Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Jamaica, Queens, New York, New York

Rufus King Manor

Grace Episcopal Church, 1862

Jamaica Ave. market

La Casina, Art Moderne Style, 1934

Jamaica Savings Bank, Beaux Arts Style, 1898
The Firehouse, 1925

Kurtz Store, Art Deco Style, 1930s

Valencia Theater, 1929

Clock, Union Hall St.
Register Bldg, Italian Renaissance, 1898
Prospect Cemetery, 1668

Antique Poster, Archer Ave.

LIRR Jamaica Sta., 2003
Jamaica Ave. was an ancient trail for Native Americans.  The English acquired the land from the Dutch in 1664, naming it "jameco," the Canarsie word for beaver.  Jamaica was the first village of modern Queens and grew up along Jamaica Ave. in a span of about 15 blocks between Sutphin and Merrick Blvds.  Rufus King, a signer of the Constitution and early advocate for the abolition of slavery moved to Jamaica Ave. in 1805.  He created a Federalist-style manor, now a museum.  Walt Whitman was a resident while a typesetter for the Long Island Democratic newspaper in the 1840s.  King Kullen was the 1st supermarket in the U.S.  Let's not forget this was the home of 50 Cent and the origin of hiphop.

The area grew as a transportation hub, beginning with the 1834 Brooklyn and Jamaica RR Co.  The Long Island RR was completed in 1913.  The AirTrain rail link to JFK was completed in 2003, the station has the flavor of the Sydney Opera House !  The architecture between 150th and 163rd St. is spectacular, including the finest Beaux Arts building in the outer boroughs, the Jamaica Savings Bank.

Douglaston, Queens, New York, New York

Shore Rd.

"Here Rest the Last of the Matinecoc"

1819 Douglaston Club


 
Douglaston is hardly what one imagines as Queens.  Childhood home of pro tennis players John and Patrick McEnroe as well as Mary Carillo, Douglaston also is graced with an 1819 Greek Revival mansion built by Wynant Van Zandt, serving as the Douglaston Club.  The Zion Episcopal Church cemetery has a mass grave site for the Matinecoc Indians who once farmed the area.