Douglaston Historic District

Douglaston Historic District covers more than 600 houses along landscaped streets on a mile-long peninsula reaching into Little Neck Bay, at the northeastern edge of Queens. Most homes belong to Douglas Manor, a planned suburb developed by the Rickert-Finlay Company after Queens became part of Greater New York in 1898. The suburb was laid out on the grounds of a nineteenth-century estate created by George Douglas, and much of that estate's landscaping survives, including specimen trees and a white oak believed to be 600 years old. Covenants guided the plan, which includes a shared shorefront, winding streets following the land, and houses ranging from large mansions along Shore Road to modest cottages near Udalls Cove. Styles include Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, English cottage, Arts and Crafts, Craftsman and Mediterranean Revival, mostly by local architects. Earlier survivors include the c.1735 Van Wyck House and the c.1819 Van Zandt manor house. Eight houses are by Josephine Wright Chapman.