Douglaston and Little Neck Historical Society, Inc.

Jane's Walk 2025: Sat. May 3 | 3pm | “The Hill” – As Far Out As You Can Get and Still Be in NYC
2025-05-03 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Guided by Kevin Wolfe AND Victor Dadras, Douglaston and Little Neck Historical Society.
Join us for a walking tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the designation of the Douglaston Hill neighborhood–“The Hill”–as a New York City Historic District.
This distinctive neighborhood of single family houses, many with wrap around porches, dates from the late 19thcentury. Located in the extreme Northeast corner of Queens, the Hill neighborhood is as far out as one can go and still be within the boundaries of New York City. The elegant houses of this quiet neighborhood are surrounded by gardens and green space. The neighborhood is anchored by the elegant white spired Zion Episcopal Church (1925) and its historic 200 year old, seven acre graveyard.
Preservation architects Victor Dadras and Kevin Wolfe will lead the tour through streets designed for horses and carriages, and cover architectural highlights of the 31 houses that comprise the District.
Queen Anne style houses from the late 1890s predominate, with some eclectic architectural styles that were built through the 1920s. Front porches dominate here, where residents still meet and greet their neighbors to entertain or just to wave and say hello.
The District was largely developed as a turn of the century garden suburb located just a few minutes’ walk from the Douglaston station of the Long Island Rail Road. The completion of the tunnels under the East River to Penn Station in 1910 allowed commuters to reach midtown from this most remote corner of the City in just a half hour, and new 21st tunnels recently completed, now allow trains to also reach Grand Central Terminal in the same amount of time.
Some older buildings survive that date back to the area’s mid 19th century rural farming past. Spacious lots, many as large as half an acre, create a dreamy landscape of gracious gardens with century old trees.
Our walk through The Hill neighborhood will begin and end at Zion Church, which has been a presence since 1830, when the first church building was dedicated. At the end of the walk, The Reverend Lindsay Lunumm, the Rector of Zion Church, will open the doors to the Church sanctuary and talk about the new memorial sculpture and plaque that was unveiled last fall as a memorial to those men, women and children who were once enslaved by some of the original 12 founding families of the Church.
The approximately two hour program will conclude with a reception at the Zion Church Parish Hall with light refreshments. The neighborhood is hilly (The Hill!) and the walking tour will require good walking shoes–and stamina–rain or shine.
Saturday, May 3, 2025
3:00 PM (2 hours)
Details and Event Registration:
https://www.mas.org/events/the-hill-as-far-out-as-you-can-get-and-still-be-in-nyc/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ6D0dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnM0hrSldxb0pBTFJDNnJhAR4QZNV1ZXHRZ8_P1eHV0gyhZWSE25V5cawA9m8lFABppx0yHuxSiwGE9YdbWw_aem_mGfGks7WyC8LtRaJ5fbXjw

DLNHS Annual Meeting | Sat. June 7 | 2:00pm | Community Church of Douglaston, 2nd Floor/Parlor
2025-06-07 14:00 - 16:00
Mark your calendars for the DLNHS Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 7 at 2:00 pm.
Please join us! The speaker at this year’s annual meeting will be William Nieter. Professor Nieter was the Director of Environmental Studies at St. John’s University, a position he held for 38 years before his retirement in 2023. Professor Nieter will be discussing his book, The Story of Alley Pond: Past Present Future. The book carefully details the history of the park as well as the ecological wonders that make Alley Pond Park so special.

DLNHS Annual Meeting | Sat. June 6, 2026 | 2:00pm | Community Church of Douglaston, 2nd Floor/Parlor
2026-06-06 14:00 - 16:00
DLNHS Annual Meeting
Speaker: Laura Heim
Saturday, June 6 at 2:00 pm
Please RSVP for this event below.
Our annual meeting always features a brief update of DLNHS activities, election of new board members, and a presentation relevant to our mission. This year, award-winning architect and historic preservationist Laura Heim will talk about the book Rural County, Urban Borough: A History of Queens, written by her late husband, historian Jeffrey A. Kroessler. The book is a history of place, charting the rapid transformation of the Queens landscape, and how people from all backgrounds came here to shape unique communities and neighborhoods. It identifies what drove the borough’s development, from infrastructure, architecture, and transportation to technological innovation and urban planning.
