ABOUT STATEN ISLAND

Credit: Vinnie Amesse

                            Borough Hall Credit: Vinnie Amesse

There’s plenty more to see and do in Staten Island!

As the National Lighthouse Museum is located next to the ferry terminal in St. George, one of Staten Island’s main transportation hubs, visitors can use public transportation to easily access most of the island’s many cultural and recreational sites. Just across Bay Street, visitors to Staten Island Borough Hall can view an acclaimed set of Depression-Era bas-reliefs and murals that depict significant events in local history.

 

On the North Shore, large Victorian houses can be seen in the St. George Historic District and the St. Paul’s Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District. The area offers a variety of restaurants and activities within walking distance of the NLM or a short ride on a local bus. In particular, museum buffs will enjoy the Staten Island Museum, Alice Austen House, Sailors Snug Harbor Cultural Center, The Noble Maritime Collection, and the Staten Island Zoo.

 

Farther away, but still well worth seeking out are Historic Richmond Town, the 19th Century County Seat preserved by the Staten Island Historical Society, and the Conference House in Tottenville, where in August of 1776, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge met with British Army Commander Lord Howe in a last attempt to avert the American Revolution.

 

 

Bloomingdale Park

Credit: Vinnie Amesse

 

With over 12,300 acres of protected parkland (more than one-third of the island’s land mass), Staten Island is known as “The Borough of Parks.” Activities for all seasons can be found at the 170 different park locations. There is ice skating at Clove Lakes, swimming at South Beach, horseback riding at Clay Pits Ponds State Park, and bird watching at Mount Loretto Nature Preserve, to name but a few. Traditional parks with playgrounds and ball fields abound as do great swaths of forested land and passive parklands with nature trails and jogging paths.

 

For more information about all that Staten Island has to offer, go to Visit Staten Island.

 

 


 SAMPLE ITINERARY: STATEN ISLAND BEYOND THE FERRY

 

 

Time: 11:00AM

Destination: St. George Ferry Terminal (Staten Island)

Address: Whitehall Terminal (Manhattan)

Description:  Take the 10:30 am ferry from Whitehall and arrive at the St. George Terminal.

 


 

 

Time: 11:30AM

Destination: National Lighthouse Museum 

Address: 200 The Promenade at Lighthouse Point

Description: Explore Staten Island’s hidden lighthouse history. Home of the United States Lighthouse Establishment’s general supply depot. Learn about the history and technology of America’s lighthouses.


 

 

Time: 12:30PM

Destination: Borough Hall

Address: 10 Richmond Terrace

Description: Primary municipal building in Staten Island with    murals painted in 1940 by Frederick Charles Stahr depicting          Staten Island’s history.

 


 

Time: Lunch

Sit-down restaurants: Pier 76, Beso, Flagship Brewery, River Dock Café, or Marie’s 2

Description: Enjoy lunch at one of these local restaurants.

 


   

 

Time: 1:30PM

Destination: Snug Harbor Cultural Center or Alice Austen House 

Description: Take a quick bus ride from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to either Snug Harbor (S40 bus) or Alice Austen House (S51 bus).

 


 

Time: 3:30 pm

Destination: Esplanade, Postcards Memorial, and Empire Outlets

Description: Walk the Esplanade with its picture-perfect views of Manhattan to Postcards, a stunning and somber memorial to the 275 Staten Islanders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Before heading to the ferry, visit NYC’s only outlet mall Empire Outlets (opening May 15, 2022).


 

Time: Evening

Description: Stay!

Check websites for evening/weekend events for the National Lighthouse Museum , Staten Island Yankees , and St. George Theater.