Tour | Astoria Village in Queens: Past, Present, and Future in a Changing Queens Enclave

Old Astoria Village can only be in a place like Queens. On this tour with Bob Singleton, Executive Director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, we walk on streets older than Wall Street that trace the outline of the 17th century Hallett farm, and past dozens of buildings, in various styles from the 1700s to the early 20th century. Lacking landmark protection, about half of the community was destroyed in the past 20 years, including parts of an 1812 fort, and a school from 1828, a legacy of John Jacob Astor. Old Astoria remains the largest community in NYC unprotected by landmark designation. We walk by the location of the city’s greatest maritime disaster, the site of Native-American Villages, the Hell Gate and Triborough (RFK) bridges, and will discuss briefly the Astoria Houses and the new developments at Halletts and Astoria Coves.