Well, Christmas is finally officially over for me. It was one for the books. The holiday season just came and went without much fanfare or activities. Nothing like last year which was a lot of running around visiting decorated homes or running to the next cocktail party or dinner. Those things just did not exist this year. This season was all about the outside walking tours and small get togethers.
The whole holiday season became a blur and I started to attend a lot of outdoor activities that became available. Anything to get out of the house and see people or go do something out of the ordinary. I really had to search things out.
They started closest to home. I was trying to split my time between places that were just a drive away, going back and forth to the Hudson River Valley, which gave me a change of scenery and walking the neighborhoods of Manhattan, which gave me a sense of purpose as I felt I was supporting the City by being a cheerleader for all it had to offer even in the era of COVID.
My holiday journey started with the delivery of 375 Christmas trees for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. It was a big undertaking for a major charity that supports graduating high school seniors with scholarship money for college. I sometimes wonder if these students know what we go through to get the funds.
The trees were really nice this year
I have never seen so many Christmas Trees fly off a lot so fast. The membership of the Men’s Association got there at 9:00am and the truck arrived at 10:15am. We sold our first tree at 11:30am as we were tagging them. I stayed the entire day from 9:00am to 10:00pm when we closed the lot down for the evening. In the three shifts that I was there with the other guys, we sold 45 trees which we have never done our first day of sales.
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association at set-up 2020
We were completely sold out by December 11th which I have never seen before. It seemed in the era of COVID everyone reverted back to the 1970’s and wanted a fresh Christmas tree for their home. I thought this was wonderful and people could not have been more supportive to our organization.
Please read my blog on “Christmas tree sales in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ”:
Please watch the commercial I did in 2015 to sell our trees
The first week of December means “Open Houses” at some of our merchants in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights. I look forward to seeing all the Christmas merchandise being offered, all the bouquets created for the event and the beautiful Christmas windows that our florists in town have done.
Bill O’Shea’s Florist at 231 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ always has a nice gathering the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year was like no other but it did not keep a nice crowd of residents from coming out and looking over ideas for floral displays, house decorating ideas and listening to festive holiday music all while nibbling on prepackaged treats and bottled drinks.
Bill O’Shea’s has some of the nicest displays at the holidays
In a normal year, it would be hot chocolate and coffee with freshly baked goods but COVID has changed the way these businesses are run. Everything had to be prepackaged and most people at it outside as juggling and shopping with a mask on was tough.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, the same weekend we set up the Christmas Tree lot for the Men’s Association, Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ had their Open House and that was equally as nice.
Heights Flower Shoppe is housed in a turn of the last century home that dates back to the original founding of our downtown and has a very classic boutique look to it. The store was stocked with all sorts of Christmas decorations, homemade candies, decorative household gifts and beautiful floral displays as well as outside had decorated wreathes and grave blankets.
The homemade candies and Christmas decorations adorn the store
Like Bill O’Shea’s, there was all sorts of packaged holiday treats to enjoy including Italian sodas, small bags of homemade Christmas cookies and candies. Last year they had a nice assortment of cookies and small sandwiches with coffee, tea and punch so there are always holiday treats to nibble on too here as well.
All of Downtown Hasbrouck Heights was beautifully decorated for the holidays with wreaths on all our lamp posts, Christmas lights on the trees, merchants display windows decorated to the hilt and Christmas music playing.
Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is always so nicely decorated for the holidays
This year because of COVID, the Annual Holiday Parade and Christmas Tree Lighting were cancelled in town but they did have a small get together at the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights to light the town Christmas tree. It was lit from Thanksgiving until the Epiphany on January 6th. It is always a beautiful site when entering town from the west side of town.
The Christmas Tree on the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Even the little Neil Parrot playhouse, a local landmark in Hasbrouck Heights, was decorated for the holidays and was lite up at night as well.
The Neil Parrot Playhouse on the Circle in Hasbrouck Heights awaiting Santa
There were several nights of my aunt and I exploring the town and driving block by block to see all the decorated homes. Hasbrouck Heights and the surrounding towns of Lodi and Wood Ridge always do a wonderful job decorating for the holidays but with everyone being home and COVID hitting the area hard, people wanted to really decorate and make this year even more festive. Between the merchants and home owners, they made this time of year in Hasbrouck Heights very festive.
Please read my blog on Visiting Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ:
I did not just celebrate Christmas in Hasbrouck Heights. I ventured into other parts of New Jersey, to New York City and my usual haunts in the Hudson River Valley but like New Jersey, New York State was on a lock down as well and all the decorated mansions and holiday gatherings were all cancelled as well. So everyone did their best to celebrate outdoors and have all sorts of tours and small get togethers. You had to move fast when reserving these events as they did fill up because everyone wanted to get out of the house and see things.
The Sinterklaas Parade that I have participated and volunteered at for so many years was cancelled because of COVID but like the Halloween Parade, the committee put together a video of the parade to share with the world. Still it did not compare to the excitement of walking down the hill with stars and music lighting up Downtown Rhinebeck, NY.
The noble Frog was to be our mascot for this year’s Sinterklaas Parade
It was not the same as the year before where the crowds kept getting larger and larger every year. The whole town came to life with activities, songs, lights and laughter but was silent that weekend except for people having dinner in town. I was able to sneak up during the week. The entire town was decorated with white lights and beautifully decorated store windows. Rhinebeck is one of those towns in the Hudson River Valley that looks straight out of a Currier & Ives woodcut.
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas
Since all the Christmas parties and get togethers were cancelled, it gave me more time to look into other outdoor events. I went to a special “Historical walking tour at the Holidays” at the Bergen County Historical Society in River Edge, NJ. The tour was lead by Historical singer and lecturer, Linda Russell, who explained the traditions of the Dutch Christmas all while singing Colonial Christmas songs in between the talks at each historical house on the property.
Actors dressed in costumes (and masks of course-COVID is still going on) danced in the Steuben House ballroom as colonialists celebrating the holiday, Dutch housewives putting their children to bed while awaiting Sinterklaas. There was a Dutch wooden shoe with carrots for his horse outside the door and mistletoe on the ceiling.
Linda Russell performing and lecturing at the Bergen County Historical Society
There was a discussion on the Pagan traditions of bringing ‘greens’ from outside inside to have a bit of ‘live nature’ into the home. So mistletoe, pine and holly adorned homes during the winter months as these things were green and brought a bit of life into the dead of winter.
The last part of the lecture was done in front of the Campbell-Christie House with a visit from Sinterklaas himself. We had a short talk about who Sinterklaas was and his part in the holiday season. Then all the members of the tour enjoyed refreshments and got a goody bag when we left with holiday sweets. The lecture and songs were a nice way to enjoy the beginning of the holiday season.
My favorite song by Linda Russell “I saw Three Ships”
As I was finishing up the semester at the College, I was getting holiday preparations done at the house, having small gatherings of family and friends and trying to be COVID safe. I was also running in and out of the City finishing my blog on Kips Bay before the holidays started getting busier. I learned a lot of New York’s Colonial past from walking around this area of the City.
My blogs on the Walking the neighborhood of Kips Bay:
The next weekend I made my last trip of the season to Long Beach Island to visit Beach Haven and the tour the rest of the island one last time before winter set in. It had really closed down since Halloween. I expected it to be much busier with more people moving down there on a permanent basis. Driving up to the lighthouse, I saw more dark homes then lite ones.
I wanted to take one more tour of Long Beach Island to see how they celebrate Christmas at the shore. They do things very quietly in Beach Haven. I went to the Surflight Theater to see the only play I had seen since I attended Carnegie Hall last Christmas to see the play “We need a little Christmas” which I had seen advertised at the theater over the summer.
“We need a Little Christmas” at the Surflight Theater in Beach Haven, NJ
After the theater, it was surprisingly warm that afternoon hovering around 58 degrees so I walked to the beach one block away and walked on the Jersey shore for my only time that year and for the first time on Beach Haven beach since 1975. It has been a long journey since that time.
The Beach Haven beach was beautiful that afternoon
The town’s Christmas trees were across the street from the theater on the square just off the downtown. Even they had a subdued Christmas at the shore and the whole event welcoming in the season was done virtually.
Christmas in Beach Haven, NJ adapted like the rest of the world
My holiday dinner was spent at the Chicken or the Egg that evening and it was really good. The menu is so extensive and innovative. It was hard to make choices.
The Chicken Wacker Sandwich at the Chicken & Egg
Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream sandwich at Chicken or the Egg
Their fried chicken sandwiches are really good and their Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream sandwich should not be missed.
The Chicken or the Egg at 207 North Bay Avenue in Beach Haven
I was able to tour the whole island that afternoon before it got dark and even at twilight here and there were signs of Christmas in small trees lit in the shopping areas and decorated homes. It is an interesting place at the holidays with the waves crashing in the background.
My blog on “Exploring Downtown Beach Haven and Long Beach Island, NJ”:
The next week was finals week at the College and I had to give my final exam. The students also finished work on their case study, “Bud N’ Mud”, a simulated flower/coffee shop I had the students develop. It was interesting to see how a group of student entrepreneurs would create a store with their own ideas on how to grow the business. This project ended the Fall semester.
One of my favorite logo’s from the “Bud N’ Mud” project
With the Christmas trees selling out by December 11th, we held our annual Christmas party at the Christmas tree stand site for the Men’s Association. It was a cool not cold night and we all huddled around the fire taking alternate turns hitting the makeshift buffet table and enjoying good conversation. It was a great way to end the year successfully and there will lots of scholarships being given out at the end of the school year.
The last big event before Christmas came was the Sunday before Christmas with the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department holding our Annual “Santa Around Town”. Because COVID was growing, the event was revamped from previous years and instead of stopping at sites all over town, we drove down each street in town slowly, having Santa wave and greet people who were on their lawns, driveways and porches. The residents of Hasbrouck Heights seemed touched by it and I could tell from the safety of the fire truck that the kids got a kick out of seeing Santa. People really needed the pick me up in holiday spirit at the time.
The Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department at “Santa Around Town” 2020
On the Tuesday before Christmas after I finished work with my other job I needed a break and wanted to go on a road trip to the Hudson River Valley again. I was nostalgic for Christmas’s past and decided to visit some of the towns Upstate.
I explored Downtown Woodstock first seeing their very unusual Christmas tree in the square. I have to say one thing about Woodstock, they do pick out the most interesting tree to sit in the square. It always looks more surreal than traditional. Their annual “Santa Parade” was cancelled this year as well and they did a drive by with Santa at the Woodstock Fire Department who runs the parade.
Downtown Kingston, NY was next on the list. Talk about a town in transition. In the almost three years since I have been visiting Kingston, I have never seen a downtown change so rapidly. The businesses there have gone from all this ‘hippie granola’ businesses to all these antique furniture stores and art galleries and some really expensive restaurants. One of the locals told me the new residents are “Brooklynizing” Kingston.
The Christmas tree in Downtown Kingston
Still the downtown was nicely lit for the holidays and their Christmas Tree while small is nicely lit for the holidays on the edge of the downtown “Stockade” district. The Dutch Reformed Church on the other end of downtown was nicely lit with wreaths on the doors.
I crossed the river and drove to Red Hook, NY which I love. Their downtown looks like an old fashioned shopping district straight out of another Currier & Ives print. All the little stores were decorated with garland and white lights and the merchants decorated their windows to the hilt.
My last stop on my search for the perfect picturesque Hudson Valley River town was returning to Rhinebeck, NY for the day. Rhinebeck was quiet on this Tuesday evening as most of the restaurants were closed and the shops had closed for the evening. Still it was nice to walk around and admire the while lights on the trees and admire the display windows.
The Christmas lights and windows of Downtown Rhinebeck, NY
Even the way I celebrate Christmas changed this year. Instead of spending time with my family, I spent three days in Manhattan with my best friend, Maricel, at a hotel in Times Square. Neither of us had the time to travel and we both had to work in the City, her at her hotel and me working on my blogs so both of us needed the rest.
AC Hotel New York Times Square at 260 West 40th Street
We stayed at the AC Hotel New York Times Square at 260 West 40th Street. What the room lacked in size, it made up in the view and in the location. We were one block from Port Authority, two blocks from Times Square and within walking distance from all the Christmas attractions from Saks Fifth Avenue’s Christmas windows and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
While Maricel worked on Christmas Eve, I walked around the City. I saw the tree at Rockefeller Center which was loaded with people not keeping socially distanced. I admired the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue which had a New York City theme with Christmas scenes from around the City “This is how we Celebrate”.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s Christmas Themed window “Over the East River and Through the Neighborhoods to Grandfather’s House We Go”
Rockefeller Center’s Christmas Tree was even more special this year
I thought the windows at Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf-Goodman really lacked in creativity. Bloomingdale’s was having a bad year and Bergdorf’s had just gotten sold again (forth time since I worked there in 2004) so I did not expect much. With Lord & Taylor declaring bankruptcy earlier in the year and closing the main store on Fifth Avenue and B. Altman’s long gone and Macy’s going mechanical for the last few years, the excitement of seeing the windows has been less than enthusiastic.
Still it was nice to walk around Midtown after leaving the Rockefeller Center area and just walking around Third, Park and Madison Avenues. By 7:00pm, everything had shut down for the night and the streets were really quiet. What was eerie was when walking down Park Avenue and looking up and seeing so many dark buildings. The area looked abandoned with so many apartment lights out. I wondered where everyone went?
When Maricel got off work, I brought in dinner 9th Avenue Deli at 769 Ninth Avenue. I brought in a juicy cheeseburger and chicken fingers which we shared and then dug into. The perfect comfort food on a cool night. Christmas Eve was a mild 59 degrees and it was nice to walk around.
We just hung out the whole night and watched movies in the hotel room. I went to bed early and sunk into the wonderful Marriott hotel bed. Marriott had the best hotel beds and every time I stay at one of their hotels, I slept like a log.
Christmas Day we just relaxed in the room and I called many members of my family to wish them a Merry Christmas. While Maricel went to work, I decided to start touring neighborhoods like Kips Bay, Rose Hill and NoMAD in preparation in my walks there. It started out being a cold, cloudy day and there was barely anyone on the street. I saw a few people walking their dogs and that was about it until about 3:00pm. It them cleared up and was a mild 55 degrees until it got dark and then cooled down.
What really shocked me about Times Square was how dirty it was on the streets. They had not picked up the garbage on Christmas Eve day and did not pick it up until after Christmas Day so between the theaters being boarded up and the ply boards filled with graffiti, hotels closed and restaurants shut, the whole Theater district looked like NYC circa 1975. It was creepy how the pandemic was affecting the business of this neighborhood.
Neighborhoods like Kips Bay, Murray Hill, Rose Hill, NoMAD and the Flatiron District were really quiet that morning and early afternoon. All the restaurants and stores were dark, three hotels had closed in the district and I saw just a few people milling around. Things changed as I got closer to Macy’s Herald Square.
When walking around Koreatown, which runs between Sixth and Fifth Avenues between 35th to 32nd Streets, the side streets were teeming with Korean couples and groups of family members dining in the outdoor restaurants and cafes. This neighborhood was really jumping and full of life.
As the day wore on by 5:00pm, the rest of the City came back to life and more restaurants and stores opened up. Christmas morning and afternoon were now over and I could tell that people wanted to get out of the house (probably to get away from the family celebrations).
Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue (Closed January 2025)
When Maricel returned, I ordered in dinner from Golden City Chinese Restaurant at 423 Ninth Avenue, one of the few neighborhood restaurants open and we our dinner in the room. The food was okay. It was nice to just eat in the room and relax.
Christmas dinner was Lemon Chicken and Fried Rice from Golden City Chinese Restaurant
We checked out at noon on the 26th and she left for work that afternoon, I headed into Brooklyn to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Museum. Both were really quiet that day. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden was mostly dormant for the winter and most of the garden was closed off because of COVID. The “Studio 54” exhibition had long closed at the Brooklyn Museum so I just wondered the halls and looked at some of the changes in the permanent exhibitions that they had. I left the City for home early that evening.
The last week of the holiday, I entertained family at a Lasagna and Champagne dinner I had a the house. Since I was not able to spend time at home during the holidays, my aunts came over to my house and we had a three course meal with champagne and wine. We spent the whole night laughing and enjoying the evening.
