King Manor

King Manor is located at 15003 Jamaica Avenue (originally Fulton Street), within Rufus King Park, in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is on the north side of the avenue between 150th and 153rd Streets. Rufus King Park The house is the main attraction of Rufus King Park, which occupies a city block bounded by Jamaica Avenue to the south, 150th Street to the west, 89th Avenue to the north, and 153rd Street to the east. The park covers and preserves a portion of the former estate of Rufus King, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. It has been cited as measuring across. The park has numerous recreational facilities. Also within the park, about north of the mansion, is the gravesite of a 19th-century slave known as Duke. Previous site usage Prior to the European colonization of Long Island in the 17th century, the island was occupied by Native Americans, though there exists no evidence of Native American settlement on the house's site. The current park site was located between a group of hills named the Woody Heights to the north and Mechawanienck Trail (which later became Jamaica Avenue) to the south. The first documented structure on or near King Manor's site was a quartering house, which appeared in a 1666 map. According to researcher Jo Ann Cotz, the presence of a chimney and large foundation indicate that this structure may have been used by the British military, but researcher Joel Grossman writes that the nearby huts used by British soldiers were different in design from the quartering house. A leathermaker named John Owlffield bought the land in 1664; the grounds may contain remnants of trenches that he used to soak animal hides. A structure east of the main house, dating from the early 19th century, may have been used as a bathroom. Nothing is known about older outbuildings from as early as the 17th century. By 1813, these included a pair of parallel buildings north of the house, as well as a third structure that was built near Grove Street In addition, there was a stone edifice known as building K to the east of the manor's rear wing, which may have been used as a barracks, dairy house, or smokehouse. In the 1900s, building K was a milk house, connected to the main house with latticework. == Use as residence ==

18th century It is not known when the oldest section of the house was built. According to research by Robert W. Venables in 1989, there was already a small cottage on the grounds by 1730. The cottage's original location has also not been determined, but that residence was likely moved at some point Other sources date King Manor to 1750, although the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) cites the western half of the house as having been built at that time. One writer, Richard Panchyk, credits Ames Smith as having built the house. Thomas Poyer married Sarah Oldfield in 1724 and acquired a farm from his father-in-law, Joseph Oldfield, in 1726. he was recorded as having owned or of land in what was then the town of Jamaica. Poyer sold off some of the land in 1730. Colgan lived on the estate until his death in 1755. His estate, at the time, faced the shore of the now-infilled Beaver Pond. although Venables described the house as having four rooms per floor. Although there was a common misconception that George Washington once slept in the house, he never visited it; however, Washington is known to have visited a neighboring tavern. Smith bought land from the Sayre family in 1781 and from Ann Banks in 1785. The Colgan and Smith families may have owned up to 10 slaves on the estate, as recorded in the 1790 and 1800 United States censuses. Little else is known about the Smith family's occupancy of the house. He and his wife Mary had moved in 1788 to New York City (which at the time excluded Jamaica), Just before King occupied the house, there were a narrow gravel path and a carriage driveway leading to Jamaica Avenue, and there were two horse chestnut trees and a white picket fence separating the house from the avenue. There were no other flora on the property aside from a grove of apple trees. King purchased Christopher Smith's house and in 1805 for $12,000, and he also paid off Smith's mortgage. King moved into the house in early 1806 King also planted a semicircular row of linden trees behind the house; According to Venables's research, King obtained pine and oak from the nearby forest, as well as shingles from a nearby property owner, and used these materials to build a new kitchen in 1806. King also erected the eastern portion of the main house. The interiors were redesigned in the Federal and Georgian styles; There were two buildings north of the mansion, which may have been barns. The 1810 United States census shows that he had a slave named Margaret, whom he freed two years later. The New York Amsterdam News said he bought Margaret to free her from the estate of a friend who had died, There were unfounded rumors that King buried slaves on the grounds and used the mansion as a plantation. King served again as a U.S. senator from 1813 to 1825 and continued to own the house. The King estate also had a cistern at an unknown