Open House New York: Historic Queens Venues Open To The Public

QUEENS — More than two dozen historic venues and design studios across Queens will open their doors to the public this weekend for the 17th annual Open House New York weekend.

In total, 250 hidden treasures across New York City will be accessible to the public Friday through Sunday.

Visitors can take tours or hear talks from experts at some of the sites, while others will be open to explore on your own. Reservations are required at certain locations, but many will let New Yorkers come and go as they please.

Some locations are already sold out, but here are all the Queens venues that are still accessible during this year's weekend of exploration. For more information visit ohny.org.

Astoria & Long Island City

Amie Gross Architects: 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday
This architecture firm focuses on design for diverse urban communities.

Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Located atop the historic Standard Motors Building, this 45,000-square-foot rooftop farm is one of three operated by Brooklyn Grange, the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing
business in the United States.

Hunters Point Library: 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday
The library, designed by Steven Holl Architects, opened in October 2019. The 22,000-square-foot, concrete building affords panoramic views of the East River, Manhattan and Queens.

The Noguchi Museum: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
This museum was founded and designed by American artist Isamu Noguchi to display examples of his life's work and features a serene sculpture garden. Tours are at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. both days.

Steinway Reformed Church: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
Built in 1889 on land donated by William Steinway, president of piano manufacturer Steinway & Sons, the pipe organ from the legendary Steinway Hall was once installed in the sanctuary. Tours are on the half hour starting at 1:30 pm. Talks are on the hour starting at 2 p.m.

Stickbulb: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Housed in the original Empire City Iron Works, New York's oldest steel and iron company, this space retains many original industrial details while serving as gallery, studio, and manufacturing facility for the lighting brand.

Welling Court Mural Project: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

This groundbreaking street art project features over 150 murals by artists from all corners of
the globe. Visitors this weekend will be able to meet the organizers, artists, and residents who make it happen.

Bayside

Bayside Historical Society: 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday
The Castle at Fort Totten, home of Bayside Historical Society, is one of the finest surviving examples of the Gothic Revival style in NYC. Until 1902, it was home to the US Army Corp of
Engineers.

On land originally inhabited by Matinecock Indians, and named for the Civil War fortress in which it resides, it was initially charged with defending the eastern approach to New York Harbor, it later served as a casualty support hospital.

Flushing

Bowne House: 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
The oldest house in Queens, this was home to nine generations of the Bowne/Parsons family. Visit for a special celebration of the Flushing Remonstrance. There are tours on the hour.

Flushing Quaker Meeting House: 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
The oldest house of worship in New York, the Meeting House is a rare example of Medieval ecclesiastical architecture and a symbol of the first successful struggle for religious
freedom in America. Visitors have included George Washington and William Penn. Tours are every 30 minutes both days.

The Hindu Temple Society of North America: 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
This is the first Hindu Temple in North America. The building, composed largely of imported
granite materials, was constructed by special artisans from India and is one of the most impressive and historically important Hindu temples in the West. Tours every 30 minutes both days.

Lewis Latimer House Museum: 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
This Queen Anne-style, wood frame residence was the former home of African American inventor Lewis H. Latimer, chief draftsman for Thomas Edison and a key contributor to the development of the telephone alongside Alexander Graham Bell.

Queens Historical Society: 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
The largest and most active historical society in Queens, QHS promotes and supports the social,
political, and economic history of Queens — including the maintenance of an archive library, Kingsland Homestead, and Moore-Jackson Cemetery.

Voelker Orth Museum: 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Occupying an 1891 landmaked house, home to three generations of a German immigrant family, the museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the area’s cultural and horticultural heritage. Tours of the period rooms and garden on a drop-in basis

Forest Hills

The Church-In-The-Gardens: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

This still-active church was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted collaborator Grosvenor Atterbury along with John Almay Tompkins. The 1915 building is "dominated by Gothic and Norman influences, with touches of the Romanesque," according to Open House.

Jamaica

King Manor Museum: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
This historic house museum preserves and interprets the legacy of Rufus King, a national figure
in the early anti-slavery movement. With an innovative presentation of life in Jamaica, Queens in the early 19th century. Tour at 1 p.m. both days.

Established in 1917 as a US Army Coast Artillery Post, it protected the entrance to New York Harbor from naval attack during World Wars I and II and housed missile defenses through 1974.

GallopNYC Sunrise Stables: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Explore one of NYC’s last remaining horse stables and operating barns, providing equine therapy, animal interaction, and riding opportunities to New Yorkers of all ages. Tours every 30 minutes both days.

Ridgewood

Vander Ende-Onderdonk House: 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
On the National Register of Historic Places, this is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in NYC and serves today as a museum, with exhibits on the archaeology of the site and on history, arts and culture.