New Year’s Eve was a quiet evening at home alone talking with other friends who were staying home alone as well. Times Square was empty that evening with the exception of the 350 first responders who were invited to the ball drop. When I watched it on TV it was eerie to see it so quiet. There was no one for blocks except police guarding Times Square.
I headed back up to the Hudson River Valley again on New Year’s Day to go on two walking tours in Staatsburgh, NY at the Mills Mansion. It was the Annual “First of the Year” walking tours and it was a cool, crisp morning for a walking tour of the property. There were two tours that morning, one was on “Winter Activities in Victorian Times” with us learning about all the winter activities that the residents here enjoyed like skating , sledding, ice boating and horse drawn sleigh rides.
The other tour later that afternoon was on “Ice Harvesting in the Hudson River Valley” , where we learned about how the ice harvesting of the Hudson River was a big business before the advent of refrigeration. Large slabs of ice were cut from the river, floated down stream and then packed in straw awaiting sale over the metropolitan area for peoples ice boxes throughout the year. It just gave me anther excuse to visit the region I love so much.
My blog on the Mills Mansion on VisitingaMuseum.com:
Another local event that was COVID safe was a driving tour through the “Holiday Lightshow” at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale, NJ. This was the first time that the farm opened the apple and peach orchard across the street from the farm stand. I saw this display the last week it was open and even after the holidays, it was a special treat as we awaited the Epiphany.
Driving through the display only took about forty minutes but was a delight in the senses and sounds. I played the classical music station as I drove through and admired all the colorful lights on the now dormant trees while Santa’s and Snowmen winked and waved and toy soldiers lit the way through the dark field. Even the Demarest homestead was ablaze with lights.
Demarest Farms at 244 Werimus Drive in Hillsdale, NJ
The holiday event I visited was the Bronx Zoo for their “Holiday Lights” event at the zoo. It was the last night of the event and I arranged for the tickets that afternoon. The zoo gave me a 30% discount to go that evening and I was on the subway ride up to the Bronx.
The Bronx Zoo Light Show
I was really impressed by the display. The entire park was decorated with white lights, with different sections of the park decorated with different themes such as jungle animals, aquatic mammals and all sorts of assorted elephants, seals, penguins, lions, tigers and bears (oh my haha). There were costumed characters to take pictures with and they even had the Bug Carousel open that evening. I got a kick out of riding this since I had not done this since I was a little kid.
The Bronx Zoo musical Christmas Tree in the old part of the zoo
The Magical Christmas tree musical show
In the older section of the park, they had birds on stilts and a musical Christmas trees that had an interesting soundtrack of contemporary Christmas songs. Even though Christmas had been over now for almost two weeks, it me back into the Christmas spirit.
The birds on silts or puppets as they might be called
So there was the Christmas holidays in the era of COVID. Lots of outdoor activities in hot and cold weather. Many walking tours and more subdued events. Gone were the cocktail parties and big formal dinners and in their place were many more smaller outdoor events and communicating with nature.
Colorful flowers at the Bronx Zoo “Holidays Lights” show
Maybe we all needed to take a break from the more formal traditions and go back to the basics of family and friends. I think this was a reflective year and realizing what is important. It had not changed that much for me. I just adjusted to the times, wore a mask and got going. Staying safe and keeping others safe is what is all about.
Hours: Open Thursday-Sunday: 11:00am-5:00pm (the last tour is at 4:00pm)/Open Monday Holidays from April 19th to October 28th. The mansion then closes to prepare for the holiday season. Closed on Thanksgiving and Easter. There are special programs from January to April so please see the website.
Admission: $8.00 for adults/$6.00 for groups and Seniors/Children under 12 are free. Special events have separate fees and can run from $8.00 to $10.00 and above.
I finished Kips Bay right before the holidays and the comings and goings of the holidays took up a lot of time. I still can’t believe the Christmas holiday season is over. It was so surreal from previous holidays. In the era of COVID, it has really been a crazy time in history. I told my students before we finished the semester, that they were living through a Business case study in which people will be talking about for years.
I have had a chance since the City reopened in June through the holidays to revisit many of the neighborhoods that I have walked previously and it is shocking the number of places that have gone out of business since just Christmas. In just two weeks, I have seen more storefronts empty out than since the end of the summer. Many restaurants especially have not been able to survive the Christmas holiday season with them being closed to indoor dining and then the colder weather setting in earlier. I see more people eating outside huddled next to a lone pool heater. At least Christmas Eve and Day were really warm and the restaurants were able to keep busy outside.
I was finally able to visit the MoMA this morning. It was the first time since March 10th that I was able to visit the museum. The last time I had been there was to see the ‘Jack Lemon Retrospect’ and saw the film “The Odd Couple”. Than just a few days later everything closed. I was able to see the ‘Judd Exhibition’, with its colorful large sculpture installments and then explored the new extension of the museum that had opened up since the COVID pandemic. It was strange to see so few people in the museum.
Donald Judd was an American born artist who studied art and phlosophy at Columbia University and had been an art critic for years while dabbling in paining. In the 1960’s, he started he started to create three dimensional works of art and known for his wide scale installations (Artist bio).
After the visit to the museum, I traveled down Fifth Avenue to East 42nd Street and then crossed over to Lexington Avenue and this is where the shocking part was to see how many businesses have closed since Christmas alone. There were so many small stores that just were open and many more restaurants and delis that are now empty or closed until further notice. Even when entering Rose Hill, there were at least three more hotels that are now boarded up for closure. These neighborhoods look from the outskirts seem vibrant but walking on the streets tells another story.
Even the streets on a Friday afternoon seemed quiet. It had been busier closer to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and Saks Fifth Avenue’s windows but all those things are now gone. I would have expected to see the Christmas tree still up until at least this Sunday but everything was gone. The Epiphany was on January 6th and I would have thought to keep it up with a little holiday cheer until the weekend.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020
I got to Kips Bay by 1:00pm and started the walk by visiting Curry Express again at 130 East 29th Street for some more of their Curry Chicken Patties ($3.00). I needed a quick snack and these are really good. The ground well seasoned chicken is filled with the aroma of curry and spices and accented with fresh peas in a puff pastry. They are truly delicious and have a nice crunch in every bite.
Curry Express at 130 East 29th Street has the most delicious Chicken Curry Patties (Closed 2022)
“Rose Hill” is the name of a farm that used to sit on the site of this neighborhood. Like “Murray Hill” and “Kips Bay”, this name is rooted in the Colonial Period of Manhattan and New York City. The neighborhood is now part of two other neighborhoods, “Kips Bay” extends from East 34th to 23rd Streets and from Lexington Avenue to the East River and “NoMAD” (North of Madison Square Park) extends from Lexington to Sixth Avenue from East 30th to East 25th Street.
That with the “Flatiron District” extending from Sixth to Lexington Avenue from West to East 26th to West and East 20th Street, so there is a lot of overlapping neighborhoods especially between West to East 26th to 25th Streets. Even with “Kips Bay”, part of Rose Hill extends into that from Lexington to Third Avenues from East 30th to 25th Streets. Confused yet? It must be interesting for people who want to be part of one neighborhood association.
“Rose Hill Farm” has an interesting history. According to a historical genealogical source, the first “Rose Hill” was a farm acquired from James DeLancey, a prominent New Yorker who was also a Loyalist (Loyal to the Crown of England during the Colonial Period) in November 1747. John Watts Sr. was married to Ann DeLancey, the youngest daughter of Stephen DeLancey (Wiki).
The Honorable John Watts, who represented the City for many years in the Colonial Assembly bought the farm that contained over 130 acres which lay on the East River between what were to become East 21st to 30th Streets between the future 4th Avenue and the river. Watt’s residence at the time was at 3 Broadway facing the Bowling Green Park, which itself at the time was one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in Downtown Manhattan. This area above Wall Street was still mostly rural (Wiki).
The main house on the farm burned during the British occupancy in 1779 and the couple left for England after the war. Parts of the property were sold off between 1780 and 1790 and the rest of the farm was inherited by their son, John Watts Jr. The farm went on the market again in 1790 (Wiki).
Revolutionary War General, Horatio Gates, acquired the farm in 1790 and established an country seat in the mansion at the present corner of Second Avenue and East 22nd Street. He and his wife, Mary Valens Gates lived here are were part of New York Society until his death on the estate in 1806. After the planning of the ‘Commissioner’ Plan of 1811′, the site was divided into building parcels and streets following the Manhattan grid (Wiki).
The southwest corner of the estate became Gramercy Park. Nothing exists of the farm today but just the name and is considered to be part of the NoMAD neighborhood (North of Madison Square Park), that was coined in the late 1990’s (Wiki).
Gramercy Park is all that is left of the original Rose Hill Estate
I started my walk of the neighborhood on a rather cold and gloomy afternoon. The sun would peak out at different times but it got colder as it got dark. My trip to “Curry Hill” warmed me up though. Between the smells of the neighborhood of cumin and curry and the warmth of the chicken patty, it boosted me up.
I walked past the now closed restaurants on the stretch between East 29th to East 26th Streets. The closing of indoor dining in New York City restaurants was really killing business for everyone. A few had ‘for rent’ signs on them now. Others had altered their hours. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out as the next three months get colder.
I turned the corner at East 25th Street and headed towards Madison Avenue. I passed one of my favorite buildings that I saw when I was walking around Kips Bay 130 East 25th Street. The building is covered with snakes, skulls and dragons carved along the side of it.
Someone had a warped sense of humor
The former B. W. Mayer Building which now houses the Friends House in Rosehall was built in 1916 by architect Herman Lee Meader (Wiki). You really have to walk around the building to see all the unusual carvings that line the building.
130 East 25th Street, the former B. W. Mayer Building
Across the street at 68 Lexington Avenue is the 69th Regiment Building. The building had a little action going on when I passed by with an ambulance outside and guys in their uniforms running around. This beautiful building is the home to the New York Army National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Fighting Irish” since the Civil War (Wiki).
The building was designed by architects Hunt & Hunt in the Beaux Arts style and was completed in 1906. It has been home to many events and show including the controversial 1913 Armory Show of contemporary art (Wiki). You really have to walk around the building to admire its beauty and history. The building stretches from East 25th to East 26th Street and back towards Park Avenue. You really have to walk around the building to admire its beauty.
Walking down East 25th Street, you realize as you start to border the Midtown area that the buildings take up more of the blocks and there are less smaller brownstones and tenements in the area. The dominate building on the block by Madison Square Park is 11-25 Madison Avenue, the Metropolitan Life Buildings. The building that lines this part of East 25th Street is the Metropolitan Life North Building (or 11 Madison Avenue).
Metropolitan Life North Building at 25 Madison Avenue
This beautiful building was the extension of the main headquarters next door on Madison Avenue. The building was designed by the architectural team of Harvey Wiley Corbett and D. Everett Waid in the Art Deco style in the late 1920’s as the tallest building in the world but the Great Depression changed the plans and it was built in three stages. The first finished in 1932, the second in 1940 and the third in 1950 (Wiki).
The archways ‘Loggias’ on each side of the building
What stands out about the building is the arched vaults on each corner of the structure called ‘loggias’ and the features were made in limestone and pink marble. When you stand under them you can see the colors and details of the marble carvings (Wiki). Just walking around the building the features are impressive and standout.
Across the street from the Metropolitan Life North Building at 27 Madison Avenue is the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State and one of the most beautiful and detailed buildings I have seen on my walks. The building was designed by architect James Lord Brown in 1896 in the Beaux Arts Style and is adorned heavily in sculpture (Wiki). You really have to step back and walk across the street to see the details on the building.
27 Madison Avenue The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State
Looking up close, you can see that the building resembles a Greek Temple and was considered one of the best examples of the “City Beautiful Movement” that occurred during the 1890’s and 1900’s to enhance cities with monumental grandeur and beauty (Wiki).
The historical beauty of the architecture continued up the border of the neighborhood as I walked up Madison Avenue towards East 30th Street. You have to walk both sides of Madison Avenue to appreciate the designs and details of the buildings that line the avenue.
You have to look close to the building or you will miss it is the sculpture by artist Harriet Feigenbaum. It is a memorial to victims of the Holocaust and is very powerful in its work showing the concentration camps.
“The Memorial to the Injustice of the Victims of the Holocaust”-“Indifference to Justice is the Road to Hell”
Harriet Feigenbaum is an American sculptor and environmentalist. Her works cover sculpture, film and drawings that are seen all over the world (Wiki and artist bio).
I passed 50 Madison Avenue and noticed how the buildings blended in design. The bottom level of the building was built in 1896 as the headquarters of the ASPCA (American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals). The building was designed by architects Renwick, Aspinwell & Owen and had a classic ‘club like’ design to it. The building was refitted and added to in 2005 by the firm of Samson Management with a six story addition to luxury condos (CityRealty.com).
Another ornamental building that stands out in the neighborhood is 51 Madison Avenue which is the home of New York Life Insurance Building. The building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert in 1926 in the Art Deco style with Gothic Revival details along the sides and was finished in 1928. The structure is topped with a gilded roof (Wiki & New York Life Insurance history). This is another building that you have to see from all sides.
51 Madison Avenue-The New York Life Insurance Building
Continuing my walk up Madison Avenue while admiring the architecture of the neighborhood is The James NoMAD Hotel, the former Seville Hotel, on the corner of East 29th Street at 88 Madison Avenue. This interesting hotel has gone through several name changes and renovations since it was built in 1904. The hotel was designed by architect Harry Alan Jacobs in the Beaux Arts style and the annex to the hotel was designed by Charles T. Mott in 1906 (Wiki).
88 Madison Avenue-The James NoMAD Hotel (formerly The Seville)
The outdoor dining was open for the restaurant the first afternoon I had visited the neighborhood even though I thought it was a little cool to eat outside. Even though you can’t go inside unless you are a guest, I could see the holiday decorations and lights from the street and it looked very elegant inside.
Across the street from this elegant hotel is 95 Madison Avenue the former Emmett Building. The structure was designed by architects John Stewart Barney and Stockton B. Colt of Barney & Colt for Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet in 1912 when the area was a wholesale district. The building is designed in the French Neo-Renaissance with Gothic style ornamentation (New York Landmark Preservation Commission and Wiki).
Another building that had beautiful detail work carved into it is 160-164 Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 29th Street and Lexington Avenue, The Dove Street Marketplace, which offers floor after floor of high-end goods.
The detail work is amazing on 160-164 Lexington Avenue-The Dove Street Market
The building has the most beautiful detail work on all sides. It was built in 1909 as the New York School for Applied Design for Women. It was designed by one of the school’s instructors, architect Wiley Corbett, to resemble a Greek Temple (Forgotten New York).
Across the street from the Dover Street Market at 154 Lexington Avenue is the First Moravian Church. The building was started in 1849 and finished in 1852 at the Rose Hill Baptist Church designed in the Lombardian Romanesque style. In 1869, the church was sold to the First Moravian Church which had been located at Sixth Avenue and 34th Street (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The First Moravian Church at 154 Lexington Avenue was built in 1854
As I walked past both these elegant buildings, I was stuck by how quiet the neighborhood was that afternoon. There was no one else but me walking around and there was very little road activity. As I rounded the corner to walk down East 30th Street (the border of the neighborhood with Koreatown and Midtown), not just how empty the sidewalks were but there was barely any traffic for a weekday. The City has really quieted down since the holidays.
The only section of the neighborhood that still looked residential at this point was a small section of East 30th Street towards Lexington Avenue where some small townhouses and brownstones are located. Many of the doorways and railings were still decorated for the holidays and it did have that festive feel as it got darker and residents turned their lights on.
As I walked back down Madison Avenue and was able to take a full look of the buildings on both sides of the street, I was stuck by the beauty and elegance of the once ‘race to the skies’ by trying to build these buildings taller and taller with the advent of elevators. In their quest to the top, these architects never lost site that not only should a building be functional but have a detail in design that should make it distinct.
I decided to walk up the only Avenue that dissects the neighborhood which is Park Avenue and it was a very eerie trip from East 25th to East 30th. You could see the back section of most of the above buildings from their Madison Avenue homes but tucked here and there were closed hotels, restaurants and stores lined with for rent signs. The Royalton Hotel, Blue Smoke and Sarabeth’s Restaurant were just three of the well-known names that were either boarded up or had ‘for rent’ signs on their windows.
