Bøker av Carl Ballenas

Jamaica, Queens, has long occupied a commanding position in the political, social, and industrial life of Queens County. Indigenous people created a trail, used by various tribes to trade furs and other goods, through the woods that later became Jamaica Avenue, the main street of the village. Jamaica was witness to the evolution of change, receiving a charter from Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1656, becoming an English colony in 1664, and winning freedom in the American Revolution with the Jamaica Minutemen. The area is richly steeped in history: George Washington slept here; and Walt Whitman, Susan B. Anthony, Rufus King, Jacob Riis, and many more have left their mark on Jamaica. Jamaica is an astounding visual journey documenting the unique history of this remarkable community over more than 350 years.

The Jamaica Estates community evolved with the advent of the 20th century. The verdant hills north of the colonial village of Jamaica were blanketed with forests of deciduous trees and dotted with crystal clear glacial lakes. The area's country beauty and tranquility offered people an escape from the congestion of the crowded city. As the Queensborough Bridge neared completion in 1907, two wealthy real estate speculators, Ernestus Gulick and Felix Isman, envisioned a unique community. Together they imagined a residential park offering people the ability to have homes in an area of breathtaking country beauty while working in the city.