location. Later King family ownership Rufus King died at the mansion on April 29, 1827, and was buried beside his wife in Grace Churchyard, Jamaica. The manor was inherited by his firstborn son, John Alsop King, who would later serve as a state legislator, U.S. Representative, and then the governor of New York. During the late 19th century, the farm gradually declined. Atlases from 1895 and 1897 indicate that all except one outbuilding, namely building H, had been demolished. After Cornelia's death, her brother John A. King was offered $700,000 for the house but refused to take the offer. King Manor's old gardens still remained intact, even though the estate itself was a fraction of its original size. Several local newspapers endorsed selling the King estate to the village of Jamaica and converting the grounds to a public park; one newspaper wrote that "the dwelling, although unpretentious, is famous and interesting from its historical associations". == Use as park and museum ==

Acquisition of land for park By 1897, the residents of Jamaica were in favor of buying the remnants of the King estate. John A. King offered the land to the village of Jamaica for $50,000, a discount compared with the market-rate value of the site. and residents voted to buy the land on June 29, 1897. The plot was bounded by modern-day 150th Street, 89th Avenue, 153rd Street, and Jamaica Avenue. Nonetheless, the village trustees acquired the land on July 9 and opened it to the public; they also appointed a policeman to serve as the house's live-in caretaker. A New York Supreme Court justice enjoined the trustees from spending money on the park's upkeep, but the Appellate Division reversed this injunction. The park was officially renamed Jamaica Park in October 1897 and served briefly as a town park. The house's preservation, which occurred long before the historic preservation movement in New York gained momentum, was uncommon for the time. Jamaica was annexed to the City of Greater New York at the beginning of 1898, becoming part of the borough of Queens, and the New York City Parks Department (NYC Parks) took over the house and land. These included a New York City Police Department (NYPD) precinct, offices for borough officials, and the Queens headquarters of the New York City Board of Education. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported in April 1899 that the house was inhabited by a single janitor and had no offices. New York City park commissioner George V. Brower and a local landscape artist were planning to restore the mansion and grounds by 1899. This involved cutting down dead trees, installing new plantings, and adding furniture. There were concerns that the house would be demolished. Clubhouse conversion and 1900s Local women, led by Mary E. Craigie, were pushing to convert King's mansion into a clubhouse for local groups by early 1900. Brower expressed support for the idea. and it set up various committees to manage various aspects of the house. By March, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Jamaica Women's Club, and the Brooklyn Public Library Association planned to refurbish the first-floor rooms, although this was delayed because a furnace in the mansion had to be repaired first. The group hosted its first meeting at the house in May 1900. The KMA signed a three-year lease for the house that June and shortly began making plans to convert the house into a headquarters for local clubs. The KMA requested "furniture, pictures, books, and what not" to furnish the house, which was also used to store heirlooms. Brooklyn Life magazine wrote that the conversion of King Manor into a clubhouse was "doubly gratifying", as many of western Long Island's old structures were being demolished. One source described the renovated first floor as having a green-and-white hallway with mahogany finishes; a tan-and-white drawing room; and a dark-red library. The dining room, the largest in the manor, was used as a meeting room. and other groups expressed interest in using the house and renovating other rooms. The KMA received its certificate of incorporation in December 1900; it had over 200 members, while the house's clubs had a combined membership of 1,000. Water and sewer pipes were installed starting in 1902, The KMA also wanted to restore the mansion's interior, roof, and porches and repaint the facade; this work was completed by 1903. In its first decade, King Park was re-landscaped and hosted numerous concerts during the summer. though local residents opposed the Carnegie library. which would not be eligible for Carnegie funds; The same year, the Long Island Society of the Daughters of the Revolution restored the house's parlor. The KMA agreed in 1904 to maintain the house's interior and furnishings, while NYC Parks agreed to maintain the surrounding site as a park. it recorded thirteen hundred annual visitors in 1904 and two thousand visitors by 1906. There were also plans to move Queens' borough hall to King Park by the late 1900s, and paths were built in the park toward the end of that decade. 