For dinner, I traveled back to the edge of Kips Bay to try Kips Bay Deli at 545 Second Avenue. This small little deli seems very popular with the locals and I have to say has the best sandwiches. I had an Italian hero sandwich ($8.95) that was loaded with cold cuts and fresh lettuce and tomatoes and just a splash of vinegar and oil. I ate it in the park watching the sun set. There is nothing better.
I had time that Sunday to complete walking the Streets of the neighborhood as well from East 30th to East 24th Streets. Because of the commercial nature of the area, most of the buildings stretch the entire block and you can see more of the details of the buildings on the side streets. Between Madison and Park, many newer buildings have gone up and the historic character of Madison Avenue changes.
Another scary point when walking around this part of Madison Avenue is how many businesses have closed. There are more ‘for rent’ signs on the side streets than I have seen in other neighborhoods. This has probably been a result of the closing of the office buildings in the neighborhood and the loss of foot traffic.
The result of the COVID pandemic and the lack of office workers working in the area is the result of parts of this neighborhood being a ghost town. Like walking in Times Square and the Theater District when I was in Manhattan for Christmas, these businesses are on hold until people start traveling and working in the area again. Being more commercial of a neighborhood, I could see the results of the lack of foot traffic and closed indoor dining.
The only standout I saw on the side streets was the building at 29 East 28th Street which looked like an old home tucked in between several new office buildings. The building was the former clubhouse of the Delta Psi Society fraternity. It was built in 1879 by reknown architect at the time James Renwick Jr. The building was built with cream colored brick and terra cotta details with a mansard roof. It was later renamed the St. Anthony’s Club in 1889. Today it is an apartment complex (Daytonian).
Still when I got back to Madison Square Park, which runs from East 23rd to East 26th Streets. there was a lot of action in the playground with kids yelling and screaming and playing on the jungle gyms and swings while parents who looked cold talked amongst themselves.
When I walked into the park to take a break, it must have been the busiest section of the neighborhood between the playground and the original Shake Shack that were serving food to a crowd clung to their cellphones.
I stopped to look at the statue of our 21st President Chester A. Arthur, who had taken oath just two blocks away in his New York townhouse where the Kalustyan’s Specialty Foods is located at 123 Lexington Avenue. I thought about what was going on in our government today and what they must have gone through with this transition.
The Statue of Chester A. Arthur in Madison Square Park
George Edwin Bissell was an American born artist from Connecticut whose father was a quarry-man and marble carver. He studied sculpture abroad in Paris in the late 1870’s and was known for his historical sculptures of important figures of the time (Wiki).
Madison Square Park is an interesting little oasis from all the traffic and office space. It has an interesting history since it was designated a public space in 1686 by British Royal Governor Thomas Dongan. It has served as a potters field, an arsenal and a home for delinquents. In 1847, the space was leveled, landscaped and enclosed as a park. It became part of the New York Park system in 1870. There are many historical figures featured in the park (NYCParks.org).
The park today is a major meeting spot for residents and tourists alike with a dog track and the original Shake Shack restaurant.
As I left the neighborhood, I thought of what Rose Hill Farm had become and if its owners could see what it looked like today. I think they would flabbergasted by the growth and change and even into today with what the COVID era has done to the neighborhood currently.
Even I am shocked at the changed in barely a year and what a pandemic can do to a City. Still the Christmas tree in the park cheered me up.
The Madison Square Park Christmas tree was still up on my last visit
That evening to continue keeping Christmas going I visited the “Holiday Lights” event at the Bronx Zoo and spent the evening walk along the paths admiring the lights and displays. It gives me hope that the City has fallen somewhat but not totally out.
*Special Note: I wanted to give a special thanks to Wiki, StreetEasy, Daytonian and NYCParks.org for all the historical information and facts. There was so much to know and cover in this neighborhood).
When you think of the words ‘rural’ and ‘farmland’ these are not terms you hear a lot in Bergen County, NJ, one of the heaviest populated counties to surround New York City. Yet the county has a rich history in farming and agriculture from the late 1600’s up into the 1970’s when development pressures got too strong and most of what was left of the farms of the area got plowed over for development.
Early in our county’s history, the Dutch and then the English supplied much of the fruits and vegetables for the New York City markets. Much did not change until the suburban expansion after WWII and many strawberry, celery and potato farms were plowed under for shopping malls and housing developments. Since that time and with the help of the Right to Farm Act, The Open Space Act and Farmland Preservation of the State of New Jersey, it is helping many small farmers in the state preserve their land for agriculture.
“From Revolution to Renewal” our Historical Bergen County project
This is why in Bergen County we revere our farms and our agricultural past. Last semester when I taught Marketing at Bergen Community College, I had my students create an extensive project describing and promoting our Colonial Heritage and our agricultural past. This included promoting many of our remaining farms.
Our small farms in Bergen County do more than just provide fruits and vegetables for our tables. They are open air classrooms to our agricultural past, places to buy fresh produce and baked goods to support local family farm stores and for interesting special events and outings for families. During the holiday season, some of these farms have haunted hayrides, turkey pardons and visits from Santa all while selling Christmas trees and wreaths.
This lead me to explore many of the small farms that make up the fabric of Bergen County all while seeing how the owners are reinventing the way they do business with today’s consumer. How do we react with nature and the great outdoors? So I walked through farm stands and fields and across parking lots looking for our rural past in the year 2020.
The Farm Cafe for wonderful breakfasts and lunches
I drove to Closter, NJ on my first stop to Old Schraalenburgh Farm and Farm Stand at 40 Old Hook Road and the Abram Demaree Homestead at 110 Schraalenburgh Road on the corner of Schraalenburgh Road. For years I had passed this farm and never gave it much thought until two summers ago I noticed the sign for the ‘farm burger’ and had to stop to see what it was all about. What a burger! (see my review on TripAdvisor).
Old Schraalenburgh Farm in the warmer months of fall 2022
The Corn Maze in fall 2022
I have since have had lunch here many times mostly when the weather is warmer. What I love about the Old Schraalenburgh Farm is that it is under the radar from most of the commercial farms in the county like Abma and Demarest farms which have all the family activities like hayrides and pumpkin and apple picking events.
The farm in the fall months
Old Schraalenburgh has a smaller restaurant and bakery and in the summer months tables outside to eat breakfast and lunch while admiring the fields of flowers and the barns and chicken coops.
The wonderful selection of gourmet items at Old Schraalenburgh Farm
The farm items are various at the farm stand
The Sweet and Savory pies
What I love about their restaurant is the quality of the food here. The ‘Farm Burger’ which they tout so much is much worth the ride here. This juicy burger loaded with cheese and fresh vegetables and a mayo type sauce and is a mouthful in each bite. Bring your appetite because this burger is large! (see review on TripAdvisor).
The “Farm Burger” at the Old Schraalenburgh Farm Stand restaurant
Their chicken pot pie is another lunch item I would recommend. They make them fresh here and bake them with a golden crust and when you let it cool is a mouthful of creamy sauce, hunks of chicken and fresh vegetables. You won’t need dinner after this entree.
The Chicken Pot Pie at the farm is delicious.
Digging into the layers of Chicken and Vegetables of the Pot Pie.
I recently stopped at the Farm Cafe for breakfast after an appointment and their well known Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich ($5.95). It was amazing. The eggs used on the sandwich were fresh from their chicken coops and picked up daily. Topped with crisp bacon and American cheese on a toasted brioche bun it was heaven.
It was nice to just take my sandwich and eat it on one of the picnic tables overlooking the fields that were in the process of beginning to grow this seasons crops. On a sunny morning, there is nothing like this.
The Bacon, Egg and Cheese here is excellent
For dessert though, even with the options of their fresh brownies and homemade ice cream, you have to try their freshly baked fruit pies and pie cookies. The chocolate and fruit filled pie cookies resemble small fruit filled deep dish pies and are a delight in every bite.
The blueberry pie cookies
The bakery also has something called “Burnt Cookies” (.50 cents) that are in jars near the register. I thought someone made a mistake and overcooked them. The woman at the counter said “Oh no. People like a crisper cookie.” I still say they were selling a mistake but they were really good! I had the sugar, chocolate chip and an oatmeal cookies and they were really crisp.
To tell you how popular they are I dropped a piece at the chicken pen and the chickens and roosters got all excited and ran out of their pen to eat the piece that had fallen on the ground. That’s an endorsement.
The chicken coops are busy when you feed the chickens
During the summer months, it is fun to walk through the fields and admire all the beautiful rows of flowers growing and visiting the barn and chicken coops. During the holiday months, the store and restaurant were decorated for Christmas and were stocked with handmade gifts and artwork. The bakery section had a selection of meat and fruit pies for the holidays.
The bakery case at the farm
Walking across the street to the Abram Demaree Homestead and Farm across the street from the farm stand, the main house and barn were also decorated for the holidays. All the tables, counters and shelves were stock with all sorts of decorative objects, antiques, furniture and artwork. These treasures can decorate any home contemporary or historical.
The antiques and holiday decorations at the Abram Demaree Homestead
Off to the side of the main building, they were selling Christmas trees and holiday decorations for the home. The buildings with Christmas retro items and tree ornaments really put me into the holiday spirit. The homestead is fun to walk around in to see how our Colonial past played a part in the growth of Bergen County.
The beautiful old buildings on the farm
The beautiful old antiques on sale
During Halloween, the farm was busy with visitors buying preserves and jellies, baked products for home and people eating lunch on a warm afternoon.
The Skeletons guard the farm at Halloween at Old Schraalenburgh Farm
History of the Old Schraalenburgh Farm and the Abram Demaree Homestead:
In 1677, David Des Marest, a French Huguenot, purchased a large tract of land from the Tappan Native American tribe. This land passed from Dutch control to British rule and through the American Revolution, which produced an uncertain concept that became the United States.
In 1769, Abram Demaree, David Des Marest’s grandson, bought the house and ran it as a General Store and Tavern at the crossroads of one of the busiest intersections of colonial roads in Bergen County. His son, David, added to the house in 1809. The conjoined Demaree house along with a colonial Dutch-style barn, servants house and blacksmith shop form the original Abram Demaree Homestead (Farm History website).
The Abram Demaree Homestead in the Summer months
In the 1970’s, the house and property was falling apart and a group of citizens fought to get the homestead on the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, the home and farm have been part of a non-profit, The Demaree Homestead & Farm, with all the proceeds going to restoring and maintaining the home and farm. The farm and farm stand cafe are open to the public and the profits go to maintenance of the property. The Farm Stand Cafe features in season items grown right on the farm (Farm History website).
Across Old Hook Road from the Demaree Homestead is their working farm, The Old Schraalenburgh Farm, which has been continuously farmed since the 18th Century. Every Spring, the farm plants corn, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, apples, blueberries and pumpkins, among other fruits, vegetables and flowers (Farm History website).
Leaving the Old Schraalenburgh Farm, I headed down Old Hook Road on my way back to Westwood and stopped at the Old Hook Farm Stand for a look at their Christmas trees. The Old Hook Farm Stand is at 650 Old Hook Road in Emerson.
The Old Hook Farm at 650 Old Hook Road in the fall months
Old Hook Farm in the Fall
What I like about the Old Hook Farm is the selection of grocery products in their General store. They have an assortment of organic meats, dairy products, vegetables and baked goods that include delicious looking freshly baked pies, breads and cider doughnuts.
The Fall bounty is on sale at Old Hook Farm
Their shelves are stocked with all sorts of jellies, jams and condiments along with dry and snack goods that are accented by antiques and farm paraphernalia. This gives the store a feel of a turn of the last century General store that used to dot the towns of rural Bergen County.
The Old Hook Farm grocery section of the General store
In the Spring and Summer, the greenhouse stocks all sorts of decorative plants, flowers and garden supplies and I am sure is better stocked in the summer months for lawn care and landscaping. In the Spring, the tables are stocked with all sorts of seedlings for gardens, decorative plants for the home and gardening supplies and landscaping decorations including stones and layerings.
All sorts of decorative plants available in the Fall
In the Fall, the farm is awash with pumpkins, gourds and decorative plants for designing the house in a festive mood. There are all sorts of items for the Halloween holidays.
Blogger Justin Watrel at Old Hook Farm for the Halloween season
During the holiday season, there were all sorts of wreaths, cemetery blankets and Christmas trees to choose from. The perfect assortment to ‘deck the halls’ for the holidays.
Like everyone else in the County, when I got there, there was only a few trees to choose from. They had sold out early in a year when everyone wanted a fresh tree. Still the atmosphere with the atmosphere of fresh pine and snow gave the farm that old fashioned ‘1970’s feel’ when I used to visit the farms in Bridgewater, NJ growing up. Things seemed a lot slower then and you could just relax and enjoy the sites and smells of a farm.
The Christmas trees were pretty much sold out when I visited
From a distance behind the greenhouse, you could see under the snow that had just fallen, the fields where the crops are grown in the warmer months. The old farmhouse on the property was decorated for Christmas as well and looked like a home out of a Currier & Ives print.
History of the Old Hook Farm:
The town of Emerson did not exist during the Native American origin. The name ‘Old Hook’ on the east side of the town came from the Dutch word ‘Hoek’ meaning ‘angle’ or ‘corner’. The angle of the land was created by the three connecting water ways, the Hackensack River, the Pascack Brook and the Musquapsink Brook. The first person to make their home here was William Rutan, who settled on a parcel of land just west of today’s ‘Old Hook Farm’ sometime around 1748 (Emerson Town History).
The current ‘Old Hook Farm’ was bought by current owner, Bruce Marek’s grandfather in 1925 as a weekend getaway. He rented the farm and the farm house to a local resident for 35 years and the family had a large garden on the property until about 1948. Then his father took over the land and cleared the fields and had Soil Conservation come in and do contours and started to grow in the greenhouse. When his father died in 1973, he took over the farm and within eight years, reopened the garden store and started to experiment and grow organic crops (Bruce Marek’s interview with ‘Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network’).
The old farm house at Old Hook Farm
I next ventured to Hillsdale, NJ, two towns away to visit one of the most beloved farms in Bergen County, Demarest Farms at 244 Werimus Road, right off the Garden State Parkway. I have been visiting the farm since the early 1970’s when I used to visit my family who lived just two blocks away. Back then it was just a small farm stand just outside the family homestead. In 1991, they build the big store across the street.
The Demarest Farm Store at 244 Werimus Road
The farm stand building is always a buzz with people coming and going. People buying sandwiches, soups, hot entrée items and baked goods for lunch and dinner. There is a large selection of in season produce (which is a little pricer than most supermarkets) as well as jams and jellies.
Fall decorations at Demarest Farms in 2022
Where the market really shines is their bakery filled with cookies, brownies, freshly baked pies and their well-known cider doughnuts. They also have great potato pancakes that taste good hot or cold (in the era of COVID the food has been toned back a little from the past).
Demarest Farm store carries an array of fruits and vegetables at all times of the year
Demarest Farms in October 2022
The stand also has a nice garden section during the Spring and Summer seasons with everything you need for lawn care and for landscaping your home or decorating inside. During the Fall, there is all sorts of decorative items for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
Demarest Farms right before Halloween 2021
During every season, Demarest Farms is always full of activities. During the Summer months (Pre-COVID), there was the big barbecues that the farm sponsored that got so popular that they had to have the police direct traffic into the complex. These ‘All You Can Eat” affairs were so much fun. It was like a throw back to the 1970’s when families used to dine out together in the Summer months. You could listen to a local band play while chomping on endless hot dogs, barbecue chicken, fresh corn on the cob, baked beans, salad and watermelon for dessert. There were also be chests of ice full of Coke, Sprite and Bottled waters (see reviews on TripAdvisor). Eating at the farm is fun.
Dining at Demarest Farms is a treat on a warm afternoon. I recently stopped in for some apple cider and decided to stay for lunch. I have the most delicious Chicken Salad sandwich with one of their potato pancakes which they are know for. I had a pint of their wonderful Apple Cider to finish the meal and everything was great. It is so nice to sit out on the tables and just watch everyone come back from their hayrides laughing and having fun.
My lunch that afternoon: A Chicken Salad sandwich on a roll, their well-known potato pancakes and their house made Apple Cider.
Demarest Farms is known for their Potato Pancakes,
The farm is known for their Apple Cider.
The Chicken Salad here is excellent (See TripAdvisor review)
During the Fall months, there would be Hayrides through the orchards, Pumpkin and Apple Picking that are so popular you need a reservation and Haunted Halloween events that have people driving from all over Northern New Jersey to attend.
