Tucked away on Staten Island's north edge, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden preserves New York's role as a crucial 19th century maritime port. In an unusual setting blending horticulture, traditional garden design, Greek Revival architecture and maritime museums, Snug Harbor's artifacts connect New York with its heyday as the most important maritime port in the northeast US.
Snug Harbor was founded in 1801 as a retirement home for "aged, decrepit and worn-out sailors." As a hub of maritime trade throughout the 19th century, New York harbor produced thousands of men who eventually fit the bill. Over the course of the century, Snug Harbor's population grew to 900 sailors and more than 50 buildings, including a farm, dairy, bakery, chapel, hospital, music hall and cemetery built in Greek Revival, Beaux Arts, Second Empire, Italianate and High Victorian styles. The structures represent not only the changing architectural tastes of the 19th century, but also Snug Harbor's financial health.
In the 20th century, Snug Harbor's fate mirrored that of the maritime port: modern methods of shipping goods negatively impacted New York's waterfront industries, while a dwindling number of aged and decrepit sailors called Snug Harbor home. In the 1960s, the maritime community was barely saved from the wrecking ball by the city's Landmarks Commission. The Greek Revival structures became the city's first landmarked buildings and are now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center hosts music recitals, performing arts, art exhibits and community activities in addition to permanent installations focusing on 19th century American history and maritime lore in its Main Hall Building C, built in the 1830s.
In spring, summer and fall, Snug Harbor's 83 acres bloom with hundreds of flowers or flowers and trees in landscaped sections. The Chinese Scholar's Garden, a stunning composition of plants, water and Chinese temple architecture, is a not-to-be-missed sight.
To visit Snug Harbor, take the free Staten Island Ferry from lower Manhattan to the St. George terminal. Follow signs to the S40 bus, then hop on for the ten-minute trip to Snug Harbor.
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