A rare piece of Astoria’s colonial past will be on display this summer at Advance Masonic Temple on select public viewing dates.
As part of the America 250 commemoration, the Greater Astoria Historical Society is inviting the public to see the Historic Blackwell Door at 21-14 30th Avenue in Astoria. Believed to date to 1765, the door once belonged to the Blackwell family stone house in Ravenswood and still bears the British “Arrow of Confiscation” carved during the occupation of Queens in 1776.
At eight feet tall and weighing roughly 400 pounds, the Blackwell Door is one of Astoria’s most remarkable surviving colonial artifacts and a rare link to Queens’ Revolutionary-era history.
The exhibit will be open from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on:
July 4, July 5, July 18, July 26, August 2, August 9, August 16, August 23, and August 30.
Visitors may also register separately for Hallet’s Cove in the American Revolution: A Walking Tour, led by Alan Arichavala of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. The walking tour is optional and available by Eventbrite reservation only. It begins at Socrates Sculpture Park and concludes at Advance Masonic Temple.
Walking tour reservations and details:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/33165268075