Getting ready for Halloween at Demarest Farms
The farm was packed with people during Halloween 2022 with the weather being in the sixty degree area. The farm had hayrides, pumpkin picking, apple picking and a maze for the children. The lines to get into the farm stand were fifty deep and traffic was crazy. One of the employees said that people were traveling as far as Long Island to come to the farm.
The maze at Demarest Farm Halloween 2022
Pumpkins of all sizes at Demarest Farms 2022
This Christmas, in the era of COVID, the farm really outdid itself ringing in the holiday season. The farm stand sold an array of Christmas trees, wreaths and cemetery blankets, all sorts of holiday treats in the store including cookies, pies and jams and jellies. There was also a nice selection of holiday decorations. By the last week before Christmas, most everything was sold out.
What I thought was fun and it was the first time the farm had done this was the “Holiday Light Show” through the Demarest Farm orchard which is across the street from the farm stand. This show was sold out every night for almost three weeks ending on January 3rd.
Demarest Farm Store decorated for Halloween and the Fall
The tour started at the farm stand where you could buy S’ mores to roast at the fire pit next to the nursery ($6.50). I thought it was a little expensive for two graham crackers, two marshmellows and a small bar of chocolate but people scooped them up and were roasting away. There were also cut outs from the holidays to take pictures and there was a small light show of singing reindeer performing all the classic Christmas songs.
Then it was time to take the drive through the orchard. We started the tour at farm stand and then drove across the street to the family homestead which was ablaze with colorful lights on the house and the surrounding trees. I took a slow drive through the orchard carefully following the cars in front of me to keep pace.
The apple and pear trees were decorated with multi color lights, Santa’s and Snowmen winked and greeted you at every turn. The barns were decorated with white lights and there was a tunnel of flashing lights to greet you and exit from. All along the way I listened to the Classical music channel to enhance the mood of the trip. It may have only been a half an hour but it was mesmerizing trip through a fantasy land of lights that put me back into the Christmas spirit. Demarest farms seems to have that effect at the holidays.
The History of Demarest Farms:
The Demarest family has been present in the New York area since David DeMarest arrived to New Amsterdam in 1663. The current farm has been in the Demarest family from Bergen County since 1886. In the 1970’s, Peter Demarest and his wife, Marsha introduced the pick your own apples and pumpkin business and eventually added peaches to the mix.
The Demarest Family history at the farm
In 1991, the family opened the current farm store on what had once been corn fields. The store today has evolved into a selection of fresh produce, prepared foods, baked goods, apple cider, jams and jellies and homemade crafts (Demarest Farm website).
The flowers at Demarest Farm are colorful
In 2014, Peter Demarest decided to retire and the sold the farm stand and farm to longtime employees Jason DeGise and Jim Spollen. The farmland had been preserved under the Farmland Preservation Fund and by the Open Space Trust Fund. The 27 acres are to be preserved as farmland and can only be used for agriculture (NJ.com).
Demarest Farms put out this wonderful promotional video on the event
Leaving Demarest Farms, I headed north taking the turns on Route 17 and Route 208 and headed up to Wyckoff. My first stop was the Goffle Road Poultry Farm at 549 Goffle Road. The farm which once must have taken up much more area has been reduced down to a few acres with chicken coops and hatcheries and the farm store.
The parking lot was a mob scene of people trying to get in and out of the driveway and being directed by one man in a mask. When I finally was able to get out of my car and park, I asked him if they were giving money away. He just laughed and said, “I wish”. He quickly said to me it was busier at Thanksgiving and they had lines going down Goffle Road.
Goffle Road Poultry Farm at 549 Goffle Road
I just walked in the store to look around passing all the people in line who were waiting to pick up their pre-orders. The store is stocked with all things poultry with fresh eggs. whole roasters and butchered chicken parts. In the freezer there were crab cakes, chicken nuggets and chicken and turkey pot pies, all of which they are known for and sought out.
The stand at Goffle Road Poultry Farm
Here there are no hayrides or special events although they told me Santa had already visited the farm. Just high quality food and excellent service done by a staff that looked very over-whelmed at the holidays.
When I returned recently to the Goffle Road Poultry Farm, I was able to buy some of their brown jumbo eggs ($2.95) and one of their frozen Chicken Pot Pies to bring home with me. There really is a difference in the fresh eggs versus the commercial ones. There is a richer flavor to the taste when you have them scrambled and in a omelet.
The Brown eggs at Goffle Farms have a richer flavor
The Chicken Pot Pie tasted more like a chicken pie, which has less chicken gravy in it, but it pretty much follows the same Bisquick recipe that I have at home with a mixture of vegetables and canned cream of chicken soup as its base. Still, it cooked up nicely and a flaky golden crust. It is worth it to stop and do some shopping here.
The Goffle Farm Pot Pie is more like a Chicken Pie
History of Goffle Road Poultry Farm:
The Goffle Road Poultry Farm has been a family owned and operated business for four generations. Joseph and Rose Silvestri came over from Italy in 1920 and started Belmont Poultry in Paterson, NJ in the 1930’s. In 1948, Joseph and Rose’s son, Dominic, started Goffle Road Poultry Farm of Wyckoff, NJ. To this day, the Goffle Road Poultry Farm is operated as a family owned business by the current owner and grandson, Joseph Silvestri and great grandson, Brian Silvestri. The family has found it hard to keep up with demand on such a small plot and is now partnering with Amish farmers in Pennsylvania who share the same standards of raising animals (Goffle Road Poultry Farm website).
Goffle Road Poultry Farm at the Halloween Holidays
My last stop on this journey was the largest farm of them all, Abma’s Farm at 700 Lawlins Road in Wyckoff, NJ. Abma’s is an impressive working farm with many greenhouses, large fields, a gift shop, nursery, and a farm store. They also have a large petting zoo to amuse children and adults alike.
The Abma Farm at 700 Lawlins Road in Wyckoff
I have to admit that I have only visited the farm in the cooler months and with COVID going on, the petting zoo was closed the day I was there and it looked like you needed a reservation to get in. The price is $3.00 unless you join their Barnyard Loyalty Program by accumulating 30 points from their farm store and nursery.
The greenhouses were pretty empty the afternoon I visited. What was left of wreaths and Christmas trees dotted the the nursery area. I am sure it was totally stocked with all sorts of items to decorate the house. There was still a nice assortment of wreaths to choose from and garland to decorate the banisters and hallways with for Christmas. The Christmas tree selection was down to about ten trees and they were very sad looking. Being right before Christmas, the selection was limited.
Abma Farm during the Fall of 2022
In the Summer months, the greenhouses were full of flowers and decorative plants and the fields are ablaze with colors. It will be about four months before we see that again but Spring is not that far away.
Halloween at the farm
The farm store was buzzing with people and it was hard to find a parking spot after the snow storm we had just had. Some of the drifts made parking tough but there was someone in the lot who made it easy to park.
Abma’s Farm Market & Garden Center in the Fall of 2021
The farm store at Abma Farm is full of fresh vegetables and fruits, a whole selection of bakery products including cookies, brownies, freshly baked pies and cider doughnuts. The prepared food section has all sorts of salads and sandwiches available and there is a selection of soups. There are also crafts available for sale.
The Abma Farm Store stocked with delicious foods
Though some of the special events on the farm have been cancelled because of COVID, they did have a socially distanced “Story with Santa” program and “You Pick” events for strawberries, potatoes, pumpkins and tomatoes during the different seasons. Events like pony rides and Easter themed events have been put on hold for the time.
The farm stand with fruits and vegetables
What I really enjoy about visiting Abma Farm is just walking around the farm itself. I was able to walk through some of the greenhouses and see the trees and decorative items, look at the vast field and can’t wait to return in the Spring when we can see the fields of growing produce and greenhouses full of flowers and plants.
The History of Abma Farm:
The Abma Farm
First generation of the family, Barney Abma, was born on April 25th, 1901. He came to America for the first time in 1917 when he was 17 years old searching for a new beginning. After spending a few years out west, then a short stay in Pennsylvania, he went back to Holland to marry. Barney and his new wife, Anna, settled in Wyckoff at the present location of Abma’s Farm in the late 1920’s (Abma Farm History website).
The front of the farm stand
The couple began working for the ‘Yeoman Farm’ and rented out part of the original farmhouse from owner, Daniel Yeoman. The farm was next passed on to Mr. and Mrs. George Fox (nee Yeoman). Barney Abma bought the farm from the couple in 1932 for $6,000. Part of the 50 acre farm was sold off and it is now the current 32 acre farm that it is today (Abma Farm History website).
The farm is now under the ownership of the forth and fifth generations of the Abma family under Barney and Anna’s son, James and his family.
I love this video on the family and about the farm.
There are also a few smaller farms in the County I was not able to visit before they closed for the season. Also most farm stands have closed for the Winter so there will be a lot to visit in the warmer months.
Still the holidays at the farms in Bergen County, NJ have a special place in our lives and have become part of the traditions of many families.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to updates in the Spring!
Spring and Summer of 2021:
As the weather has gotten warmer, I have been revisiting the farms that were closed right after the holidays . As the warmer months have come upon us, April has ushered in warmer weather and the bounty of Spring has arrived. The greenhouses are starting to fill with plants and shrubs and the farm stands.
The entrance to Stokes Farm at 23 DeWolf Road
I made my first trip to Stokes Farm at 23 DeWolf Road in Old Tappan, NJ. The farm stand has just opened since it has closed up shop right after Christmas. The shelves of the farm were starting to fill with fresh produce from the warmer states and there were all sorts of colorful fruits and vegetables.
Stokes Farm in the fall of 2022
The farm stand also has a bakery that has pies, cookies and cider doughnuts. The problem is that because of COVID all the items were prepackaged in large packages and you could not buy individual pieces. The woman at the counter said things will go back to normal business once all of this passes. By 2022, the bakery was up and running in full force.
The Stokes Farm Stand bakery area
The delicious pies and Bundt cakes
Still the refrigerator cases are lined with fresh eggs, Amish butter, honey and cheese from the Amish Country in Pennsylvania and the shelves are full of jellies, jams, salsas and pickles that are made for the farm.
The private label sauces, syrups and jellies
The farmstand is just opening and there will be more to come as we move into the warmer months.
All sorts of delicious items line the shelves
The inside of the farm stand
I made my way out to the greenhouse in the back where plants are being grown for planting and for decorating the house. Most of the plants are still so small but as May and June arrive, these greenhouses will burst of all sorts of plants.
The plants and greenhouses
The front of the greenhouses
The flowers in the greenhouses
The colorful potted plants
Though the part of the farm that you can visit is small, you can see that the farm is lined with greenhouses going back many acres and next to the stand is a farmhouse that was built in 1890. It is nice to just walk around and enjoy the fresh air at the farm.
The farm was getting ready for Halloween
The History of Stokes Farm:
In 1873, Isaiah Stokes headed out on a ship to America from his home in England. When he arrived, he purchased 40 acres of land in Old Tappan, NJ where he started a farm. He thought this would be a good location for selling produce, as Old Tappan is very close to New York City, as well as many established towns along the Hudson River.
His products included chickens, eggs, milk, hay, asparagus, beets and other assorted vegetables. As time went on, his son, Joseph Stokes took over the farming. The Stokes family continued sowing and growing into the early 1900’s. Joseph Stokes and his wife, Anna, worked very hard and soon developed a produce route through Piermont, Nyack and points further north along the river. They were one of the first farms to have a truck in the area when farms were still powered by men and horses.
The Greenhouses and gardens
Joseph Stokes had one child, Madeline, who married Ernie Binaghi in 1927. Madeline ran the farm and Ernie was a carpenter. The farm carried on through WWII. Madeline and Ernie had one child, Ronald, who after dropping out of NYU Music School in the early 1950’s , came home to help out with the chores. Ron married Jean and she moved into the farmhouse to become a farmer too.
The Stokes farmstead
In 1955, they opened a roadside farm stand, which was a four post open air shed. The stand did well, selling from the five acres of strawberries, five acres of tomatoes, in addition to peppers, eggplant and asparagus.
The garden plants for sale outside
As the years went on, Ron and Jean started selling produce at the Paterson Farmers Market. It was here that a farmer could sell his produce directly to the consumer or to wholesalers. The farm stand was rebuilt in 1966.
In the early 1970’s, the energy crunch started and the farm stand began to flounder. It was then that Bob Lewis came to visit Ron and Jean with a proposal. He asked them to participate in the first NYC Greenmarket at 59th and Second Avenue. So in 1976, Ron and his sixteen year old son, Ron Jr. ventured into the big city. Their lives changed that day. After the people bought everything on the truck, Ron Sr. was heard to say, “Is there a famine in this City?” Ron Jr., then sixteen started selling produce at the now famous Union Square market on 17th Street and it seemed that this type of market suited the farm quite well. Greenhouses were built in the 1980’s and the bedding plant business started to thrive.
The Stokes Farmstand and the farmstead behind it
High tech growing coupled with practical family values, helped the farm to grow steadily into the 1990’s. Ron Jr. and his wife, Jeanine, took over the day to day operations of the farm and the Greenmarket stands, while Ron Sr. and Jean continued to run the farm stand.
Grocery items at Stokes Farm
In 2000, Ron Jr. was named “Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year” for the State of New Jersey. This award is given to a farmer who has made his farm better over the years and also is active in his community. Ron went to Indiana to the national competition, where he placed fifth in the nation.
Ron Binaghi Jr. at Stokes Farm in Old Tappan, NJ
Today the farm is seventeen acres with 40,000 square feet of greenhouses. It is the goal of the farm to grow the best possible product to keep the customers healthy and happy and to keep the land as a farm for future generations.
The extensive amount of produce and baked goods are perfect for the holidays
Another farm that I missed during the holiday season was DePiero’s Farm at 156 Summit Avenue in Montvale, NJ. I have been coming to DePiero’s Farm for years at the old farm stand where the current Wegmans Supermarket and mall now stands.
Halloween at DePiero’s Farm
Haunted happenings at DePiero’s Farm Stand
Here used to be the large farm stand building that had everything from produce and baked goods to arts and crafts items and gardening equipment. That was torn down in the early 2000’s. I thought that they had closed for business until I rediscovered it again.
Depiero’s Farm Stand at 156 Summit Avenue . This is the original farm sign.
When I visited recently, I asked the woman who was working the counter about the history of the farm. She said that she had worked for the DePiero family for years and told me that this was the original farm stand until the family built the larger one down the road. When that was torn down to make way for the market strip mall, they moved the operations back to the original stand on the original farmland. I thought that was interesting.
The original farmstead building is currently being renovated and expanded. The tables around the store are ladened currently with fresh produce from the Hunts Market (until the summer when local produce will be offered), there is a small bakery area with fresh pies ($18.00-$20.00), fresh pickles and peanut butter from the Amish Country. The shelves are lined with honey and fresh jellies that are made for the farm.
Early Fall at DePiero’s Farm
Outside the farm stand, there is a large greenhouse with rows of tables lined with all sorts of flowering plants and small vegetable plants growing. The larger greenhouse is surrounded by smaller greenhouses growing more plants. It is a large operation.
The greenhouse at DePiero’s Farm is full of flowers and decorations for the Fall
What amazes me is how the farm has survived with all the suburban sprawl surrounding it. On land that was once the farm, all sorts of new condos are going up, the second farm stand is now a mall and office buildings surround the whole small patch of farm.
DePiero’s Farm Stand decorated for Halloween
The History of DePiero’s Farm:
The DePiero Farm has been an owned and operated farm since 1924. The original farm was about 250 acres that stretched from Montvale, NY to New Paltz, NY. In 1987, the opened the original farm store that was popular for years. That facility closed in 2015 and has since been replaced with a new shopping complex anchored by a Wegmans.
The family has since reopened the original farm stand which is farmed on limited basis where they sell farm products, baked goods and Christmas items like wreaths and Christmas trees.
The outside of the original family farm stand
(NJ.com-Myles Mia 2015-“Longtime Montvale Farm closes its doors”)
My last farm that I did not have a chance to visit during the Christmas holidays but had opened on April 1st was Secor Farms at 85 Airmont Avenue in Mahwah, NJ. I would consider Secor Farms more like a giant nursery. Both on the outside and inside the greenhouses, you can walk around rows of flowers, decorative plants and seedlings for the vegetable gardens. The greenhouses are fun to walk in as you can see plantings at different stages of growth. It will be interesting to come back towards the summer to see how many of these plants progress to full form.