1910s and 1920s By 1911, Queens park commissioner Walter G. Elliott planned to convert the house into a regional headquarters for NYC Parks, but the parks department's office was relocated after the KMA protested. a fence was installed around King Park; and NYC Parks set aside $10,000 for a new bathroom in the park. Although a contractor for the bathroom was selected in 1912, the contractor withdrew from the contract, and the KMA began allowing visitors into the house three days a week in late 1914. Also in 1914, the Board of Estimate provided $5,000 for the construction of a bandstand and restroom. The bandstand in King Park opened in June 1915, and the restroom in building K was renovated and partitioned around the same year. Additional clubs had space at the house during the late 1910s, including the National Surgical Dressings Committee and the DAR's Rufus King Chapter. Two cedar trees from former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt's estate, Sagamore Hill, were planted in front of the house in 1919. In September 1920, the Queens Borough Public Library's board of trustees John Leich proposed moving the library's Jamaica branch into King Manor, saying there were no other suitable buildings for the library branch. This prompted opposition from several civic groups led by the DAR's King chapter, and the KMA received numerous letters speaking out against the library plan. Leich withdrew his plan to use the house in February 1921 due to widespread opposition; the library had already identified an alternate location. When a children's shelter was proposed inside the house in May 1921, civic groups objected even more strongly, calling the plan a "menace". Pratt Institute artisans also took wood from an old oak tree on the grounds and turned it into three gavels, which were presented to the DAR, KMA, and American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society in 1921. Free concerts were given in King Park through the 1920s and proved popular. An unidentified building was erected in the park in 1922; records for this structure are incomplete. and the society used that room to display documents, manuscripts, and other artifacts from 19th-century Jamaica. King Manor was one of the few colonial-era mansions in Jamaica by the 1920s, even as the surrounding neighborhood had changed. NYC Parks again solicited bids for the replacement of King Park's bathroom starting in 1927–1928, but this bidding process was prolonged through at least 1930. 1930s to 1970s A civic center was proposed in King Park in 1930, and local businessman George Jones proposed constructing four 10-story government buildings surrounding King Manor. The KMA vigorously opposed the plan, which was postponed for several years. The new bathroom, east of building K, was completed in 1935. Officials quickly dismissed the plan, citing a lack of parkland in the neighborhood. At the time, the park was cited as having a cannon, flagpole, bandstand, and the new comfort station, in addition to the mansion. The Jamaica Women's Society decided to move into the house in 1936 and renovate a room for itself. The New York City government planted tulips at King Park in 1939, part of a gift of one million tulips from the Dutch government, but King Park's tulips died within a year due to poisoning. The mansion underwent further renovations in the early 1940s as part of a program to restore historical sites across the city. The Long Island Daily Press reported in 1943 that the house had 1,000 visitors every month. When the house was open to the public, two members of the KMA (one each on the first and second floors) showed visitors around. and the 1960s. A playground and basketball court were built just east of King Manor in 1957, on the site of a building that had been demolished more than a century earlier. By the early 1960s, the roof of the house was being reshingled, and floodlights were installed in the adjacent park. The house was severely damaged in March 1964 by a fire that began on its first floor, which was likely caused by faulty wiring. Two rooms were destroyed by the fire, and there was smoke and water damage throughout the house. Officials first estimated that it would cost $39,000 to restore the exterior and grounds and $20,000 to restore the interior, but an expert determined that the interior would cost $50,000 to restore after visiting the house. Restoration of the mansion was completed in 1966, funded by donations from various sources. but passersby noticed the fire before any major damage occurred. The house was open on Thursdays during the late 1970s, and the KMA had further restored the house's interiors by then. By then, the surrounding park was popular among students at York College and visitors to the Queens Supreme Courthouse (both of which were nearby). The area was also a frequent hangout for drug addicts, as there was a drug treatment center near King Park. The park's benches were repaired in the late 1970s, and the NYPD cracked down on illicit drug sales in the park during the same time. In 1979, the King Manor Association raised $10,000 for a trust fund for King Mansion, which was to be complemented by $10,000 in matching funds from the city government. The association also had an operating fund of $1,800 and wished to conduct a study of the house. 