Starin's Glen Island facts for kids
Promotional postcard (1881).
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| Status | closed |
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| Opened | 1881 |
| Closed | 1910 |
Starin's Glen Island was a popular summer resort and the first "theme park" in the United States. It was created by a shipping businessman named John H. Starin in the late 1800s. People called it "America's pleasure grounds" because it was so much fun.
The park was designed to show five different cultures from around the world. These cultures were on separate islands connected by bridges and walkways. Glen Island became very popular, leading to a building boom in the nearby town of New Rochelle.
The resort was located on Glen Island, in New Rochelle, New York. This island is in the Long Island Sound. Originally, it was one main island with several smaller islands and rocky areas nearby. Today, it's all one large island.
Now, the area is home to Glen Island Park, which is a county park. You can still see parts of the old buildings there.
Contents
Island's Early History
Who Owned Glen Island Before Starin?
For a long time, the Siwanoy Native American people lived in this area. The first recorded owner was John Berhuyt in 1701. The island changed hands several times over the years.
In 1784, the island was sold after its owner, George Cromwell, lost his property. This happened because he was against the American Revolution. Later, it was known as "Wooley's Island" after its owner, Samuel Wooley.
In 1803, Newbury Davenport bought the island. He wanted to protect the beautiful view from his home nearby. The island stayed in the Davenport family until 1847.
Locust Island and a Grand Mansion
In 1847, Lewis Augustus DePau bought the island for $3,050. He was the grandson of a famous French admiral. DePau named the island "Locust" because of the many locust trees growing there.
DePau built a large mansion in the center of the island. It had beautiful gardens, fish ponds, and even a bowling alley. He used his home to entertain important guests. Famous visitors included the singer Jenny Lind and politician Daniel Webster.
In 1862, DePau sold the island to John Schmidt. Seventeen years later, in 1879, Schmidt's family sold the island to John H. Starin. Starin first bought it to be his country home.
Starin's Amazing Resort
Creating America's First Theme Park
John H. Starin owned a huge transportation company. He had many tugboats and passenger steamboats in New York Harbor. He used these steamboats to bring visitors from New York City to his new resort.
Starin bought four smaller islands around his main island. He called them "Glenwood," "Island Wild," "Beach Lawn," and "New Venue." He then combined them to create his grand summer resort and theme park, which he named "Glen Island."
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Glen Island postcard.
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Advertisement for steamships to Glen Island.
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A promotional card detailing attractions and steamship excursions.
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Fun and Attractions at Glen Island
The park opened in 1881 and quickly became very popular. Thousands of people visited every day. For a small fee, steamboats brought families to enjoy the resort. They could swim, eat at the Grand Cafe, and see the beautiful Long Island Sound.
The walkways were filled with colorful flowers and statues. There were also shady paths for visitors to escape the summer heat. The park offered many attractions, including:
- Music and bandstands
- A camera obscura (a device that projects an image)
- An aviary (for birds)
- Greenhouses
- Stone castles
- A Dutch mill
- A Chinese pagoda
A special chain ferry brought people from a dock on the mainland. The park also had a famous Natural history museum. This museum displayed ancient mummies, Native American tools, and other rare items. It even had the first fire engine used in New York State, meteors, and a giant stuffed white whale.
Visitors could also enjoy bathing beaches and pavilions for up to 800 people. There were paths for horseback riding, a miniature steam train, and a zoo. The zoo had exotic animals like monkeys, lions, elephants, and trained seals.
The most famous attraction was a German castle. It looked like an old fortress from the Rhine River. Inside the castle was the "Little Germany" beer garden. Here, waiters in special clothes served food and drinks.
Glen Island was known worldwide as "one of the most beautiful spots in America." It was also called "the first summer resort in the United States, if not the world." It was a "theme park" many years before Disneyland was built.
Park's Popularity and End
By 1882, half a million people visited the park. Within six years, over a million people came! Starin wanted the park to be a calm and orderly place. He wanted it to be different from the busy city life of New York City. What was amazing was that all the attractions, rides, and amusements were free!
Glen Island's popularity helped New Rochelle grow into a busy summer resort town. This lasted for almost 40 years.
However, the park's golden age began to end in 1904. A terrible ship fire, the General Slocum disaster, happened on June 15, 1904. Over 1,000 people died. This event greatly reduced steamboat travel, including Starin's business. The park closed after the 1904 summer season, though it did briefly reopen in 1910.
John Starin died in 1909. The Starin family sold Glen Island in 1910. After this, the resort became unprofitable and closed for good. In 1917, the company that owned Glen Island went bankrupt. The bathing houses burned down, and later, DePau's old mansion also burned.
The park remained mostly untouched until 1924. That year, the Westchester County Parks Commission bought it. They added it to their County Park System. They filled in land to connect all five islands into one large landmass. A large bridge was also built to connect the island to the mainland. This made it easier for people to visit.
Glen Island Casino
The Glen Island Casino dining hall was built on the foundation of the old Grand Cafe. This building had balconies overlooking the Long Island Sound. This made it a very attractive place for dining and entertainment.
Back then, the word "casino" meant a public place for entertainment, not for gambling. However, the place soon gained a reputation for illegal activities during the Prohibition Era (when alcohol was illegal in the U.S.).
At the same time, the casino started booking popular musicians for weekend dances. Ozzie Nelson and his orchestra were among the first. They became famous playing at the casino in 1932.
The next summer, the Casa Loma Orchestra played there. This band helped start the Big Band Era at the casino. Many performances from the Glen Island Casino were broadcast nationwide on the radio. Its large ballroom was perfect for clear radio transmissions.
Many famous artists became well-known after playing at the casino. These included Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Doris Day, and Gene Krupa.
After the Big Band Era ended, the Glen Island Casino became a restaurant and catering hall. It is still part of the present-day Glen Island Park. Today, it is open only to residents of Westchester County.