Secor Farms greenhouse is laden with flowers and plants
There is also a small shop to make your purchases. Here they sell gardening supplies, decorative objects for the home, hand creams and soaps, honey and candies and their homemade cider doughnuts that are unfortunately only packaged in bags of six ($5.95). Still they smell so good and the girl working the counter said that they are made fresh daily. I could see by the signs when the fresh produce starts to come in during the summer and fall that they sell this in the gift shop as well.
The Cider Doughnuts and other treats on sale at Secor farms in the Fall
Outside the gift shop, the parking lot is laden with bags of mulch and soil for garden beds awaiting their Spring cleaning. The lot is well stocked as we are just starting the gardening season.
Secor Farms in Mahwah, NJ
Ready for Halloween at Secor Farms in Fall 2021
The spooky entrance to Secor Farms at Halloween 2021
In the Fall especially around Halloween, the whole farm looks like Disneyland with Haunted Hay Rides, Pumpkin Picking, Fall decorative items for sale and the general atmosphere that welcomes in Halloween with a bang. The whole place was filled to the brim with cars ready for a long day at the farm.
Pumpkin picking at Secor Farms in Fall 2021
All of these farms in Bergen County, NJ have their own attributes so try to visit them all when you are visiting the area.
The History of Secor Farms:
Begun by Darryl Secor’s great grandfather when he moved to the area from Paterson nearly 80 years ago, the farm originally consisted of 50 acres in Upper Saddle River. In 1973, the family expanded into Mahwah.
The Secor Farm at the Fall Holidays
Secor Farms not only has been a famous landmark passed down through three generations: The Secors themselves have been extremely active in supporting the town (Mahwah-Ramsey Daily Voice 2017).
Fall at Secor Farms in Mahwah, NJ
The Fall produce at Secor Farms during the Halloween 2021 holiday weekend
Farms to Visit:
Old Schraalenburgh Farm Stand and Abram Demaree Homestead
177 Schraalenburgh Road
Closter, NJ 07624
(201) 289-3627
Open: Farm Stand Cafe: Wednesday-Friday 11:00am-5:00pm/Saturday and Sunday 11:00am-7:00pm
As the warmer days of the Fall are coming to a close, the Christmas decorations are starting to come out and I can see that the City is really gearing up for the holidays. The office buildings and stores decorated far earlier than they normally do. It is like Thanksgiving is just a way station for Christmas once Halloween was over. Halloween was a bigger deal this year but the activities had to be done on a smaller scale with less people. That still did not prevent groups of people from running around that night and the COVID situation has gotten worse. Even New York and New Jersey are bracing to see what the results of Thanksgiving and Christmas will be in the upcoming weeks.
I noticed this as I continued to walk Kips Bay on this sunny Thursday afternoon. The City seemed much more quiet as the cooler weather was upon us. I was surprised that the City was so empty since the beginning of December. When it had been warmer in November there were more people around. I also noticed how clean the streets were that day. I mean really clean. I had never seen them like this.
I had started my day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is the one museum that I have been visiting a lot since the museums opened back up since June. I went into the museum to see the “About Time: Fashion and Duration” which was extremely popular and had long lines when it first opened and I revisited the “Making of the Met-150 year Anniversary”. I had gone on a quiet day during the mid-week so there were no lines to get in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue
This was the third time I had seen the “Making of the Met” exhibition and everytime I see it, I either learn something new or see something in a different light. This shows you the complexity and the size of these exhibitions in that you continue to notice new aspects of the exhibition.
“Making of the Met” exhibition
The “About Time” exhibition compared fashions through the ages with contemporary fashion of recent years and the exhibit showed me how much fashion does not change or comes back into style over time. Most of the displays showed “black on black” fashions where all the clothes comparisons were in black. A lot of morning clothes. It was an interesting way to look at fashion.
“About Time” exhibition
It boggled my mind how quiet the museum was that afternoon so close to Christmas. The Christmas tree was up in but it had been moved from the Medieval Galleries to Petrie Court section of the museum where there would be more ‘social distancing”. It was a better move safety/health wise but did not have the same effect. I thought we were lucky that the Met is still open as museums around the country are closing fast.
The Christmas Tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its usual home in the Medieval Galleries
After I visited the museum, I walked around the Upper East Side neighborhood for a bit and realized how much was changing here too. Some old time buildings have come down to be replaced by more luxury condos/co-ops. Many small businesses were gone and there was a lot of empty retail space even before the pandemic. I will have to revisit these neighborhoods in the future to see the changes. For now, there was a lot of decorating going on for the holidays and that put me in the Christmas spirit.
I took the Number 6 subway back downtown to Park Avenue and East 34th Street and started my walk again of the Streets of Kips Bay. I was lucky that the weather broke and it was a crisp but sunny day and a real pleasure to walk around the neighborhood. It is amazing the transformation that the neighborhood is still making before my eyes. So many buildings are coming down or being renovated. Closer to the First Avenue my thoughts were that this was accommodating the expansion of the hospital complex and the colleges.
I started my journey on East 33rd Street walking from Lexington Avenue to as far on FDR Drive as I could go. By First Avenue, either the NYU Langone or Bellevue Hospital complexes will stop you from walking any further to FDR Drive and the East River. That complex of hospitals pretty much stretches the neighborhood from East 34th to East 23rd Streets. If you want to tour the river, you would have to walk along the ‘East River Greenway’ walkway.
East 33rd Street has a lot of charms and transitions to it. As I had discussed in many of my blogs on my walks on the East Side of Manhattan Island, most of these neighborhoods are being knocked down and rebuilt with office buildings sharing the borders with Midtown and between Third Avenue and First Avenue you will see the traces of “Old New York” with the brownstones and low rise commercial buildings on the side streets.
Even in Kips Bay like the lower parts of Murray Hill, First and Second Avenues are making way for bigger buildings and the character of these neighborhoods are changing. Here and there are those ‘little gems” tucked on side streets and in between buildings that you will have to walk past to really appreciate what Kips Bay has to offer.
I started my walk on Seventh Avenue and West 34th Street at the giant Macy’s Herald Square store. After five years at working at this store in the early 90’s, it is still home to me. I wanted to see the Christmas decorations at the store. First I started with another old Macy’s tradition, having breakfast at Al’s Deli at 458 Seventh Avenue. I had not eaten here in almost twenty-five years. I needed a breakfast sandwich to start the day of walking.
I had one of Al’s Sausage and Egg sandwich’s on a roll. There was nothing like it on a cool morning. Two soft scrambled eggs with a spicy sausage patty on a fresh hard roll. Each bite was like heaven with the complexity of flavors warming me up inside. Nothing had changed in twenty-five years. Even the price at $3.00 had not changed much.
This is the way to start the day with a Sausage, Egg and Cheese sandwich
I then cut through Macy’s Herald Square to look over the Christmas decorations and admire the displays. Things had been toned down in the store for various reasons but it was still elegantly decorated for the holidays and people were shopping in the store. That’s the one thing about Macy’s. People do still shop there and bags do leave the store.
“Santaland” on the Eighth floor was closed because of COVID but the giant Christmas department on the Ninth Floor was decorated to the hilt. After I toured the store and admired the decorations and display windows, I walked down West 34th Street to Lexington Avenue and started my walk along the streets of Kips Bay at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 33rd Street. It really is an interesting neighborhood.
Macy’s Broadway entrance decorated for Christmas
The Streets of Kips Bay like Murray Hill is a combination of residential and commercial buildings with the more historical buildings being closer to the Midtown border and whats left of the tenement housing closer to First Avenue near the hospital complex.
On the corner of East 33rd Street and Third Avenue there is an interesting mural by street artist Smufo of the customers at the Stickey’s Chicken Joint that faces Third Avenue.
The mural must have been commissioned by the restaurant and I thought was very clever.
Smurfo is an American born, native New Yorker from Brooklyn who works out of his hometown borough and specializes in ‘street art’. His vibrant colorful art is not just featured on the streets of New York but in independent galleries as well.
While walking around this part of Kips Bay, I was noticing what I had discovered when I was walking the Avenues and Border of the neighborhood, that the urban renewal project of the late 50’s and early 60’s really did change the complexity of this neighborhood. The side streets between parts of Third Avenue and the blocks between Second and First still have that small brownstone charm to them. After that, most of the blocks are changing fast with new office towers and hospital and school extensions.
Tucked into the block between Second and First Avenues at 242 East 33rd Street between two brick apartment buildings is a unique little brownstone with a sunken stairs and a small court yard that shows how different the neighborhood must have been in the early 1900’s as the home was built in 1901. With its small garden and flower potted line stairs, it shows such character.
Heading back to Lexington Avenue, I also passed P.S. 116, the Mary Lindley Murray School named after the prominent Murray family member who stopped the British troops in their tracks with song, entertainment and pleasantries while the Patriot forces escaped (Murray Hill Neighborhood Association and Wiki).
Mary Lindley Murray entertaining the British troops at her home
The elementary school that bears her name has quite a good reputation with parents and the neighborhood. It is a progressive elementary school with good test scores and advancement for children. The school also has a strong PTA and the parents seem to care at the school.
As I made my way back down the street, I noticed how quiet the block was that afternoon. The school must be closed for now since the increases of COVID in the City. Usually you would see lots of children running around and yelling and screaming in the playground but there was no one around.
East 32nd Street was almost similar but the neighborhood starts to change with the large Kips Bay Tower complex that was built during the urban renewal changing the configuration of the area. The classic look of this section of the City especially between Third and Second Avenue starts to change.
Kips Bay Towers was part of the 1950’s Urban Renewal project
Those small tenement buildings start to end by Second Avenue. One unique building does stand out is an old brownstone that sits alone in the back of the playground like a lost sole. It looks like what was previously an old mansion when the neighborhood was once fashionable. With its beautiful detail work, it stands out amongst the plainer buildings.
Architect Robert T. Lyons had been hired to design a new clubhouse on the site. The 28-year old architect had produced a four-story brick and stone confection that pretended to be a French townhouse. A rusticated limestone base sat a few steps above the sidewalk and the stone stoop was flanked by two cast iron lampposts. A stone balcony stretched the width of the second floor, matched by another at the fourth floor (DaytonianinManhattan.com).
The historic marker for the Milton Glaser historical marker
Here on the second floor New York magazine was founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968. Milton Glaser remains in the building in the form of W.B.M.G., Inc. (the initials of Walter Bernard and Martin Glaser), and Milton Glaser, Inc. (DaytonianinManhattan.com)
One unique feature of East 31st Street once I rounded the corner was the painting of the logo of the now closed Vino Tapa at 201 East 31st Street. The restaurant had been opened for outdoor dining when I first started to walk the neighborhood and was going strong but by my second trip the restaurant had shut its doors during the pandemic. It’s logo sits proud on the wall near the entrance.
The Vino Tapa Logo outside the restaurant at 201 East 31st Street
The standouts on both East 31st and East 30th Streets are the brownstones and tenement buildings that sit between Second and Third Avenues. Many people decorated their homes early for the holidays and all the wreaths and garland with lights on coming on in twilight really put you in the festive spirit.
Another building that had beautiful detail work carved into it is 160-164 Lexington Avenue, The Dove Street Marketplace, which offers floor after floor of high end goods. This building sits on the corner of East 30th and Lexington Avenue.
The detail work is amazing on 160-164 Lexington Avenue-The Dove Street Market
The building has the most beautiful detail work on all sides. It was built in 1909 as the New York School for Applied Design for Women. It was designed by one of the school’s instructors, architect Wiley Corbett, to resemble a Greek Temple (Forgotten New York).
Across the street from the Dover Street Market at 154 Lexington Avenue is the First Moravian Church. The building was started in 1849 and finished in 1852 at the Rose Hill Baptist Church designed in the Lombardian Romanesque style. In 1869, the church was sold to the First Moravian Church which had been located at Sixth Avenue and 34th Street (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The First Moravian Church at 154 Lexington Avenue was built in 1854
When I rounded the corner again down Lexington Avenue at East 29th Street, I found myself back in “Curry Hill” and all the wonderful South Asian restaurants and stores. I ate at Curry Express at 130 East 29th Street for a late lunch. They kept advertising a lunch special for $6.99 for lamb kebobs and Naan Bread and it sounded really good.
The “Curry Hill” section of Lexington Avenue
The food was really good but the only problem was that they microwaved the kebobs and that made them a little hard. Still they had a nice garlicy taste to them with a combination of ground lamb and spices. The naan bread was freshly baked and very good (see review on TripAdvisor). What really stood out at lunch was the Chicken Patties that they had. They are delicious. Ground spicy chicken wrapped in a flaky pastry. They make a great snack while walking around.
Curry Express at 130 East 29th Street (Closed in 2022)
The one thing I enjoyed about the restaurant is that the customers with me were not boring. They were an interesting bunch of characters that reminded me of why Manhattan and New York City in general was so interesting. They dressed usually, made the strangest comments to the owners and complained about nothing.
Walking back through East 29th, you will see impressive wooden home at 203 East 29th Street which is one of the oldest homes in the City. The house sits on what was once the “Rose Hill Farm” that dated back to 1747 (The Rose Hill section of Manhattan overlaps between Third and Lexington Avenues with Kip’s Bay). The house itself is not part of the original estate but must have been moved to this location when the street grid was laid out in the mid-1800’s. The house is said to have been built around 1790 (Wiki & Manhattan Sideways).
203 East 29th Street is one of the oldest houses in Manhattan
I also journeyed into Vincent Albano Jr. Playground again. I was able to relax on the benches while I was watching a few of the neighborhood kids play in the playground. I guess the parents needed to get out of the apartments as well during the week. This small park has an interesting history.
The Vincent F. Albano Jr. Playground at 523 Second Avenue is tucked into a corner of Second Avenue and East 39th Street. This quaint little park is full a charm with a small playground and shade trees all around it.
The park was designed by architect M. Paul Friedberg in the late 1960’s and has gone through several renovations since that time. The park was named after Vincent F. Albano, a Republican district leader who lived in the neighborhood until his passing in 1981. He helped preserve the park when the neighborhood was going through all the construction changes (NYCParks.org).
On my three trips to Kip’s Bay, I was able to see the park at different times of the seasons, with the last stages of the warmer months giving way to the holiday season. The park has its own Friends organization so the park is well maintained and very popular with the residents.
When walking towards First Avenue, you will run into the historical and massive Bellevue Hospital complex. The side streets between East 30th and 26th Streets is pretty much monitored by the security of the hospital and there is not much to see. On East 30th Street where the Men’s Shelter is located there is a lot of people walking around at all hours of the day.
The Bellevue Hospital complex runs from East 30th to 25th Street
As I rounded the corner to East 28th Street, I noticed how dark it was getting and I decided to stop for my first day. It is hard to walk the streets of the neighborhood when you can’t see much. Since it was getting dark, I stopped at a unique clothing store whose display windows captured my attention, Vintage India at 132 Lexington Avenue.
Vintage India is a clothing store that carries all sorts of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories. There are many traditional clothing choices both vintage and modern and there are some contemporary outfits with a British influence. The men’s clothing selection has some colorful jackets with interesting designs and patterns. The jewelry selection for weddings is extensive and I love the designs of the items.
Vintage India has an amazing selection
I started walking Kip’s Bay again about a week later after I had given my last quiz and the last two research papers for my class were distributed out to the students. I had some time to break away from school and it was nice to just wonder the streets of New York again.
I started where I had left off at the corner of East 28th Street and Lexington Avenue admiring the windows of Vintage India again. The store is pretty amazing and it is worth the visit to see the beautifully designed clothes.
Walking East 28th Street is a neighborhood again in transition by the time you reach Second Avenue. The big Kip’s Bay Court complex dissects the street from old tenement housing to the glossy new complex. The one attribute is Bellevue Park South that is hidden away in the middle of the complex. By this point all the leaves were gone and the park seemed pretty barren with not that many people in the park. There were a few playing basketball but outside that not much action.
The large Kips Bay Court complex at 490 Second Avenue, that stretches from East 26th to East 29th Streets and when you walk through the complex you will find the oasis of Bellevue South Park. As Fall was progressing, the park was ablaze with what was left of the gold and reds of the leaves of the trees that surrounding the park.
