Verify Out the Historic Homes of Queens, Native Tourism Exec. Pens E-book

The cover picture from 1883 shows the Rikers Mansion, which was destroyed in a fire at the beginning of the 20th century. The property was in East Elmhurst (photo courtesy Marion Duckworth Smith)

April 20, 2021 by Christina Santucci

What do the homes of Louis Armstrong, William Steinway, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rufus King have in common?

All are featured in the new book, Historic houses of the queens, scheduled for release next month.

The book – written by Rob MacKay, director of public relations, tourism and marketing at Queens Economic Development Corporation – features more than 50 homesteads, mansions, oceanfront getaways and architecturally significant apartment buildings around the borough as well as several historic neighborhoods in Queens.

Historic Houses of Queens describes the architecture, the owners, the surrounding districts and the special features of the residences. The book also informs readers about the fate of each house – as some are no longer standing.

“Queens is such a fascinating place,” said MacKay, a resident of Sunnyside Gardens. “Just as the community is diverse with people at the moment, it is also diverse with its houses.”

Some of the houses became famous for the famous people who once lived in them.

King – a senator, signatory to the Constitution, and a vocal critic of slavery – lived on a large family farm in Jamaica. The property has since been converted into that King Manor Museum.

Louis Armstrong’s house in Corona is also a museum about his life, his music and his legacy. And less than 1.5 miles away – in East Elmhurst – is the green-hued former residence of civil rights leader Malcolm X, which was set on fire with two Molotov cocktails in 1965.

The oldest house in the book – that Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead, which historians consider to be the oldest house in town that is still used as a private home, dates from the middle of the 18th century. MacKay toured the house with its current owner as part of his research.

“The story of the United States and New York is told through the houses,” said MacKay.

Numerous celebrities lived in Addisleigh Park, including James Brown. The legendary singer lived at 175-19 Linden Blvd. (Photo: Courtesy Rob MacKay)

The historic Addisleigh Park neighborhood in St. Albans has been home to many historical figures. Among them were jazz star Ella Fitzgerald, civil rights activist WEB DuBois and singer James Brown, also known as “The Godfather of Soul”, and Robinson, the first African American player in Major League Baseball.

The book also contains Parkway Village in Briarwood, built for United Nations workers, and in the home of Kew Gardens Ralph Bunche, the first African American person to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Bunche received the award in 1950 for his work as a peace negotiator in the Middle East.

Meanwhile the Steinway Manson In Astoria – an Italian villa where the famous piano maker once lived – there were 27 rooms. The mansion’s interior included a library with floor-to-ceiling carved bookcases, five Italian marble fireplaces, and a two-story arched rotunda with a stained-glass skylight, MacKay said.

“It still stands, but it’s nothing like what it was in its former glory,” he said.

MacKay researched and obtained photos of the homes from the US Library of Congress, the Queens Public Library, the New York City Archives, the New York Historical Society, and other archives. Carl Ballenas of the Richmond Hill Historical Society and Bob Singleton of the Greater Astoria Historical Society also helped find historical images, MacKay said.

Rob MacKay, the author of Historic Houses of Queens in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Photo: Asha MacKay)

The book contains around 200 photos – on 210 pages.

The idea for the book started at the beginning of the pandemic – when MacKay, who heads the Queens Tourism Council, realized that the local tourism industry would suffer.

“When it was found out in March last year that COVID was going to stay here, I knew tourism was going to take a hit,” he said.

So he came up with the idea for his book and introduced it to Arcadia Publishing with the aim of highlighting the history of the district and encouraging people to explore Queens as soon as it was safe to do so again.

“It was a love work. I’ve learned a lot, ”said MacKay. “I spent a lot of Saturdays and Sundays getting it done … but I’m really happy about it.”

Historic Houses of Queens is set to be released on May 10, and MacKay plans to start talking about the book at several historic societies and bookstores starting next month. The dates of these discussions have not yet been determined.

Arcadia Publishing also has several other titles that describe the district’s history. This includes books about the Douglaston-Little Neck, Jamaica Estates, Broad Channel, St. Albans and Bayside neighborhoods, as well as Queens landmarks like the Queensboro Bridge.

To buy historic homes from queens Click here

Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz moved into the house at 23th 97th St. 23-11 in East Elmhurst in 1960. (Courtesy Rob MacKay)

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