1980s and 1990s A group of architects inspected the house in 1980 and found that, although some parts of the exterior were deteriorating, the mansion was largely in good condition. and the park had degraded to such an extent that one critic wrote that "King Park, for all its beauty, has become Junk Park". City Council member Sheldon S. Leffler requested funding for the house's renovation in 1983, and the city provided $500,000 for design in June 1984. The city initially provided $1.31 million for the renovation of the mansion in March of that year and added $3.6 million for the park that September. Designs for the renovation were completed by the end of the year. The KMA also obtained $500,000 in city funds for new furnishings and $80,000 in private funds for new exhibits. By that time, the restoration of King Park and Manor was estimated to cost $1.9 million. In March 1987, the New York City government began renovating King Manor. This project was to include new mechanical and electrical systems; security and fire-prevention features; repainting; and restoration of decorations and surfaces. The mansion's renovation involved repainting the rooms their original colors, and the park was also to receive a new bandstand and bathroom. Huff Enterprises, Arista Heating, Action Electric, and Calco Plumbing and Heating were hired to carry out the work on the mansion. The renovation of King Manor was one of several major projects underway in downtown Jamaica at the time. In conjunction with these projects, the NYPD focused on making King Park a drug-free zone during the late 1980s. King Manor was one of the founding members of the Historic House Trust, established in 1989, and the city gave $28,000 for programs at the mansion the same year. Roy Fox, a former radio host who was looking for a place to live, became the house's caretaker in 1989 after learning about a rent-free apartment from his wife's supervisor. At the beginning of 1990, work commenced on the park itself, Although the New York Daily News reported that July that the house was open one day a week, Newsday said three years later that the house was open only for scheduled events. Museum officials developed a plan for the house's programming in 1991 after the Andy Warhol Foundation and J. M. Kaplan Fund provided a $50,000 grant. City officials officially rededicated the house on June 21, 1994. Ultimately, the King Manor Museum had cost $2 million to renovate, and the park had cost $4 million. In addition, as part of the Jamaica Action Plan, the city spent $127,000 on a fence around the park, which was finished in 1997. Hispanic residents of the surrounding neighborhood were also using parts of the park for soccer practice, angering the area's black residents. 2000s to present A $300,000 renovation was announced in May 2002. The project included new doors, shutters, and windows; repairs to the wooden porch, which had been restored in the 1990s but was starting to buckle; repainting of the facade; and upgrades to the air conditioning, lighting, and fire detectors. The museum remained open during the renovation and offered free admission to compensate for the closure of several rooms. By 2004, researchers within the park had uncovered 4,000 artifacts during the past decade. Local residents also began advocating for a turf field in the surrounding park. King Manor and Park were again upgraded as part of a $1.7 million project that was completed in 2008. The project included drainage upgrades, drinking fountains, a turf field, and a concert space in the park, as well as new trees and driveway at the mansion. Another $2.2 million renovation of King Park was announced in 2015, which involved upgrades to the gazebo, paths, and greenery. NYC Parks announced a set of new entrances for the park in 2017 and replaced the mansion's roof in 2018 for $1.8 million, though museum officials had to repair the second-story ceiling themselves. A new space for temporary exhibits opened in the second-floor sitting room in December 2019. The mansion was closed temporarily in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City; Roy Fox, who had been the live-in caretaker for three decades, continued to maintain the property. The same year, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation gave the museum a $13,750 grant for an exhibition catalog. A Parks Enforcement Patrol substation in the park was finished in 2021, and the house's HVAC system was fixed that year for $718,000. ==Architecture==

