Flushing State Armory
Under dictatorial Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant, only the Dutch Reformed religion was permitted to be practiced. On this site in December 27, 1657, a group of Flushing Quakers issued the "Flushing Remonstrance", a letter to Stuyvesant that spoke of their desire to "let every man stand or fall to his own Master." This letter was the first of its kind in the New World and served as an inspiration for the First Amendment to the Constitution, making this site the metaphorical birthplace of religious freedom in America.
The current building on this site, the Flushing State Armory, was built in 1905 to house various units of New York's National Guard. As of my visit in the summer of 2007, it serves as a police precinct.
Flushing State Armory
Flushing State Armory