Sailors' Snug Harbor facts for kids
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Sailors' Snug Harbor
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"Temple Row"
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| Location | 914–1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York City, New York |
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| Built | 1831–1833 |
| Architect | Martin E. Thompson; Minard Lafever |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000909 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 16, 1972 |
| Designated NHLD | December 8, 1976 |
Sailors' Snug Harbor, also known as Snug Harbor, is a special place on Staten Island, New York City. It has many beautiful old buildings from the 1800s. These buildings are part of an 83-acre park along the Kill Van Kull in New Brighton. Today, art groups use many of the buildings and the park. This whole area is called the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.
Sailors' Snug Harbor started as a home for sailors who had retired. Captain Robert Richard Randall left money in his will for this purpose when he died in 1801. The home opened in 1833. Over the years, more buildings were added. In 1976, the sailors' home moved away. The buildings then became a cultural center. A special group, connected to the Smithsonian museums, now runs the grounds and buildings.
Snug Harbor has 26 buildings with different styles. These include Greek Revival, Beaux Arts, Italianate, and Victorian styles. Five of these, called "Temple Row," are Greek Revival buildings (A through E). The buildings are in large, pretty gardens. A cast-iron fence from the 1800s surrounds them. There is also a chapel and a cemetery for sailors. The cultural center has many cool places. These include the Staten Island Botanical Garden, the Staten Island Children's Museum, the Staten Island Museum, the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, and the Noble Maritime Collection. It also has Art Lab and the Music Hall.
Many people think Snug Harbor is Staten Island's "crown jewel." It is a very important part of New York's history with the sea. It is also a National Historic Landmark District. Several buildings here are also New York City designated landmarks.
History of Snug Harbor
How Snug Harbor Started
Snug Harbor began because of Captain Robert Richard Randall. He was a soldier and ship master in the Revolutionary War. When he died in 1801, he left money in his will. He wanted to create a place for "aged, decrepit and worn-out" seamen (sailors).
The first meeting for Sailors’ Snug Harbor happened in 1806. The mayor of New York City, DeWitt Clinton, became its first president. Some people tried to challenge Randall's will in court. But the will was finally approved.
Randall's original land for the home was in Manhattan. But by the time the court cases ended, that land was very developed. So, the people in charge of Snug Harbor decided to sell the Manhattan land. They used the money to build the home on a different piece of land Randall owned. This land was 130 acres on Staten Island, with views of the Kill Van Kull. They bought the land in May 1831.
The Sailors' Home Years
The first building for the home was finished in August 1833. It is now called Building C. When it opened, Sailors' Snug Harbor was the first home in the country for retired merchant sailors.
From 1867 to 1884, Captain Thomas Melville was in charge. He was a retired sea captain and the brother of Herman Melville, who wrote Moby-Dick. In 1890, another leader, Captain Gustavus Trask, built a church and a music hall. At its busiest time in the late 1800s, about 1,000 retired sailors lived at Snug Harbor. It was one of the richest charities in New York.
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But by the mid-1900s, Snug Harbor had money problems. Some of its grand buildings fell apart or were torn down. The beautiful Randall Memorial Church was taken down in 1952. Also, with the start of Social Security in the 1930s, fewer old sailors needed a home. By the mid-1950s, fewer than 200 sailors lived there.
Saving Snug Harbor: Landmark Status
In the 1960s, the people running Snug Harbor wanted to build tall buildings on the site. But the new New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission stepped in to save the old buildings. They made them "landmark structures." This led to many legal fights. But in 1968, the landmark status was upheld. The buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The whole area became a National Historic Landmark district in 1976.
The people in charge of Snug Harbor sold the Staten Island site to New York City in 1972 and 1974. But the city had money problems in 1975. So, it couldn't even do small repairs. The Snug Harbor leaders were also losing money. In June 1976, they moved the sailors' home to Sea Level, North Carolina.
Today, the original group still uses money to help sailors across the country. The old records of Sailors' Snug Harbor are kept at the State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx.