Kips Bay Court Apartments stretch from East 26th to East 29th Streets on the east side of Second Avenue
Bellevue South Park is a nice break for all the people working in the area and for people living in the apartment complex. The park was created in 1966 when this whole part of the neighborhood went through urban renewal in the 1950’s that ran from East 23rd to East 30th between First and Second Avenue. The park is full of playground equipment and long paths and has some interesting artwork.
What really caught my eye when walking around the park was the sculpture “Scagerrak” by artist Antoni Milkowski. The three interlocking steel blocks was created by the artist for the park in 1970.
Mr. Milkowski is an American born artist from Illinois but moved to New York City as a child and is a graduate of Kenyon College and Hunter College in New York. He started to get involved with art in the early 1960’s and started to create contemporary pieces. The work was donated to the Parks system through the Association for a Better New York whose goal it was to enliven parts of the City. The work moved around until places in Bellevue South Park in the mid-1970’s (NYCParks.org).
Walking back through the neighborhood a few unique buildings stood out. The brick apartment between 218-225 East 28th Street was built around 1900 (Daytonian/Cityrealty.com) and has faces staring back at you in all directions with a beautiful geometric looking cornice. You have to walk on the other side of East 28th Street to admire its beauty.
219-225 East 28th Street and the detail work above the doorway.
Another interesting building is The Epiphany School at 141 East 28th Street. The building dates back to 1888 and the new building was built in 1902 by architect Elliott Lynch in the Beaux-Arts style (Daytonian). You have to walk on the opposite side of the street to admire the true beauty of the stone carvings and the multi layer designs. I wondered if the students that go to the school ever stop to admire it.
The Epiphany School School has a lot of interesting details.
The front of the building has unique decorations and embellishments.
The unique details on the front of the building.
The plaque on the front of the building.
Turning the corner at East 27th Street the architecture on this block starts to get interesting so remember to look up and around or you might miss something. The first building that stands out is the brick building at 218-222 East 27th Street with its faces that follow you and their devilish looks.
I am not sure if the architect was trying to scare the residents at 218-220 East 27th Street
The faces outside glare at you.
The faces
The faces.
I was struck by the sculpture on the corner of East 27th Street in the courtyard across from Bellevue Hospital. Here is the sculpture “Sentinel” by artist Theodore Roszak. It was designed and dedicated to all people involved in public health. The sculpture is somewhat hidden now under scaffolding during a current renovation of the building next to it.
Mr. Roszak was an Polish born American artist who grew up in the Polish section of Chicago. He was mostly self-taught. He studied both at the Chicago Art Institute and in Europe. He created this sculpture in 1968 and it studied the struggle between man and nature (Art@Site).
Another interesting piece of architecture is the original Bellevue Hospital Building that now has the new entrance of the hospital surrounding the original building. You can try to sneak in to the hospital but there are guards all over the entrance. I was able to walk in during one of their breaks and see the lobby. It once had a beautiful entrance but modern architecture has taken over. Take some time to see this interesting stonework and carvings.
The original Bellevue Hospital entrance by McKim, Mead & White
The original building which was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White in 1930 housed the oldest continuous public hospital in the United States founded in 1794. The hospital was built on the original Belle Vue farm (thus its name) and today is one of the most innovative hospitals in the world. It still have the stigma though of being a “nut house” when it is far more doing so much innovative work in medicine (Bellevue Hospital History).
The original Bellevue Hospital built by McKim, Mead & White in 1930
On the way back down street, I passed the Gem Saloon again on the corner of Third Avenue at 375-377 Third Avenue. These buildings were built in 1910 and was once the old Rodeo Bar that had been a staple in the neighborhood for 27 years. The restaurant was still offering outdoor dining even though it was getting cool out.
I stopped by La Delice Pastry Shop at 372 Third Avenue again. There is a reason why this bakery has been around since 1935 is the consistency of their baked goods. I got a black and white cookie and munched on it on the way back to Lexington Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor).
La Delice Pastry Shop at 372 Third Avenue has been there since 1935
The wonderful pastries that the have in the cases.
I was getting tired when walking down East 26th Street and had to stop in Bellevue South Park again. This time of the afternoon there were more people in the park, sitting on the benches talking and there were a few people walking their dogs around the park. It really is a nice place to relax and just people watch.
I was tempted to stop at Tipsy Scoop at 217 East 26th Street for alcohol infused ice cream sandwiches so I stopped on another visit to Kips Bay to try it (see review on TripAdvisor). I had one of their Confetti Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches ($7.00), which were two rather large Confetti Cookies with Cake Batter Vodka Martini Ice Cream in the middle. I did not get much of a buzz but felt it later.
Booze infused ice cream at Tipsy Scoop at 217 East 26th Street
The Cake Batter Vodka Martini Ice Cream sandwich is beyond mind-blowing. It is so nice to get a buzz from a dessert after a long day
This Ice Cream sandwich is huge!
Yum!
The second time I walked the neighborhood, I had the Raspberry Sorbet with Red Wine. Now that also gave me a buzz
The sorbets with alcohol can relax you on a hot day
When I got to First Avenue again it was tough to walk the side streets between First Avenue and FDR Drive because they were either closed off access or loaded with security so I had to walk around them. There is not much to see on these side streets.
On the way back I passed 226-228 East 26th Street and noticed more faces staring back at me. This building was constructed in 1900 and you have to look up at the detail work to appreciate all the stonework and multiple looks you get from the carvings.
Walking by the glassed in hospital entrance, the building was really busy that afternoon. People were milling around the lobby and rushing off to where they had to rush off too. I decided to stop staring in the lobby as I could tell that security was watching the tall guy with the tinted glasses.
By East 26th Street, I passed “Little India” and was in front of the 69th Regiment Building at 68th Lexington Avenue. This beautiful building is the home to the New York Army National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Fighting Irish” since the Civil War (Wiki).
The building was designed by architects Hunt & Hunt in the Beaux Arts style and was completed in 1906. It has been home to many events and show including the controversial 1913 Armory Show of contemporary art (Wiki). You really have to walk around the building to admire its beauty and history.
The historic plaque from the building.
As I rounded Lexington Avenue towards East 25th Street, I stopped off to the side to admire the mural of artist Yuki Abe “Urban Ocean”, a colorful painting that sits on the wall opposite next to the entrance of Jenna Optical at 50 Lexington. The colorful portrait has a whimsical look to it.
As I walked along the blocks on East 25th and East 24th Streets I noticed a distinct change in the neighborhood getting closer to the commercial district of East 23rd Street. Baruch College which is part of the CUNY system is starting to take over this section of the street and NYU is building up their campus closer to First Avenue. The older buildings of the area are giving way to modern glassy administration and classroom space for the college.
The one stand out on East 25th Street will have even more faces staring at you at 208-214 East 25th Street. Between the glaring looks and the mansard roof on part of the building it gives it almost an eerie look to it. Even though it has a Victorian look to it the building was constructed in 1930 (Realty.com).
I took another walk through the Asser Levy Park watching the few people working out on the track. The park was pretty much empty and closed at this time of the day.
208 East 28th Street decorations
208 East 28th Street decorations
Asser Levy Park tract on East 25th Street
The Baths and Park was named for Asser Levy, a Jewish trailblazer in colonial times when Mr. Levy and 23 Jews fled from Brazil in 1654 to seek refuge in New Amsterdam. He challenged Governor Peter Stuyvesant when he tried to evict the Jews from the colony. He was the first Jew to serve in the militia and own property in the colony (NYCParks.org).
The street art is also interesting on this part of Lexington Avenue. One the corner of East 24th Street & Lexington Avenue is the Friends House New York, a housing unit.
The Friends House at East 24th Street at Lexington Avenue
Painted on the wall is a very unique painting by Italian street artist, Jacopo Ceccarelli.
Painting by artist Jacopo Ceccarelli
The mural is on the corner of East 24th & Lexington Avenue-The St. Francis Residence Building
The Milan born street artist, who goes by the name “Never 2501” hones his skills after moving to San Paolo, painting murals with an edge that got global recognition. He uses geometric forms in his work with circles and lines creating the abstract(Do Art Foundation).
I ended my walk reaching the new Student Plaza being constructed at Baruch College and relaxing in a small park by the East Midtown Housing complex that sits between East 23rd and East 24th Street between Second and First Avenues. On a cool winter evening there were only a few residents milling around but it is a nice place to relax and catch you breath.
I can only imagine the area is like when school is in session and the place is swarming with college students but for now the few CUNY and NYU students who are walking around get to where they are going with masks on as the campus building look shut for the semester.
The future “Baruch College Clivner-Field Student Plaza at East 25th Street off Lexington Avenue
The afternoon ended with lunch and a much needed break at Awesum Dim Sum at 160 East 23rd Street. It was one of the last times I was able to eat inside a restaurant before the City shut indoor dining down again due to COVID in early December 2020.
I had their Fried Rice Dumplings and their Roast Pork Buns with a Coke and that was more than enough after a long walk. The food was excellent as usual (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The restaurant has been my new ‘go to’ place since visiting this neighborhood and Murray Hill and will probably carry on into exploring “Rose Hill” and “Gramercy Park”.
The restaurant has also been discovered by the Baruch and NYU students who were dining both inside and outside on the cool but crisp evening. Nothing stopped anyone from having their Dim Sum.
The Baked Roast Pork Buns here have a sweet dough when you bite into them. The food here is excellent.
After having to fight off everyone in the restaurant for a seat “socially distanced” I ended my evening with a much needed back massage in Chinatown. (I will discuss the fact the Chinatown looks like a ‘ghost town’ now with its blocks of ‘for rent’ buildings and empty restaurants in a later walk. I don’t want to have to describe how bad things have gotten down here.)
All the selling of Christmas trees, yard work and snow shoveling did a number on my back and I needed an hour of work of them pulling and pushing into my lower back to get it back to normal. It would take two weeks for it to heal.
I stopped in Little Italy to end the evening for a couple of slices of pizza at Manero’s Pizza at 113 Mulberry Street. The pizza here is amazing (see review on TripAdvisor) being crisp on the outside and on the crust and the most delicious tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella. The pizza here is like heaven.
In keeping with a long time tradition of the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department and in the era of COVID, we decided to run our Annual “Santa Around Town”. This has been held every Sunday before Christmas for over twenty years. It is one of the biggest outreaches to the town of goodwill that the Department holds each year.
The event started much earlier than in previous years and we gathered for breakfast and set up at 9:00am and started the event at 10:00am. This was a much bigger ride that in previous rides as for years before when we stopped in about twenty locations all over town, handing out candy canes and Santa greeting people.
The members of the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department at “Santa Around Town”
Because of COVID, we decided to take Santa on a longer trip to every street in Hasbrouck Heights, up and down roads and avenues, greeting families from their doorways and front yards, watching excited children jump up and down. So many families greeted us on their front porches, at the front doors and windows. They were in their yards waving and cheering us. So many children were so happy to see Santa as were their parents. This really was the year that we all needed to believe in Santa.
We passed houses that were decorated to the extreme with residents trying to add normalcy into their lives and Christmas cheer to their families. It really was a pleasure to pass all this holiday excitement.
The Circle in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ at Christmas
I know that a lot of people are struggling right now but if we brought a little Christmas cheer to them and their families than we accomplished our role as fire fighters. Our goal is to help and assist our communities and if spreading a little Christmas cheer is as important as putting out a house fire or saving a life (which we have done a lot lately) than we accomplished our goal.
This is why I love being a fireman.
Firefighter Justin Watrel decorating Engine One at the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department 2015
Someone sent this to me via the Internet and I want to credit author Shawna Hickling for this wonderful poem (someone just sent me her name via the Internet when asked by another blogger) and I wanted to share it with all of your readers and bloggers all over the world as it was shared to me a week ago. I think this describes all of us:
“Twas a few weeks before Christmas 2020” by Shawna Hickling
*Thank you Ms. Hickling for sharing this with all of us bloggers all over the world. We appreciate it!
Twas a few weeks before Christmas
And all through the town,
People wore masks,
That covered their frowns
The frown had begun
Way back in the Spring,
When a global pandemic,
Changed everything
They called it corona
But unlike the beer,
It didn’t bring good times,
It didn’t bring cheer.
Contagious and deadly,
This virus spread fast,
Like a wildfire that starts
When fueled by gas.
Airplanes were grounded,
Travel was banned,
Borders were closed
Across air, sea and land.
As the world entered lockdown
To flatten the curve,
The economy halted,
And folks lost their verve.
From March to July
We rose the first wave,
People stayed home,
They tried to behave.
When summer emerged
The lockdown was lifted,
But away from caution,
Many folks drifted.
Now it’s December
And cases are spiking,
Wave two has arrived,
Much to our disliking.
Frontline workers,
Doctors and nurses,
Try to save people,
From riding in hearses.
It’s true that this year
Has had sadness a plenty,
We’ll never forget
This year 2020.
And just ’round the corner’
the holiday season,
But why be merry?
Is there even one reason?
To decorate the house
And put up the tree,
When no one will see it,
No-one but me.
But outside my window
The snow gently falls,
And I think to myself,
Let’s deck the halls!
So, I gather the ribbon,
The garland and bows,
As I play those old carols,
My happiness grows.
Christmas ain’t cancelled
And neither is hope.
If we lean on each other,
I know we can cope.
Author: Shawna Hickling
*I was sent this from another blogger and I want to give Ms. Hickling full credit for her work. Another blogger found her name for me and we all wanted to say ‘thank you’ for cheering us up! Bloggers all over the world want to thank this author for sharing this with us as a group of bloggers shared this with me. It really brings out the spirit of the holiday.
To all my fellow bloggers, have a good holiday and let’s hope for a better and safer New Year!
This whole situation let’s all know to appreciate what we have in life.
Let’s keep the momentum going in 2020! Let’s not let COVID wreck our holiday season! We have 375 trees to sell!
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association at the Christmas tree drop off November 24th, 2020.
On the corner of Franklin and Terrace Avenues in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ just over the George Washington Bridge.
I am very proud to say that we SOLD OUT on Friday, December 11th, 2020!
I am again proud to say that we SOLD OUT again on Monday, December 6th, 2021.
This was a new record of less than a week and a half.
Thank you again to the Hasbrouck Heights and surrounding communities for all your support again this year! It will make a big difference in a lot of students lives in college.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
The Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association 2021: 390 trees sold in 11 days!
I have put “MywalkinManhattan” project on hold to get ready for the holidays again! Here comes Christmas!
The holidays are always zipping by and Christmas is no different. We went right from Halloween night and the Halloween Parade to Christmas. The moment it was over, all the Christmas decorations went up. It seems that we no longer bother with worrying about Thanksgiving. I swear that Christmas starts with the July Christmas sale at all Hallmark stores and does not stop until Three Kings Day in January.
Myself and John at the old Christmas tree lot in 2002 when I returned home
The Saturday before Thanksgiving is when we set the lot up for business. We rake the entire property, put together our Christmas shed and then the stands to hold the trees. We have had a lot more help with new members over the past three years.
It is funny to go back to a place that you have not visited since 1975 and realize that time does pass by. I had not been to Beach Haven, NJ since the summer of 1975 when I was just a little kid. We used to visit friends of the family who had a house there and we would visit for about three days.
The amusements are staying open into October as the weather has gotten warmer until the end of October.
Miniature golf into October
It was interesting to visit a beach community as we never went farther than Sandy Hook, NJ. Going to the Jersey shore was a hike from our home in Bridgewater, NJ and since we belonged to a swim club, my parents saw no reason to run “down the shore” as we say in New Jersey. Why deal with the crowds and lousy parking?
The October 2025 Chowder Fest was packed as the weather was sunny and in the 80’s that Sunday
This blog takes place over many visits to Long Beach Island, experiencing the museums, restaurants and the beach and parks areas. There is no one ‘good’ time of the year to visit Long Beach Island, there are many times from the summer season to Halloween and Christmas for the island’s activities. More a year round community now it is not the Long Beach Island of the 1970’s, the economy and then Hurricane Sandy changed all that.
These visits cover different times of the year so you can experience all the island has to offer and what is opening and closing (which is very fast in a shore community). I have had many wonderful and relaxing trips to the barrier island and I hope you enjoy these experiences with me (this is why the blog seems to jump around).
This blog starts at the tip of Long Beach Island at the Barnegat Lighthouse and park to the last beach on the southern most tip of beach an park.
