Glen Island Park
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Long Island Sound |
| Administration | |
United States | |
Glen Island Park is a 105 acre (0.42 km²) island located in New Rochelle, New York, USA. Situated on Long Island Sound, the park offers a variety of recreational facilities. It is also the home of Glen Island Harbour Club, a county owned, privately operated catering facility. The park is connected to the mainland by a drawbridge built in the 1920s. One of the main features of the park is its pristine, crescent shaped beach offering access to Long Island Sound. Cannons, sculptures and castles with coursed rubble stone, arched openings and round towers still remain from the late 19th century when the park was initially developed as a summer resort.
History
Islands
Although now one island, Glen Island was originally a large main island with a group of small islands, rocks and sea salt marshes surrounding it. Over time the water was filled in and the islands were connected. The largest or main island of the original group was known as "Goose Island" early on, containing about 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land. The first owner on record was Johannes Berhuyt who purchased the farm of Jacob Theroulde in 1701. He presented the island to his son in 1760, who sold it to his brother-in-law George Cornwell in 1766. Cornwall took part in a series of anti-Patriot events leading up to the Revolution, and the property was confiscated by the Commissioners of Forfeitures in 1784[1].
Later the island came into the ownership of Samuel Wooley and from him the island was long called "Wooley's Island". In 1803 it passed to the Davenport family and stayed in their possession until 1847. During that year, Davenport sold it to Lewis August DePau, Napoleon III's U.S. fiscal agent. DePau created a splendid mansion on the island which he used to entertain such luminaries as Presidents Chester A. Arthur, Ulysses S. Grant and James Garfield, as well as Jenny Lind, Aaron Burr and Daniel Webster who met and married his second wife in New Rochelle. [2] DePau sold the island and mansion to John Schmidt in 1862 before leaving for Prussia.[citation needed]
About this time it was named "Locust Island" which eventually changed when in was purchased by John H. Starin , a former U.S. Congressman and New York transportation king, in 1879. The other islands in the group were owned by Anthony Lispenard who died in 1758. The two largest of these were called "Fisherman's" and "Crab Island". They were purchased by John Huner in 1852 when they then came to be known as the "Flat Islands" and "Hunters Flat Islands".[citation needed]
Starin's 'Glen Island'
The Starin Transportation Company included nearly every tug boat in New York Harbor and a fleet of passenger steamers. Using his twelve steamboats as transportation, Starin designed an imposing family amusement park. Bright and colorful red and white covered footbridges connected the four smaller islands, each with a different international theme.[citation needed]
In 1881 the Park opened to the general public, attracting thousands of people daily. [3] For a small excursion fee, steamships carried New York's prominent families to this chic summer resort to enjoy its bathing pavilions, fine German food and wines at the Grand Cafe, (now the Glen Island Casino), and the scenic beauty of Long Island Sound. The walkways along the harbor were lined with colorful flowers, classic bronze statues, and a natural spring that provided cool fresh water for thirsty visitors. Winding pathways led visitors through beautifully landscaped grounds with groves of shade trees, extensive flower-gardens, greenhouses, fountains, lakes and a formal Japanese garden, complete with a pagoda and teahouse. [4] [5]
A chain ferry transported visitors from a mainland dock [6]. There was also a nationally recognized Museum of Natural History housed mummies fron 332 B.C., Indian relics of the Stone Age and other rare antiquities along with the first fire engine used in New York state, several meteors and a giant stuffed white whale. [7] [8] There were bathing pavilions which could accommodate eight hundred people, bridle paths, a miniature steam train and a zoo of exotic animals which included buffalo, lions, elephants, peacocks and trained seals. [9] [10] [11]
The island's main attraction was a re-created German castle modeled after an ancient Rhine fortress. The arched entrance was broad enough to admit a coach into the courtyard leading to the Great Hall. In the Great Hall was the "Little Germany" beer garden where food and beer were served by waiters in Tyrolean dress. Ruins of the Castle remain today. [12]
Starin's Island, internationally acclaimed as "one of the most beautiful spots in America," and "the first summer resort in the United States, if not the world"... preceded Disneyland as the first "theme park" by many years. [13]. By 1882 attendance reached half a million and within six years it broke a million. In spite of the large number of visitors, Starin stressed the well-behaved nature of the crowds and the orderly character of the experience, governed by a 'middle-class code of conduct'. His desire was to offer an environment of order and civility which contrasted to the rough-and-tumble atmosphere of New York City[14]. One of the effects of Glen Islands popularity in the beginning of the twentieth century was the building boom in New Rochelle, which had rapidly grown into a summer resort community. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this extraordinary park was that all attractions, rides and amusements were free. [15]
ln 1923, Starin's heirs sold the Island for $550,000, a million dollars less than the County of Westchester had offered in 1915,when officials had wanted to purchase the property for use as a garbage disposal plant. With the strong encouragement of the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and other concerned citizens, the County aquired the site in 1923 and developed as a recreatinal park for Westchester residents. [16]
Glen Island Casino
Also on the island is the celebrated Glen Island Casino, a popular performance venue for the famous musicians and big bands of the 1930s and 1940s. It was seen as the prestige place for people who listened to bands on radio because of the many performances that were broadcast from the Casino each week, reaching countless listeners across the country. It was the springboard to success for many big bands including those of Glenn Miller, Ozzie Nelson, Charlie Barnet, Claude Thornhill, Les Brown and the Dorsey brothers. [17]
References
- ^ Historical Landmarks of New Rochelle, Morgan H. Seacord, p.21
- ^ Mr.Starin's Romantic Residence, NY Times 1895
- ^ National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
- ^ History of New Rochelle, Columbia University - "New Rochelle Studio"
- ^ Glen Island Opened, NY Times 1887
- ^ History of Westchester County, Scharf, Vol I. pp870 - 873
- ^ Curios at Glen Island, NY Times 1898
- ^ Starin's Glen Island: Enhanced Attractions of a Famous Resort, NY Times 1897
- ^ "Illustrated Catalogue of the Famous Glen Island Museum of Antiquities, Natural History, Relics of Supreme Importance of the Revolutionary and Civil War and Early American Objects of Art and Decoration", John H Starin 1921
- ^ Only One Dime Museum Remains in New York, NY Times 1924
- ^ Natural History Museums of the United States and Canada
- ^ New Rochelle Online
- ^ Historical Landmarks of New Rochelle, Morgan H. Seacord, pp.22-24
- ^ Westchester: The American Suburb, Roger Panetta, p.28
- ^ Glen Island's Many Attractions, NY Times 1893
- ^ Amusement Parks of New York
- ^ Glen Island Casino is Host to New Era, NY Times 1979
