In the early part of the twentieth century, the County's famous Glen Island Casino on Long Island Sound continued to draw such celebrities as Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers and Ozzie Nelson. Others came to the waterfront seeking the peace, tranquility and scenic beauty along this splendid shore.
As the crow flies, the shoreline within the City of New Rochelle measures 2.7 miles. But with its many irregularities and off-shore islands, the actual length of the waterfront is 9.3 miles. The unusual features of this splendid coast have over the years earned it the nickname, "the Queen City of the Sound."
Linked by the new highways was an equally impressive system of golf courses and lush county parks. Among these was New Rochelle's Glen Island, taken over in 1925 by Westchester County, and famous in the 1930s for the appearance of prominent big bands at its Casino.
By Barbara Davis, Acting City Historian
Stroll the extensive grounds landscaped in "magnificent foliage, rare plants and horticultural wonders." The "marvelous aviary, mammoth aquarium and unequalled menagerie" will delight children of all ages. Ride a miniature railroad, explore a mysterious grotto or an exotic village.
Fishing, bowling and billiards, concerts, dining and dancing day and night, all summer long.
Just hop aboard a trolley for a ride to New Rochelle or take a "delightful sail on fast-going steamers." The excursion boats leave hourly from Pier 18 on the Hudson River, South 5th Street in Brooklyn and 32nd Street on the East River. If you live in New Rochelle just board the ferry at the end of Slocum Road a quick trip over to the "World's Pleasure Grounds John Starin's Glen Island Resort".
First, however, you need to buy a ticket on a time machine, as these descriptions are culled from advertisements from the 1890s the heyday of this fabulous pre-Disney park.
John Starin, a Manhattan transportation magnate, began creating his "world famous" amusement park in 1879 with the purchase of Locust Island and seven other smaller islands off New Rochelle's shore. The resort he created as a destination for his fleet of excursion steamboats officially opened in 1880. Until World War I, each summer, tens of thousands of New Yorkers were boarding Starin's vessels for a pleasurable water trip to New Rochelle.
As the steamboats pulled into the docks of Glen Island, chimes atop a Chinese pagoda rang out a welcome. The enormous crowds from New York, and locals, had a multitude of diversions from which to choose, including "Kleine Deutschland," where singing waiters in lederhausen poured pitchers of New Rochelle Lager Beer. The castles that Starin fashioned after a Rhineland fortress still stand in the now County-owned park, just one reminder of New Rochelle's extraordinary Sound-dependant past.