Discover Queens: Museums, Gardens and History

Queens can be explored through a variety of themes: the history of the Queens County Farm Museum dates back to 1697, while the Panorama of the City of New York depicts the city in miniature. Museums, gardens and protected landscapes offer further points of interest. If you’re planning a trip to Queens, you can weigh up cultural history, moving images and nature as different interests for your stay.

Farming history and a model of the city

The grounds of the Queens County Farm Museum include historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and equipment, and cultivated fields. An orchard and herb garden round out the grounds. The different areas provide tangible points of reference for the area’s long farming history, with buildings, plants and farm equipment side by side. Those interested in agricultural history will find a different subject here than in museums focusing on urban history and media.

The Panorama of the City of New York was designed for the 1964–1965 World’s Fair. It covers 9,335 square feet and is built to a scale of 1:1200. The panorama depicts every one of New York City’s 895,000 buildings constructed before 1992, as well as every street and park and about 100 bridges. While the farm grounds tell their story through individual buildings and cultivated fields, the panorama offers a scale model view of the city’s structure. Its details range from buildings to streets, parks and bridges.

Moving images, music and architectural history

The Museum of the Moving Image is the only museum in the country devoted to the art, history, technique and technology of the moving image in all its forms. Its fully interactive core exhibition offers a distinct focus. The collection also provides several perspectives: it includes more than 130,000 artifacts from every stage of the production, marketing and presentation of film, television and digital media. For film and media enthusiasts, the museum brings together exhibitions and collections with different chapters in media history.

Other cultural themes range from jazz to architecture. The Louis Armstrong House Museum is one of New York City’s most significant jazz landmarks. Advance purchase of tickets is required to visit the historic home; check the current ticket terms before your visit, as booking requirements may change. Flushing Town Hall is a historic landmark dating from 1862. The Queens Zoo, in turn, opened in 1968 on the site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs in Flushing. Its paths offer views of wildlife native to the Americas.

Gardens, nature preserves and seasonal offerings

The Queens Botanical Garden has grown into a 39-acre oasis in one of New York City’s busiest and most diverse neighborhoods. It originated as the five-acre Gardens on Parade exhibition garden at the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair. The garden celebrates people, plants and cultures through gardens, educational programs and practical applications of environmental stewardship. Its history and focus give a visit a different emphasis from the farm buildings or museum collections.

The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge covers more than 12,600 acres of open water, salt marshes, freshwater and brackish ponds, upland fields and forests, as well as open bays and islands. Unlike the designed botanical garden, this variety describes a landscape of different aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Queens offers both garden culture and a large-scale nature preserve among its attractions.

Food is another topic to consider when planning a trip: more than 100 independent vendors sell food at the Queens Night Market. Vendors’ offerings vary by season.

Discover more destinations: Flushing, Essex, Cattaraugus County, Genesee, New York City, Oswego, Columbia, Schoharie County.

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