HEADING TO NEW YORK CITY… TAKE THE FERRY TO HISTORIC STATEN ISLAND’S 83-ACRE SNUG HARBOR HISTORIC COMPLEX

The Snug Harbor Cultural Center was originally founded in 1801 as a haven for aged, decrepit and worn out sailors, with three buildings built in Greek Revival style. During the next 100 years, the complex expanded to 50 structures in a variety of styles including Beaux Arts, Renaissance Revival, 2nd Empire and Italianate. The 83-acre site also has Victorian decorative components and 900 residents from all over the world. By the turn of the 20th Century, Snug harbor was a self-sustaining community with working farm, dairy, bakery, chapel, sanatorium, hospital, music hall and cemetery, the richest charitable institution in the US. With financial difficulties in the mid-20th C., the number of residents dwindles and once grand structures fell into disrepair. Some were demolished. In the 1960’s the new New York City Landmarks Commission designated the remaining buildings as New York City’s first landmark structures and listed them on the National Register of Historic Places. Merged since 1977 with the Staten Island Botanical Garden, there are several beautiful gardens, all serving different purposes, on the grounds at Snug Harbor. There are visual arts presentations and performances are given on the grounds. See www.snug-harbor.org