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 Looking south from the Yacht Club runway, circa 1900. The dome in the upper left was part of "Craig Vera", the home of John T. Pirie.
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I am sure everyone will agree that one of Sea Cliff's finest assets is its shore front. Until early 1900 the entire length from Glenwood Landing to Glen Cove was privately owned. For several years Frederick H. Maidment, editor of the Sea Cliff News, had urged the Village Board to take steps to acquire the shore front north of the steamboat dock. Finally, in 1905. The Village received title to the property owned by John T. Pirie, and in 1907 purchased additional land from Frederick W. Geissenhainer. The individual bath houses were torn down and, in 1908, a municipal bathing pavilion was erected. The famous old boardwalk extended both north and south of the steamboat dock. The south portion was Sea Cliff's pride and joy. There two or three business establishments near the dock and, farther south, Tilley's and the Yacht Club maintained bathing pavilions. Most of the boardwalk, however, was unencumbered. During the summer months it was the mecca for many of Sea Cliff's visitors and every pleasant evening one would find hundreds enjoying a restful stroll on the walk. Through an agreement with Mr. Pirie, who claimed ownership of the boardwalk, the Village kept it in suit able condition. Unfortunately, the hurricane of 1938 destroyed a good portion of the walk, and the 1944 hurricane completed the havoc. In 1922 the people of the village voted to build a concrete promenade along the shore front from the dock to the pumping station. After years of talking, attorneys for bonding firms refused to approve the issuance of bonds, on the grounds that part of the proposed walk would be below high water mark and belonged to the state. An effort was made to obtain permission from Albany, but apparently the whole idea died aborning. I wonder how many people realize that we almost had a boulevard running along our waterfront from Glenwood Landing to Glen Cove. Chapter 509 of the Laws of 1883 provided for the construction of such a highway. Engineering plans had been drawn up and an assessment map prepared. In September, 1883, a financial panic hit the state and plans were "postponed" until a "more convenient season." The then Village President appeared before the Board of Supervisors of Queens County in 1885 and petitioned them to build the highway. You decide whether Sea Cliff was lucky or unlucky in not having the highway built. |
