The Voelker-Orth Mansion Museum, Flushing

Chalk one up for the good guys!

A Victorian-era residence, the kind that have long been displaced in Flushing by boring, monolithic apartments and blond brick two-family homes (you know the type… concrete driveways and prominent water meters) has been preserved as a museum.

One of the rare survivors, a small, two-story house painted pink and white, at 149-19 38^th Avenue, just south of Northern Boulevard,  has not only been allowed to stand but has been restored to full Victorian-era glory.

It begins with its resident for 69 years, Betty Voelker-Orth, who was born in the house in 1926 and lived there until 1995, when she died from complications from an automobile accident. In her will, Mrs. Voelker-Orth, an English literature teacher, nature lover and birdwatcher, left her house to the Queens Historical Society, the Queens Botanical Society and the Audubon Society with the proviso that it be converted into a museum, bird sanctuary and Victorian garden, a specific type of garden employing colorful tropical plants in season, along with ornamental elements such as urns, benches, gazebos and statuary. Mrs. Voelker-Orth left a good part of her fortune, which amounted to millions, to the prospective museum as well.

Completed in 2001, the Voelker-Orth Museum stands as both a testament to Flushing’s old Victorian history and as a small nature retreat. You may contact the museum for guided tours and exhibits at 718-359-6227.