A Flushing museum illuminates the legacy of a vital African-American inventor
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Lewis Latimer lived inside of this house in Flushing from 1903 to 1928. Eagle photos by Victoria Merlino.
By Victoria Merlino
On the edge of Downtown Flushing sits a storybook house: its cream siding gives way to warm red shutters, a sturdy porch and dainty carved accents. In the springtime, a grove of cherry blossom trees rain petals into the yard and onto passersby.
Inside, however, is where the real story can be found.
The house once belonged to Lewis Latimer, the famed African-American inventor and electrical pioneer, who lived in Flushing from 1903 until his death in 1928. The son of fugitive slaves, Latimer taught himself mechanical drawing, and later became a sought-after patent expert, draftsman and inventor. Latimer worked with some of the greatest minds of his day, including Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.
Latimer is known for inventing the carbon filament — an improvement to the paper filament used in Edison’s lightbulb, which would burn out quickly.
Visitors from around New York City, and even out of state, visit the now-museum to see Latimer’s personal artifacts and learn about his history, according to Lewis Latimer House Museum Executive Director Ran Yan. Just like any quintessential Queens story, Latimer’s life speaks to visitors across cultural barriers.
“As an immigrant myself, I enjoyed telling Lewis Latimer’s story to people from all kinds of different backgrounds and I especially connect to his life story as someone who overcame enormous racial prejudice and social injustice and barriers at that time,” Yan said. “I think that’s very inspirational for any African-American or minority out there.”
Yan began her time at the museum as a community liaison, giving tours in English and Chinese about Latimer. Though some visitors come from different cultures and backgrounds and might not understand every aspect of Latimer’s struggle, she said, visitors do connect to his story on a basic human level.
“I think sometimes people perceive barriers and those barriers often exist in our minds but not in reality,” Yan said. “What I realized [giving tours] was to never underestimate the audience, and that as long as you communicate to the audience in their language, they immediately get it.”
In addition to inventing, Latimer was an advocate for African-American civil rights and community development. He joined the NAACP and conducted outreach. He also started a Unitarian church in Flushing and taught English to immigrants moving to the neighborhood.
“He was very interested in community,” said Alexandra Unthank, an education program associate at the museum.
The house holds special significance for Flushing residents, in particular, said John Choe, the executive director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce.
“For the Flushing community, the story of Lewis Latimer is an inspiration, and he’s a role model for what it means to be an American,” Choe said. “Someone who rises up from adversity [and] overcomes obstacles.”
“That’s what drives so many people from around the world to come to New York to start a new life and create a new sense of identity and opportunity,” he continued. “In some ways, [Latimer] represents the American Dream for a lot of people in Flushing.”
