QUEENS, N.Y. - The 19th-century home on 137th Street in Flushing stands out, sitting in the shadow of apartment buildings nearby.

The Queen Anne-style house belonged to Lewis Latimer, a prominent African-American inventor who worked with Thomas Edison and patented significant improvements to the light bulb.

“The house is charming,” caretaker Joel Holberg said. “Anyone who comes in contact with it is charmed by it, mostly I think. It's just a beautiful place.”

Holberg knows a lot about the house because for 12 years he has been its caretaker.

It's an unpaid position but comes with a huge perk: free housing in a tiny apartment on the second floor.

“It feels like you're in a time capsule,” Holberg said.

It’s a unique job in a unique house. It's one of 23 historically significant houses across the city operated by the Historic House Trust.

All are looked after by live-in caretakers like Holberg, who are essentially supers, on call 24/7.

Every day, Holberg is responsible for keeping an eye on the home and cleaning it up, which Holberg says is a never-ending task.

“The litter is constant and the amazing thing is - what I didn't know - is every passenger door of every parked car is going to be a site for a dump litter,” Holberg said.

Holberg, who freelances as an art handler at area museums, got the job at a lucky time: when he was newly single and needed new digs. When he moved in, it was initially a little eerie.

“It was quiet, cold, actually it wasn't cold, it was late spring, but it seemed cold emotionally,” Holberg said.

But now he is married and a raising a 20-month-old daughter...in a one-bedroom apartment. He has access to other parts of the house and can take advantage of the home's garden.

“It's magical,” Holberg said. “It's always magical to have a child in a house - to raise a child, I imagine - but here it's beautiful.”

The caretaker position is a tough one to get. Currently, there are no openings, and there haven't been any for years.