Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Originally a housing residence for retired seaman, Snug Harbor is an 83-acre National
Historic Landmark District whose grand 19th century buildings house Snug Harbor
Cultural Center and many other Cultural Organizations.
Sailor’s Snug Harbor was founded in 1801 by Robert Richard Randall as the first
maritime home and hospital for retired sailors in the United States. When Sailor’s Snug
Harbor was at its peak at the turn of the century, it housed nearly 1000 sailors.
By the 1960’s, the number of sailors at Snug Harbor had declined dramatically, and the
property began to fall into disrepair. After a few of the buildings had been demolished,
the newly formed New York City Landmark Commission stepped in by landmarking
seven of Snug Harbor’s buildings. At the urging of community activists, the City of New
York purchased the property before it could be cleared for apartment buildings. What
followed was one of the largest site transformations in the country as the Greek revival
buildings were restored and the entire site was transformed into a major metropolitan
cultural center which opened to the public in 1976.
Today, Snug Harbor is Staten Island premier destination for the arts and is home to art
museums, botanical gardens, a music hall and a children’s museum, and its 19th Century
grounds are woven with woods and streams, colorful gardens and tree lined pathways.
Snug Harbor’s calendar is filled year-round with concerts, art installations, recitals, plays
and lectures which attract more than 250, 000 visitors each year. .
Snug Harbor also features its own Education Department which designs and overseas
programs that enable youths to explore their creativity, learn more about their
community, and compliment their classroom learning of the arts. Ongoing programs
include an architectural scavenger hunt, gallery tours and a mythology themed tour and
workshop.
The impressive number and quality of cultural institutions within Snug Harbor make it truly a center for the arts on Staten Island.
Address: 1000 Richmond Terrace
Phone number: 718-448-2500
Snug Harbor Cultural Center Website:
www.snug-harbor.org
Photo by Michael Falco