Kensington Village will be the subject of the Great Neck Historical Society’s first in-person meeting since 2020. Renowned architect and landscape designer Kevin Wolfe will discuss the fascinating and rich history of the village at a program free and open to the community at Great Neck House on Tuesday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
When assigned to cover Kensington as a contributor to the book “Gardens of Eden: Long Island’s Early Twentieth-Century Planned Communities,” he quickly became enamored by walking the streets, taking photos and immersing himself in its beginnings as well as the vision of its creators, Charles Finlay and E.J. Rickert. Wolfe said, “Kensington was really the culmination of everything Finlay and Rickert had learned from their earlier projects.”
Wolfe is known for his expertise in the renovation of historic buildings and gardens, and he was a co-founder of the Douglaston and Little Neck Historical Society. He opened his own practice in 1997 and also teaches historic preservation in the Master’s Program at The Pratt Institute.
While working for the New York City Department of Parks, he designed the Marine Park Environmental Center in Brooklyn. Wolfe also served as the project architect for the partial restoration of the Bartow-Pell Mansion in the Bronx, the King Mansion in Queens and the Dyckman Farm House Museum in Manhattan.
He is active in the New York City preservation movement and Open House New York, which promotes access to fabulous buildings and architectural masterpieces that are not usually accessible to the public.
The program will be held at the newly renovated Great Neck House, 14 Arrandale Ave., and refreshments will be served. For further information about this program and other Great Neck Historical Society activities visit www.GreatNeckHistorical.org.
