H.P. Lovecraft at King Manor

Author David J. Goodwin will be leading a discussion and presentation on horror writer H.P. Lovecraft’s adventures throughout New York City, including a visit to the King Manor Museum in 1925! Throughout his adventures, he focused on the diverse architecture of Manhattan and the outer boroughs. He describes the architecture of King Manor and sketched the museum in his notes. An excerpt: "[...] the spacious King Mansion, built 1750, a vast white gambrel-roofer with a series of two “ells” behind, set in an exceedingly tasteful little park fronting the main street (Jamaica Ave.) just before one reaches the village on The Trip from Brooklyn. It is perhaps The largest gambrel-roofer I have Ever seen—the idea of the builder having Evidently been the odd one of sticking to the architectural traditions of the medium-sized house whilst actually achieving the vastness which others sought only in the stately square Georgian type with flat or hipped roof—like the Jumel Mansion or Van Cortlandt Manor, for Example. It stands intact with its outbuildings amidst the white-flagged walks & green lawns, with Georgian Village spires visible to the East, & many another quaint old house in sight—only the Elevated waving the peaceful village effect."

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David J. Goodwin is the Assistant Director of the Fordham University Center on Religion and Culture and a Frederick Lewis Allen Room resident at the New York Public Library. Currently, he is writing a biography of author H.P. Lovecraft and New York City.