The Barnegat Lighthouse at 208 Broadway in Fall of 2023
Still I remember visiting there in 1974 and 1975 before these friends no longer belonged to our pool. All I can remember of those visits was swimming in the ocean and diving in the waves wanting to impress these two twin sisters and all I did was tumble in the waves. They and my older bother dove into the waves with no problems. The other thing I remember is the planes going by and saying to eat at “Tilly’s Pizza”. So we begged for it one night for dinner. It was terrible pizza and we ordered this cheese pizza that was just dried out and no flavor. It is funny the things you remember as a kid.
Touring The Barnegat Lighthouse Park is a nice way to spend the morning
Exploring the dunes in the state park in Fall 2023
The pathway in the Summer of 2024
The beauty of the park at sunset time in the Summer of 2024
The Dunes Woods path
The Beach Dunes path near the entrance way
I returned to Long Beach Island last summer on my way to the Firemen’s Convention in Wildwood, NJ to visit the Long Beach Island Historical Society, which I had read about in a beach magazine for my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com. I had a long visit at the museum and it was nice afternoon. I had not realized that the NJ Maritime Museum was a couple of blocks away but I did not have time that afternoon to visit. I said that I would go back later.
Later was September 2020 over a year later. Hey better late than never. In the age of COVID, it had been a pleasure and escapism.
The Long Beach Island Historical Society at 129 Engleside Avenue
After visiting the museum for my blog and then visiting the Barnegat Lighthouse, I gained a new found respect for Long Beach Island and all it has to offer. I also realized how much it had changed in 45 years. It went from a sleepy working class resort to an upscale community with the growth of Wall Street in the late 90’s and the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The back galleries of the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The back galleries with nautical displays, school room and Victorian Rooms.
Many of those small little cottages that once lined the streets were long gone and they have been replaced by stilted ‘McMansions’ by the sea. The whole town has been practically knocked down and completely rebuilt. Even the stores were more upscale in their wares and the restaurants were expensive. I did not see too many tee shirt stores or beachy Knick -knacks being sold. These are not Boardwalk businesses.
The display of the 1916 Shark attacks that inspired the movie “Jaws”
Still there are some great stores and restaurants to visit, cultural and natural sites to see and of course the beautiful beach with its calming sounds and gorgeous sunsets. You never know the complexity of a place until you visit a few times and find the true beauty of the surroundings and people. The downtown of Beach Haven has a lot to see and do as does the surrounding areas of Long Beach Island.
Downtown Beach Haven, NJ. in Fall 2023
New stores in Downtown Beach Haven in the Summer of 2024, the Mod Hatter and Baked by the Beach
I started my last two visits to Long Beach Island exploring Beach Haven, a small beach hamlet towards the southern part of the island and where I had spent a few summers when I was a child. I do not remember much of the trips except visiting the beach and how rough the waves were to swim. I don’t remember venturing out that much.
When I returned 45 year later, the town changed so much especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy flooding the island as well as the rest of the Jersey Shore. It leveled homes and tore though businesses with a vengeance. What it left was a chance to build the island again from the ground up. Everything is so new all over the island. Still there are a lot of older homes and businesses that did survive. Some adapted and some just changed.
The Beach Haven Historic District
The Beach Haven Historic District
I walked the whole town and it was a interesting visit over the past two summers especially on two recent tours of the town in the late summer and early fall. My first stop on my recent trip is where I started touring last year at the Long Beach Island Historical Society at 125 Engleside Avenue in Beach Haven for their Ghost Fest, a family event that the Historical Society was running that afternoon for local families.
The ‘Ghost Fest’ at the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The Historical Society had not opened yet when I got to Long Beach Island so I started my tour of the island at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern part of the island. Even on a gloomy morning in October, the park was very busy.
The Barnegat Lighthouse in the fall 2023.
The cloudy weather did not deter the fisherman from casting and boats were dotting the bay. It was still a warm day and people were out and about. I joined other visitors to the park on the breakers watching the fisherman discuss the days catch and politics about the upcoming election. Some people were admiring the boats or just relaxing to the sounds of the waves. I just enjoyed the salt air and the sound of the waves crashing.
The lighthouse from the bunker.
After I left the walkway, I took a tour through the woods in the sand dunes. It was what is left of some virgin woods at the shore. The woods are very interesting because of all the native plants that can live in a sandy shore and survive the winds are harsh winters. Plants such as Jersey Pines, Beach Plum and American holly are native to the area and played an important role in Colonial New Jersey especially during the holidays.
Walking down the path through the dunes.
In November 2021, I revisited the lighthouse again and it finally reopened after a year and a half of being closed. I was able to climb the stairs all the way to the top on a sunny but extremely windy day. Talk about views from the top. You could see the surrounding park, the inlet area and beautiful views of the sea. A lot of people walking up the lighthouse seemed to suffer from vertigo halfway up but trust me there is no way to fall down these stairs with barely enough room to move either way and no gaps in the stairs. All the views from the three landings on the way up also offer views of the ocean.
The views of the dunes, bunker and bay from the top of the lighthouse.
The lighthouse itself was built in 1859 replacing another lighthouse that fell into the sea with the changing tides (see my review on TripAdvisor). The lighthouse has been closed since March with the onset of COVID but the grounds around it were still open and people, masks and all, were walking along the trails and conversing at the picnic tables. Families were walking the trails and paths along the bay. For an early morning in October the park was busy.
The Barnegat Lighthouse and surrounding park is a nice to tour in the early morning
My next stop was the Barnegat Light Museum but it had been closed all season due to the COVID pandemic. I was able to call one of the Board Members of the museum and I would have to tour it later that afternoon. So took another tour of the park at the lighthouse and drove back down the island to visit the museum later. I would do this until August 2024 when the museum was open during regular summer hours.
Walking through the dune paths right next to the lighthouse.
Maybe it was the salt air or maybe it was the two hour drive down the shore but I was getting hungry again. Not wanting to eat another breakfast, I stopped at an old time restaurant, Surf City Pizza for a slice. They had just opened for lunch and I could not believe I was eating pizza this early in the morning but it was good.
Surf City Pizza at 1017 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City, NJ
When I made my trip up to the lighthouse in November 2021, the pizzeria was still closed when I drove up so I went to Baked on the Beach, a small funky bakery at 2101 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City. The bakery was open that morning and I had wanted to try it on my last three visits to the island but it always closed early.
There was a nice selection of pies and cookies but what caught my eye was these Cinnamon rolls that had just come out. One was a traditional Cinnamon roll which she would ice on the spot for you and the other was filled with sharp Cheese and NJ Pork Roll. Sold! I needed something savory for breakfast and this filled the gap. They have now opened a branch in the Summer of 2024 in Beach Haven at 1101 North Bay Avenue.
The selection of products at Baked on the Beach in November 2023.
The Cheese and Pork roll was delicious and would have been better warmed but it was still good. As I rolled out each layer, I could taste the sharp cheese and the spicy pork roll that was thinly sliced in between the layers. I munched on it on the outside benches and that must have done something because all of sudden other people were stopping for baked goods. I guess the big smile on my face had something to do with it.
The “Beach Bum” cookies with the works mixed into it.
When I returned in November 2023, the bakery was still opened for the season and I was able to try the “Beach Bum” cookie with chocolate and Vanilla chips, crunchies and a big mix of other ingredients to give this cookie a sweet and complex consistency. It was crispy, chewy and rich.
The cookie was rich and decadent.
I got to the Long Beach Island Historical Society as they were in full swing of their Ghost Fest and what a nice event it was that afternoon. They had all sorts of activities for adults and children alike.
The Museum was decorated for Halloween
They had a pony ride, marshmallow roasting and smores by the fire pit, corn hole games, a maze, games of chance, a small gift shop, tours of the museum and even a costume parade with the Jersey Devil. The museum had a nice turnout on a somewhat gloomy afternoon but by the end of the event the sun started to shine.
The ‘Jersey Devil’ lead the Costume Parade that afternoon
For Christmas in 2021 and 2023, the Historical Society sponsored an “Elves Workshop” for kids and their parents with all sorts of arts and crafts happening at twelve different tables lining the front room of the museum. There was cookie decorating and Christmas tree creation with beads and cloth and gingerbread house making. To end the evening, they had Smores and Marshmallows roasting over open firepits in the park across the street.
The Elves Workshop at the Long Beach Island Historical Society
The museum knows how to welcome in the holiday season.
Santa finds his way at the Long Beach Island Historical Society in 2023 when I returned again.
The Christmas display at the Long Beach Island Historical Society during the Elf Workshop in 2023.
The Christmas tree and front of the museum.
The excitement of the Elf Workshop afternoon at the museum.
I had a while before I had to meet the President of the Barnegat Light Museum so I decided to explore the downtown strip of Beach Haven. What an interesting downtown for a shore community. The days of tee shirt shops and beach gift stores has given way to a collection of interesting restaurants, upscale boutiques and gift stores, small specialty shops and art galleries. When you are selling million-dollar homes in the area, you need places for those residents to shop and Long Beach Boulevard has an eclectic group of stores to choose from.
The Woo Hoo is the best place for ice cream and sandwiches when in season.
When I first visited Beach Haven after my 45 year absence, I discovered The Woo-Hoo around the corner from the museum. On my first trip to Beach Haven last summer, I came across this impressive little ice cream and lunch stand around the corner from the Historical Society and on a recommendation from the staff had lunch that afternoon. It was excellent!
The Woo Hoo at 211 South Bay Avenue in Beach Haven, NJ
I had one of their Classic Burgers with hand cut French Fries which was just excellent. The burgers have a rich juicy flavor and the mix of ingredients was delightful to eat. The fries were perfectly cooked and salted. I was so impressed by the lunch I went back later for their homemade ice cream that is just excellent.
In the Summer of 2024, the Woo Hoo discontinued hamburgers on the menu and now just have ice cream and their hand cut French Fries.
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Strawberry Cheesecake sundae at the Woo Hoo
I had the most amazing Strawberry Cheesecake which was rich and creamy and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was loaded with the cereal. On a recent trip, the hot food had closed for the season but the ice cream was still going. I have this amazing holiday special called ‘Cookies & Scream” for Halloween. It was made with holiday M & M’s and Halloween oreos. It was worth the trip to Beach Haven just for that.
The burgers at the Woo Hoo are delicious (no longer offered in Summer of 2024)
When I visited again in November 2021, I had this flavor that just caught my eye, “Pillow Fight”. When I asked the girl working the stand what it was, she told me it was marshmallow ice cream with Oreo Cookies and Rainbow sprinkles mixed in. Then she gave me a sample and I swear I heard angels singing. The ice cream was mind-blowingly good with that mixture of sweetness between the cream and the marshmallows with the Oreos and sprinkles mixed in.
What I love about walking around downtown Beach Haven is the interesting array of stores and food establishments they have on the strip. They are fun to explore on a nice sunny afternoon. I lucked out on my two most recent trips here. The weather broke both days and it ended up a sunny warm afternoon. So I set out to explore the town and I discovered a small community that was much than the beach.
How to Live, the original store at 7 South Bay Street in Beach Haven, NJ.
My first stop when I exited Engelside Avenue onto South Bay Avenue is the unique little gift store, “How to Live” at 7 South Bay Avenue, which has a great selection of local artisan gifts, artwork, children’s clothes and books, women’s clothes and art and book items created by the owner, Sandy Gingras. Her whimsical books and art work dot the store.
The inside of How to Live at the close of the season.
Walking into the store is an experience with the smell of fragrant smells of body products and the musical sounds of the 1980’s. It is a step back in time to when people took time to decorate their homes and give small host gifts. I really loved the homemade Christmas ornaments by a local artist. Her Christmas decorations and home products are beautifully packaged and will mix in any home decor.
The How to Live Bayside store across the street is for furniture and accessories.
Inside the furniture and accessories store in the Summer of 2024
Christmas decoration in How to Live in August of 2024
The new clothing line in the How to Live Living store
Further up North Bay Boulevard, the main artery of the town is Chicken or the Egg at 207 North Bay Boulevard with its constant crowds, popular outdoor dining and creative menu. The menu is stocked with interesting sandwiches, burgers and sides. The outdoor seating on a nice day is the way to dine. I have not had a chance to try the restaurant but it is on my bucket list on my next trip to town.
The Chicken or the Egg is at 207 North Bay Boulevard
North Bay Boulevard has a long stretch of eating establishments that are opened at various times of the week.
When I returned for my Christmas visit, I ended the evening having dinner here. I swear on a cool night, it was the perfect place for a meal. I had their New England Clam Chowder with its thick roux and heavy cream base and it was loaded with clams.
It warmed me up immediately. For dinner, my waiter suggested the ultimate comfort food in cold weather, the Chicken Pot Pie that was just amazing.
The Soup is amazing
The Chicken Pot Pie is really filling
Loaded with chunks of chicken and a creamy base topped with a flaky crust, each bite warmed me up after the cool walks by the bay and down the main street of town. You could really taste the roasted chicken in the gravy and its rich flavors. The service here is always friendly and very welcoming.
I love the food here
I stopped at Fourchette at LBI at 511 North Bay Avenue to enjoy the smells of the array of cheeses and look at their assortment of host gifts. They have a lot of interesting cheeses in the case line and the woman behind the counter was eager to explain them all to me.
I love the smells of cheeses when you walk in. It is a mouthwatering experience when you see them all lined in the cases.
Another interesting store was Sandy Banks Art Store at 515 North Bay Avenue in which the first afternoon I visited a local artist was having an art show in the small courtyard adjoining the store. The art was vibrant and the artist was proud of the paintings she was showing off.
Anchoring the main part of the downtown is the local shore department store, B &B Stores, which has been a Jersey Shore staple since 1932. Located in many well known beach communities, B &B stocks not just bathing suits and swim gear but an array of clothing, gifts and accessories for the local community. I have been in the store during the summer months and it is wall to wall swim suits, tee shirts and shorts but as the cooler months approach and the rushing of the holidays, I saw my first Christmas tree down the shore.
That afternoon there was a nice rush of locals and tourist grasping the last days of warm weather down the shore and even though we were all in masks (COVID is big down the shore too), people were going about their shopping with a vengeance. It was nice to see a crowd of people enjoying a shopping trip and conversing with one another talking over their masks. In November of 2023, it was business as usual as people starting shopping for the Christmas holidays.
The selection of merchandise at B & B Department Stores give me faith in the department store industry especially at Christmas.
When I visited in November, the holiday season was in full swing and the store was full of locals talking about their Thanksgiving holidays and getting back to school the next week. The store was stocked with holiday and winter merchandise for those making the island their home for the winter.
The B & B Department Store airline display.
The Nautical gift shop in the Summer of 2024
The Christmas Shop in October 2025
Crossing the street , there is a tiered mall, The Seaman’s Village, stocked with small stores and restaurants that is big with the beach going community on a rainy afternoon. During the two trips to Beach Haven that I made most of the stores were closed or has partial hours during the week and weekends. It seems though with the warmer weather extending into November and the exodus of people out of the cities, the stores are staying open much longer than usual.
Another homegrown store that I have enjoyed visiting on my last few trips to town is the Crust & Crumb Bakery at 9 North Bay Boulevard. This old fashioned bakery has the usual assortments of cookies, cakes, pastries and doughnuts and an array of Italian pastries as well. I have enjoyed their jelly and custard filled doughnuts and their seasonal pumpkin glazed doughnuts are delicious.
Trust me, after a day at the shore or just walking around enjoying the beautiful weather, a trip here can satisfy any sweet tooth. The selection is extensive and don’t miss the giant cinnamon elephant ears.
I finally got back to Crust & Crumb on my trip to the island in August 2024 and looked through the selection of baked goods before I settled on a Chocolate Doughnut for dessert after my large lunch at Tucker’s Restaurant. The doughnut was excellent but a little pricey at $3.00. Most of their baked goods prices were higher than they are in Manhattan. I thought maybe their rent went up in an ever upscaling Beach Haven downtown. Still, it was really good.
There are a lot of delicious items to choose from at Crust & Crumb
The cake case at Crust & Crumb in the Summer of 2024
The special “LBI Cake” at Crust & Crumb
The Chocolate iced doughnut that I had at Crust & Crumb for dessert in 2024
Walking back down North Bay Boulevard, passing Fantasy Island Amusement Park reminds you that this is still a shore town. On my first trip to Beach Haven in September the park was still open just very quiet. On a warm sunny Friday afternoon, there were not too many people walking around and the staff spent most of their time on their cellphones or chatting amongst themselves.