It is not known who designed King Manor. The house's design contains elements of the Federal, Georgian, and Greek Revival styles. What is now King Manor is composed of several sections, arranged roughly into an "L" shape. King Manor had 17 rooms, including a drawing room and family room, after King finished renovating the house; The rooms included imported marble fireplace mantels. There is a staircase to the second floor at the rear of the eastern wall. The stairway has a balustrade with square spindles, a handrail, and newel posts with volutes. The stair also includes a window on one landing and a molding on the adjacent wall. The western half of the first floor contains a parlor and a library (the latter also known as the family room). Both rooms are wide; the parlor is deep, while the library is deep. which were imported from England and once accommodated over five thousand volumes. When King lived in the house, the library was filled with 5,000 books, These included over 400 volumes from the 16th to mid-18th centuries. The fireplace has white-and-blue Dutch tiles on its mantel, as well as paneling on its overmantel. Other elements of the library include a paneled door. The curved wall was not dissimilar to other American houses built after the Revolutionary War, which often had curved walls, although these houses' exteriors were also typically curved. The fireplace itself is flanked by pilasters that support a mantelpiece shelf; it is topped by a frieze with a central ellipse. Above the fireplace is a chimney shaft that blends with the baseboard and chair rail on the wall. Second story The second story generally has a similar floor plan to the first story. The staircase from the rear of the first floor opens into a wide central hall on the second floor, which has a cornice with moldings and dentils. Some of the upper-story rooms were generally closed to the public in the 21st century. There is also a cellar under the entire house. The rafters in the cellar's ceiling were made by hand, as were the wooden flooring. ==Operation==

King Manor is owned and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and its interior furnishings are supervised by the King Manor Association. The house has historically been known alternately as King Mansion; the City History Club of New York said in 1909 that the "Manor" name was a misnomer, as no manors have ever existed in Queens County. The kitchen featured a stove and large brick ovens, while the second-floor hall displayed a spinning wheel. in its first decade, the association loaned or acquired artwork, furnishings, carpets, engravings, and bric-à-brac. and Rufus King's table silverware. Following the 1980s and 1990s renovations, reproductions of original furnishings were installed, including the carpet in the parlor Events at the house in the first half of the 20th century included anniversary celebrations, fundraisers, and plays. By mid-century, the house was also used for events such as gift-wrapping lessons and art competitions. Tours of historical sites in Queens also sometimes passed through the house. By the late 20th century, the house held events such as celebrations of King's birthday, Historic House Festivals, Historic Games Weekends, fall festivals, and historic-house tours. At the end of the century, the house and park often hosted cultural events. The mansion's events in the 21st century included naturalization ceremonies, poetry readings, tours of non-public parts of the house, holiday concerts, and networking events. The museum gave tours in both English and Spanish by the end of the 20th century. In 2001, the King Manor Museum began operating an archeology program in conjunction with local public schools. , the museum's educational programs include classes on the Revolutionary War and on King's abolitionist activities. In addition, guided tours are hosted between February and December. Exhibits In King Manor's early years as a museum, one room on the second floor was set aside for the display of furniture and antiquities. as well as sampler, metal, and textile exhibitions. One news article from 1957 described the house as a "treasure-trove of 18th century lore", with furniture, furnishings, books, and pictures dating to the 18th century. Since 2019, the second floor has been used as a space for temporary multimedia exhibits. Some of the temporary exhibitions are also documented online after they have been displayed on the second floor. == Impact ==

At the end of the 19th century, when the Kings still owned the mansion, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote of the house's colonial architecture and "quaint and charming" furniture, and the Times-Union described the house as "destitute of architectural beauty, either ancient or modern, its chief characteristic being the solidity of its construction". King Manor has also appeared in several media works. Dorothy and Richard Platt included images of the King Mansion in a 1950s guidebook of historical structures in New York City. The house was depicted in a mural painted at the New York City Subway's 111th Street station in 1977, and it was featured in a TV series produced by Queens Public TV and Queens Council on the Arts in 1996. The LPC held hearings at the beginning of 1966 to determine whether to designate King Manor as a city landmark, and the exterior of the building was designated as a landmark the same year. The landmark designation also included the grounds of King Park. The LPC held hearings in January 1976 on the possibility of designating the building's interior as a landmark, and the commission designated parts of the first- and second-floor interiors as a landmark that March. The Queens Chamber of Commerce gave its Historic Structure Award to the mansion during the 1980s. == See also ==