Large and small balconies abound on upper floors. Round, square, three-sided and even octagonal turrets are prevalent. Spacious open porches, with a rich variety of ornamental columns and ginger-bread decorations, are designed to catch summer breeze. Entry halls tend to be spacious. Often, there is a massive oak staircase brightened by leaded stained glass windows.
Many houses have both front and back parlors separated by massive oak pocket doors.
A second, smaller staircase sometimes leads from the kitchen to the attic. A 15-room house is not an unusual size. Many of the large old homes that come on the market are a restorer's delight. Buyers with more modest prices in mind should look south of Jamaica Avenue, said Tina Romeo, owner of Lido Home Sales on Jamaica Avenue. There, older homes mingle with narrow row houses, typical of those built by the hundreds around 1920 for blue-collar workers and their families.