Becoming a Cultural Center
The Snug Harbor Cultural Center and the Staten Island Botanical Garden were created in 1975. The Cultural Center would run the buildings, and the Botanical Garden would take care of the gardens. On September 12, 1976, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center opened to the public.
In 2008, the Cultural Center and the Botanical Garden joined together. They became the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.
Buildings and Architecture
The five main Greek Revival buildings at Snug Harbor are on the north side, near Richmond Terrace. They are called buildings A through E, from west to east. These buildings were designed by Minard Lafever and Richard Smyth. They were built between 1831 and 1880. Building C was for offices, and the others were dorms (places for sailors to sleep). The buildings are lined up. But because of how they look, buildings B and D seem a bit set back from A, C, and E. People have called them "the most extraordinary" group of Greek temple-style buildings in the United States.
There are other buildings too, like F through H. The Great Hall and Music Hall are east of these. South of the Music Hall is the Veteran's Memorial Hall, which used to be the chapel. The Staten Island Children's Museum is in the middle of the grounds. On the west side, there are five cottages (A through E).
Buildings A through E are all landmarks. The chapel and the inside of Building C and the chapel are also landmarks. The five main buildings and chapel became landmarks in 1965. The inside of Building C and the chapel became landmarks in 1982.
Main Buildings: A through E
Building A
Building A was designed by Richard Smyth and built in 1879. It has two main floors, a basement, and an attic. It is a rectangle with a sloped roof. The main entrance has steps leading to a stone porch. This porch has six columns supporting a classic triangle shape (pediment). This building was first a dorm. Since 2015, Building A has been home to the Staten Island Museum.
Building B
Building B was designed by Minard Lafever and built from 1839 to 1840. It has two main floors, an attic, and a high basement. It is a rectangle with a sloped roof. The front is made of smooth stone and has a small porch with a triangle shape. This building was also a dorm. Building B is not open to the public. It is still being fixed up.
Building C: The Administration Building
Building C, also called the Administration Building, is a Greek Revival style building. Minard Lafever designed it, and it was built from 1831 to 1883. It is Lafever's oldest building that is still standing. It has two main floors, a basement, and an attic. It is a rectangle with a sloped roof. The main entrance has steps leading to a stone porch. This porch has eight columns supporting a classic triangle shape.
Building C was originally for offices. But it also had bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and fun rooms. The main entrance leads to a tall main hall with a domed ceiling. This hall has wooden floors. Nine doors lead to other rooms on the first floor. Passageways connect it to buildings B and D. A staircase with iron railings connects the first and second floors. The second floor has a balcony around the main hall. The ceiling has decorations related to the sea.
The inside of Building C was updated in 1884. The main hall was fixed up again in the 1990s. Building C now holds part of the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art.
Building D
Building D was designed by Minard Lafever and built from 1831 to 1841. It has two main floors, an attic, and a high basement. It is a rectangle with a sloped roof. The front is made of smooth stone and has a small porch with a triangle shape. This building was a dorm. Since 1992, Building D has been home to the Noble Maritime Collection.
Building E
Building E was designed by Richard Smyth and built in 1880. It has two main floors, a basement, and an attic. It is a rectangle with a sloped roof. The main entrance has steps leading to a stone porch. This porch has six columns supporting a classic triangle shape. This building was also a dorm. Building E is not open to the public.
Veteran's Memorial Hall (The Chapel)
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The Veteran's Memorial Hall used to be the chapel. James Solomon designed it, and it was built between 1855 and 1856. It mixes Italianate architecture and Greek Revival architecture styles. The chapel looks like a typical church from New England. It has a sloped roof. The front entrance has a tower with a bell tower. Inside, the entrance leads to a room with three arches. The brick outside has six arched windows on each side.
Inside, the main room can fit 600 people. It has wooden benches and decorated walls. The ceiling is curved and has two lamps. A balcony is on the north side. At the south end, there is a raised area where the altar used to be. There is also an office with bookshelves and a stone fireplace.
The chapel's bell tower and stained glass windows were added in 1883. The chapel was moved 200 feet in 1893. The Veteran's Memorial Hall was damaged in 2014. It is not open to the public.
