known as the Friend's Meeting House, is located on the Northern Boulevard in Queens County, New York. Adjacent to the Old Quaker Meeting House is a graveyard that is the resting place for prominent citizens of the Long Island History. Built in 1694, the site has since become the oldest house of worship in the state of New York. Even today, people are still welcome to attend the weekly events open to everyone. 

Old Quaker Meeting House

The RKO Keith's Theatre opened on Christmas in 1928 as the Keith-Albee Theatre. It was designed by Thomas Lamb, an architect who worked on other theaters in New York. The theater was built in a Spanish Baroque Revival style, which included a grand foyer with dual staircases. Built during the Silent Film Era, the first show at the theater was "Three Week Ends." The theater was closed in 1986 when it was supposed to be replaced with a mall. However, local residents spoke out against the demolition, and it was halted by the city. The theater has been neglected since then. 

Walking Tour of Queens - Flushing Neighborhood

Queens Historical Society and Kingsland Homestead

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information