We launched our walking tour series in 2000 with Barry Lewis as our first guide to our 'Heart & Sole Walking Tours." All our tours are free and we know that these special insights into Jamaica are welcomed by many and create a remarkable opportunity to discover the rich history of our community. Since that time, we have expanded the series, with a different tour offered each month to reach a wider audience. Our walkers have come not from just the borough of Queens, but from the tri-state area and now and then an international tourist. We have worked collaboratively with King Manor Museum, Noshwalks, The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning and the Prospect Cemetery Association. All tours are free except where noted for Noshwalks.
"Heads Up"
Saturday, May 10th, 11:00 am
King Manor Museum, King Park, Jamaica Avenue & 153rd St
Roy Fox
brings you a new perspective on Jamaica Center. A wonderful mix of architectural styles from one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts, neo-Italan Renaissance, Art Deco, Pre-Columbian and Art Nouveau, English Gothic, Colonial/Federal, Romanesqe Revival, and other enhancement, this urban downtown maintains its historical and architectural integrity through the eyes of our tour guide.
"A Taste of Jamaica..Jamaica Queens, that
is!"
Saturday, June 21th, 11:30 am
There is a $10 tasting fee
Capital One Bank, 146-21 Jamaica Avenue (northwest corner at Sutphin Blvd.)
Myra Alperson, founder of NoshWalks and author of Nosh New York, lead a slow, meandering walk through the streets of the downtown with stops at many of the eating establishments that lovingly serve 'home cooking'. However, 'home cooking' doesn't mean the American home, but home to the many cultures that live and work here - Jamaican, Thai, Chinese, Salvadorian, Mexican, Colombian, Pakistani, and a combination of many. A wonderful introduction to 'cultural tourism'.
"The Churches of Jamaica"
Saturday, July 12th, 11:00 am
King Manor Museum, King Park, Jamaica Avenue & 153rd St
Conducted by Roy Fox, this tour focuses on the landmarked churches, with two congregations dating back over 300 years. Beautiful Grace Episcopal Church with its WPA murals, "The Landmark" (the former First Reformed Church), The Tabernacle of Prayer (the former Loew's Valencia atmospheric movie theater designed by John Eberson) and The First Presbyterian Church, magnificent in its austere simplicity - vivid and diversified places for prayer.
"Six Feet Under And Then Some"
Saturday, September 13th, 2007 11:00 am
King Manor Museum, King Park, Jamaica Avenue, between 150th & 153rd St.
Join Cate Ludlam (Prospect Cemetery Association) and Roy Fox for a few hours of dishing the dirt. A tour of the beautiful Grace Episcopal Church cemetery and Prospect Cemetery with the restored Chapel of The Sisters (York College campus) for an in depth history of Jamaica when and those whose names may ring a 'history bell'.