Grounds and Gardens
The buildings are surrounded by large, beautiful gardens. There are five gates to enter the property. Two are for cars, and three are for people walking. The gatehouse at the north gate and the iron fence on Richmond Terrace are New York City landmarks.
One writer said that Snug Harbor feels like a college campus or a small town square. The buildings are lined up like on a street, but they are also in a park. This makes them unique.
The grounds have a zinc fountain from 1893 with the god Neptune. The original is now inside, and a copy is outside. There is also a bronze statue of Robert Randall.
Iron Fence and Gatehouses
A long iron fence surrounds the property. About one-third of a mile of the fence on the north side is a city landmark. It was built in the mid-1800s in the Greek Revival style. Several gates with granite posts are part of the fence.
There are many gatehouses to enter the grounds. They were built between 1851 and 1875. They are in the Italianate, Second Empire, and Romanesque styles. The main gate for cars is the western gatehouse, built in 1880.
The northern gatehouse on Richmond Terrace is right in front of Building C. It has a tall archway in the middle. Guard rooms with windows are on each side of the archway. The top of the gatehouse has brick decorations. A square tower is at the center of the archway.
Snug Harbor Cemetery
The sailors who lived at Snug Harbor were buried on the grounds in a place called "Monkey Hill." This cemetery is now across the road from Snug Harbor, in Allison Pond Park. The cemetery part is still owned by Snug Harbor. More than 7,000 bodies are buried there. Most of the graves do not have headstones anymore. The headstones were removed in the 1980s to keep them safe.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is a special group that runs Sailors' Snug Harbor. Its main goal is to "operate, manage and develop" Snug Harbor as a cultural and educational center and park. In 2005, it received a large grant from the Carnegie Corporation. It is home to the Staten Island Children's Theater Association and the Staten Island Conservatory of Music.
Staten Island Botanical Garden
The Staten Island Botanical Garden has many beautiful gardens. The White Garden was inspired by a famous garden in England. Connie Gretz's Secret Garden was built in 2000. It has a castle, a maze, and a walled secret garden. The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden is a real Chinese garden. It was built in 1998, like the famous gardens in Suzhou, China.
Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art
The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art opened in 1977. It shows art from local and international artists. It also has space for artists to work and show their art. It is located inside the Greek Revival buildings of Sailors‘ Snug Harbor.
The Newhouse Center used to focus on artists from Staten Island. Now, it shows a wider range of modern art. Unlike many museums in New York, the Newhouse has a lot of space. This means it can show big art pieces and even outdoor sculptures.
Noble Maritime Collection
The Noble Maritime Collection is a museum in Building D. It focuses on the work of artist and sailor John A. Noble (1913–1983). It opened in 2000.
The museum has a houseboat that Noble turned into his art studio. It is a home on the water and an artist's workspace all in one. It has wooden surfaces, round windows, a bed, a drawing table, and tools for making prints.
Staten Island Children's Museum
The Staten Island Children's Museum has many hands-on exhibits that change often. It also has a collection of live insects and other arthropods all year. The museum is in two buildings. One was built in 1913. The other was an old barn where animals were kept to feed the sailors. A modern walkway connects the two buildings to make one museum.
Staten Island Museum
The Staten Island Museum opened a new location at Snug Harbor in September 2015. After having two locations for almost two years, the museum moved all its operations to Building A. The museum hopes to expand into Building B soon.
Art Lab
Art Lab is a school for fine and applied art. It started in 1975. It offers art classes and shows art.
Music Hall
The Music Hall is a Greek Revival style auditorium with 686 seats. It hosts many performances. It is the second-oldest music hall in New York City. It opened in July 1892 with a performance called "The Rose Maiden." About 600 sailors from the home watched from plain wooden seats. Trustees and their guests sat in the fancy balcony seats.
Getting to Snug Harbor
The S40 bus goes to and from the Staten Island Ferry and Staten Island Railway at St. George Terminal. It stops right at Snug Harbor's front gate. There used to be a train station called Sailors' Snug Harbor station on the Staten Island Railway. But that station closed in 1953. You can still see parts of the old station today.
Images for kids
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Castle guards Secret Garden entrance
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Greenhouse
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Gazebo
