Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Terra Marine Inn, Huguenot Park, Staten Island, N.Y. |
Object Name |
Postcard |
Studio or Publisher |
Souvenir Post Card Co. |
Date |
dated 1910 |
Collection |
Staten Island Geographic Collection |
Description |
Original color postcard. Bird's-eye view of a large hotel with a red roof. The hotel is on the beach; a few people and boats are in the water; a small number of houses are visible in the distance. Printed caption at top: "Terra Marine Inn, Huguenot Park, Staten Island, N.Y." Printed at bottom edge: "SOUVENIR POST CARD CO. N.Y." Reverse has a divided back, with printed inscription "POST CARD". Handwritten inscription: "Had lunch here / May 21st 1910. / Grace John Nellie / B.M.R. Meeks & / I. Very nice place / & good cooking. / Caught in slight / storm." Handwritten address: "Miss Blanche Austin / 244 Lark St. / Albany - / N.Y." (Keywords: New York City, Seaside Resorts, Early Twentieth Century) |
Print size |
3.375 x 5.375 |
Acquisition |
Museum Purchase |
Ownership and History |
The Terra Marine Inn, located on the beach at Huguenot, Staten Island, was in operation from around 1907 to 1923. A 1908 advertisement for the "Refined New Seaside Resort" gave the details: "Only one hour from Manhattan. Beautiful, newly furnished single and double rooms, with or without private baths; elegant parlor, bedroom, and bath sea-front suites. Magnificent Colonial dining hall and ballroom, facing sea, accommodating 400 guests. Finest cuisine; well-stocked wine cellar...600-foot pier; boating, bathing, fishing, tennis, etc..." On April 29, 1909, a massive fire destroyed much of the Terra Marine Inn. The Evening Post newspaper reported that the fire was believed to have started in a chimney, and within 20 minutes the central portion of the building and two wings were ablaze: "...The glass dome over the dining hall, one of the finest in that neighborhood, fell in with a crash...the flames roared unchecked through the huge wooden structure, demolishing one after another of its 200 rooms, and a huge pillar of smoke drifted off over Princes Bay..." Despite the extensive damage, the owners vowed to rebuild, with an even larger building that would be "absolutely fireproof." Indeed, an article in the New York Times on May 3, 1909 stated that the Terra Marine Inn was open despite the fire, serving 600 guests in a sun parlor that had been converted into a dining room. |
Earliest Date |
1907 |
Latest Date |
1910 |
Subjects |
Beaches Hotels Resorts Waterfronts |
Lexicon Sub-category |
Documentary Artifact |
Catalog Number |
00.018.0030 |
Support Acknowledgment |
Online Collections Database record made possible by the Efron family in memory of Dr. Meryl Efron, November 2014. |
Legal Status |
Items represented here are from the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society. Materials reproduced for personal non-commercial use must credit the Staten Island Historical Society. Commercial licensing is available. |