Fantasy Island Amusement Park at 750 North Bay Avenue
On my second trip in late October, the park was closed but the arcade was open. Talk about bells and whistles with lots of music, lights and excitement. There were only about a dozen of us in the arcade but it was a lot of fun taking a step back into time when I used to visit the pinball and skeetball machines when I was in high school. There were a lot of the old machines that I remember including a version of PacMan and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
The arcade at Fantasy Island Amusement Park brings back memories of a simpler time.
The amusements in the Summer months
The amusement park in the summer months
Walking around the arcade before dinner was an experience. The few people who were playing games were laughing and having a good time. The adults were having just a good time as their kids and I saw that it brought the kid back in them.
Fantasy Land at night just as I was leaving lit for the holidays.
I stopped for a snack before venturing further at Slice of Heaven Pizza at 610 North Bay Avenue. The restaurant was closed for indoor dining so I ate outside with the pizza chef who was taking a break. The pizza was pretty good and when I was talking to the pizza cook he said how sporadic the business had been all summer. It was just starting to get busy by the end of the summer.
The Cheese pizza is really good at Slice of Heaven Pizzeria.
Another wonderful gift, design and furniture store is The Spotted Whale at 500 North Bay Avenue. The store has a light and breezy beach feel to it with light colors and a lot of nautical looks. This store is more geared to the shore customer.
During Christmas, the store was ablaze with a lighted tree and ornaments twinkling from it while all sorts of decorating ideas for the shore houses were on display. Christmas ‘down the shore’ must be interesting.
The Spotted Whale at 500 North Bay Avenue has two locations on the island.
The Spotted Whale has some interesting looks about it.
Inside the Spotted Whale at the branch at Viking Village.
Walking further south, I took detour into the Coffee Nest at 106 North Bay Avenue to see what their baked good were like. The store is a combination gift store, coffee shop and bakery with some floral arrangements up front. There was not much left in the bakery area when I got there but they have a nice assortment and the prices are a bit high. I liked the music playing though. A step in here and your would think you are in Williamsburg or Bushwick and not Beach Haven.
The Coffee Nest at 106 North Bay Street (changed names in the last year-closed)
When I visited the first time, I came to see the NJ Maritime Museum that is located around the corner from the Coffee Nest on Dock Road towards the bay. The NJ Maritime Museum is located across the street from two very popular restaurants facing the bay at 528 Dock Road.
The NJ Maritime Museum is located at 528 Dock Road by the bay
This small but interesting museum contains not just the history of the towns of Long Beach Island but also has the history of the hotels that once dotted the shore, shipwrecks, the Coast Guard and the 1916 Shark Attack that inspired the movie “Jaws”. Several cruise disasters have interesting displays with documented accounts and all sorts of memorabilia. The museum was founded in 2007 by collector Deb Whitcraft.
The museum’s nautical displays on diving are very detailed
The Shark Attacks from 1916 that inspired the movie “Jaws”
Take time to explore each room and read the details of the displays. You will delve deeper into the history of Long Beach Island and its rich history as a fishing and hunting area for the Lenape Indians, then the Dutch and English traders to its time as a resort community to the new morphing during COVID as a full-time community catering to the residents on their exodus out of New York City and Philly. The museum is rewriting history again in the era of COVID. Don’t miss the Moro Castle luxury cruise display room in the back of the museum with accounts on the fatal trip.
The Morrow Castle tragedy at the NJ Maritime Museum.
For lunch on my recent trip I had to find a place to watch the Michigan State versus Rutgers game. It was depressing watching us get tapped danced on by Rutgers during the third quarter. What made it less depressing was the food at Tuckers Tavern, a restaurant facing the bay at 101 South Bay Avenue( see review on TripAdvisor).
The bar area was socially distanced and they had plenty of TV’s to watch the game. We ended up losing 38-27 but I knew the game was over pretty much by the end of third quarter and I did not travel two hours to sit at the bar and get depressed.
Michigan State lost to Rutgers that afternoon
What perked me up though was the food. It it was excellent. I had a crab cake sandwich that was out of this world. It was loaded with crab and was so sweet. The fries were freshly cut and deep fried to perfection. The whole meal was delicious and picked me right up to keep going for the rest of the afternoon.
When I returned to Tucker’s in August 2024, the sandwich had been taken off the menu and it was only in entree form. I asked and they made this for me. The crab cake was was oversized and was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Their French Fries are amazing.
Do not miss the Tuckers Tavern’s Crab cake sandwich
The Crab Cake sandwich was made for me when it was taken off the menu in the Summer of 2024
Yum!
It was nice after lunch to just walk around the bay area and admire the sunshine. The views from the restaurant that lined the bay was just amazing. It was so nice to just walk off lunch and admire the views. I watched the boats coming in and out of the docks.
The bay side restaurant row is breathtaking
After visiting both museums on the lower part of the island, I headed back to the northern part of the island for an appointment that I had to see the Barnegat Light Museum at 501 Central Avenue in Barnegat Light, a tiny museum that housed the original Barnegat Lighthouse light.
The original Barnegat light from the lighthouse
It was an old schoolhouse built in 1903 that had been converted into museum. The museum housed interesting artifacts like dinosaur bones found on the island, housewares from local residents, notes from the students who went to school at the schoolhouse and nautical items. Out of the three museums on Long Beach Island, this one has the most limited hours and I was only able to really tour it properly in August 2024 during my last summer visit to Barnegat Light.
The President of the museum took me on a private tour of the museum and she told me about all the pieces in the space. I also got to tour the gardens that surrounded the museum that were tended by the Long Beach Island Garden Club who did a wonderful job.
The Edith Duff Gwinn Garden plaque at the museum
The gardens at the Barnegat Light Museum in the off season.
The gardens in the Summer of 2024
As the day wore on, I walked the Barnegat Lighthouse State park one more time and admired the inlet and enjoyed the breezes. People were walking along the pathways before the park closed at 4:00pm.
The gardens in the August of 2024
The gardens in the summer months
The gardens at the museum in the summer months
The Gardens from the side of the museum
As I walked the around the area, exploring Andy’s at the Lighthouse at 202 Broadway, an old general store that had a lot of handmade wood works by a local artist and has a nice selection of tee shirts and gifts.
Another store that stood out was Wildflowers by the Lighthouse by owner and artist, Cricket Luker and the store really stands for it innovative clothing and accessories. The owner is a local artist who took her art studio and turned it to a clothing store over time.
She also opened Wildflowers Too! an art gallery at 506 Broadway that shows local and metropolitan artists with a collection of paints, sculpture and gifts.
Before I made the journey to the southern part of the island on my November trip, I stopped by the “Santa’s Viking Christmas Village” to see the arts and crafts festival at Viking Village at 19th and the Bay Barnegat Light. It was a sunny but cool afternoon but the winds had calmed down and I was able to walk the booths with no problems. I was in search of homemade Santa’s for my mother’s upcoming birthday. I found them in two different booths, one made of a conch shell and another made of wood.
The local seafood restaurant was open for takeout and you could smell the fried fish in the distance along with the horrible singing by a guitarist who could not carry a note. Thank God he took a break in time for the Barnegat Light Fire Department to bring Mr. and Mrs. Claus to the Village for a visit to the local children.
Santa’s Viking Christmas Village during Christmas time-Santa’ coming!
I waited for Santa to arrive via the Barnegat Light Fire Department and it was some crowd! There must have been over a hundred families waiting to see Santa. He arrived at 1:00pm as planned by fire truck to the Vikings Village and I had to elbow people just to get the picture of him and Mrs. Claus arriving. I know it is probably a fellow firefighter and his wife but the way people behaved you would have thought he really come from the North Pole.
The Barnegat Light Fire Department arrives with Santa.
Santa welcomes the crowd on the Barnegat Light fire truck.
Santa helping Mrs. Claus off the truck.
Santa and Mrs. Claus greet the crowd at the Viking Village Craft Show.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook’s outdoor seating was open that afternoon.
Because it was so cool out and I was starting to get hungry after the long trip down to Long Beach Island, I stopped at Off the Hook Seafood for a bowl of their Clam Chowder. You want heaven on earth on a cool November afternoon, it is a bowl of New England Clam Chowder and a Coke.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook Seafood at 1905 Bayview Avenue in Barnegat Light, NJ
My heavenly New England Clam Chowder really warmed me up while waiting for Santa.
After touring the Village, I made my way back down Long Beach Boulevard to the LBI Foundation of The Arts & Sciences Holiday Market 2021, which was mostly full of more expensive artwork and home decor products. It was not as festive as the Village Market and all our mask wearing steamed up everyone’s glasses which was a big complaint. In November of 2023, that was no longer a complaint. It was open and people were having a good time.
The Craft Fair at Viking Village in November 2023.
It was later in the afternoon on my October 2020 visit, when I headed back down to the southern part of the island to Beach Haven and I had some dinner. When I was walking past the NJ Maritime Museum, I came across Polly’s Dockside and Clamhouse at 112 Northwest Avenue. The restaurant is a small establishment right on the dock facing the bay and has the most amazing fried shrimp and clam chowder.
Polly’s Dockside & Clamhouse at 112 Northwest Avenue during the off season.
Polly’s in the Summer of 2024. The restaurant was hopping that night
Polly’s in the summer. I loved this little clam sign
I sat at the bar facing the water and watching the sun set. I ate the richest clam chowder while watching boats come in and out of the dock. The sun set right in front of all of us as we ate and it was like watching a movie. Mother Nature can really treat you to the most beautiful things in life. I swear I snacked so much during the day that I could barely finish my fried shrimp appetizer which was much larger than I expected. Still with a little sweet chili sauce, I finished the whole thing. I wanted to save some room for dessert later that afternoon.
Dining at the bar facing the dock
The Cup of New England Clam Chowder is a meal to itself
The Clam Chowder here is excellent
The Fried Shrimps with Tater Tots were so good!
Polly’s Dock in the Summer of 2024
The inside of Polly’s Dockside in the Summer of 2024
Polly’s Dockside in the off season when it is closed for the summer months.
Polly’s in the Summer when it is in full swing
The bayside restaurants at night during the height in the Summer of 2024
I left when it got dark much later than I thought I would leave and I had a two hour drive home. I stopped at the Custard House at 6403 Long Beach Boulevard for some vanilla custard that settled my stomach. It was the right pick me up after all the food, touring and walking. This popular little stand has plenty of outside seating on a warm evening.
I was able to visit the island once more before the dark days of winter came upon us. Surprisingly enough when I visited in December, it was warm. The whole weekend was going to be in the high 50’s. It did not disappoint me as the sun came out.
I started this journey by visiting Barnegat, a small town just north of the cross-way from Long Beach Island. I was exploring the downtown and visiting a store named the ‘Unshredded Nostalgia’, a antique store that carried everything from old movie posters to local history books, 70’s posters and records to house hold decorations. It was one of those stores that a movie scout might look for props.
The town of Barnegat is a small hamlet just north of Long Beach Island on the mainland a few miles from the cross-way. The Victorian architecture is a little shabby and the downtown has a lot of potential if it was renovated a bit more. It does have a unique look to it. It was a stop over for me on my back to Long Beach Island for a pre-Christmas visit.
During the late summer I had came across a flyer from the Surflight Theater for a Christmas production entitled “We need a little Christmas”, a COVID related play about Christmas in Maine. I had thought about it and at the last minute decided to visit Long Beach Island to see what the Jersey shore is like at the holidays. This was pretty shocking how quiet it had gotten.
The play was cute and not too serious with a happy ending and a lot of Christmas songs that trust me everyone in the audience needed to hear. It really cheered me up and put me into the holiday spirit.
“We need a Little Christmas” at the Surflight Theater
The irony of the show was that when it was over and we walked outside the theater, the clouds gave way and it was sunny and 56 degrees out. It was so nice outside and no wind that I walked down the block and walked on the beach which surprisingly I had not done in all my trips to Beach Haven. This was the first time I had touched the Jersey Shore all year and since 1975 here.
This is when I believe in God when we can enjoy the Christmas holidays with late summer weather. This is what I liked about visiting Hawaii during the holidays. I could walk on the beach and dig into the sand and smell the salt air without freezing. It was nice to just walk on the beach and hear the waves crash. The dunes were so quiet in December of 2023.
Beach Haven beach, what a day!
The dunes in the winter months are so quiet and relaxing
The dunes in the Summer of 2024
The dunes and the beach of Beach Haven in the Summer 2024
After the walk on the beach, I decided to walk around the downtown. I was amazed on how much was now closed. “How to Live” was closing for the season and everything was 50% off, the Crust & Crumb and a whole list of other restaurants has closed for the season. The arcade closed for the season as well. B & B Department Store was still open and decorated for the holidays but pretty much everything surrounding it was closed for the season.
The museums, art galleries and some of the bay side restaurants and attractions were shut down for the winter months as well. I thought with so many people staying on the island as residents more would be open. I had lunch at The Shack at 302 North Bay Boulevard, which was one of the few places that was still open. I had noticed it when I was visiting in October and they had a nice selection of lunch specials for $8.00.
Just wanting a snack, I had their $5.00 pizza combination, which was two slices of their fresh pizza and a Coke. I highly recommend their pizza. It must have been cooked in a hot coal oven because the crust and bottom were really crisp and pillowy. The sauce was well spiced and had a nice flavor and the slices were very generous (see review on TripAdvisor).
The Shack Pizza is delicious
After lunch, I decided to head up the coast and explore how the island was decorated for Christmas. In the downtown areas of Ships Bottom there were some nice decorations of lighted trees but outside that with a few store fronts with lights, the area was dark. Everything had closed for the season. With each town I passed, it was really quiet.
When I got to Barnegat Light, the lighthouse was dark and the park was closed as was all the stores surrounding it including Wildflowers at the Lighthouse, which I enjoyed visiting on my last two trips. The stores either were closed for the season or closed at 4:00pm when the park closed.
Getting back to the dock when the sun was still out.
On my trip back down the island, it was eerie how quiet the neighborhoods had gotten since Halloween. I thought more people were staying down here full time and I did not see that many homes lite up let alone decorated.
The one thing I did see was the most amazing sunset over the island and especially the bay area. The whole sky was reflecting off the clouds and had the most beautiful array of colors in reds, oranges and whites bouncing off the sky. The sun really gives a performance on Long Beach Island.
Beach Haven sunsets
Before I left the island for home that evening and for the rest of the season, I stopped at the Chicken or The Egg for dinner which had been on my bucket list to try since the end of the summer. The food and the service were excellent and everyone was so laid back.
The dinner was excellent (see review on TripAdvisor). I had a sandwich named the Chicken Slammer, which was a fried chicken breast topped with Bacon, Jack Cheddar, Lettuce and Tomato and capped off with tangy barbecue sauce with a side of fries and pickles. it had such nice flavor in each bite.
The Chicken Slammer sandwich at The Chicken or The Egg
Make sure that you get everything on top.
The restaurant has the most amazing desserts. I had their Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Sandwich, which I highly recommend. They bake their own cinnamon buns and then cut it in half, load it with vanilla ice cream and top it with caramel syrup and then top it with cinnamon sugar. I swear that their is nothing like each bite of that dessert! No wonder it is so popular.
Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream sandwich is heavenly
I was so stuffed from dinner, I needed to take one last look around and I went back to the square and walked around all the lit Christmas trees , all twenty five of them surround the gazebo, and then the main one inside. On a warm night, with the waves crashing in the background, I thought this was an amazing place to admire a Christmas tree.
It was a treat to come to Beach Haven and Long Beach Island again after a forty-year absence. Who knew that the island in its transformation from working class resort to high class residential community offered so much in the way of shopping, restaurants and cultural sites packed onto one island? There is something for everyone here including the beach.
As I keep visiting Long Beach Island, I keep finding more and more things to visit and explore which show the true beauty of these shore communities at various times of the year.
To end my evening after an afternoon of visiting Christmas activities and cultural sites in November, I decided to drive to the end of the island to see what was there and I came across the Holgate Nature Conservatory at 11 West Lincoln Avenue. It was cool and still sunny out when I reached the park.
The Holgate Nature Conservatory in the Summer of 2024
The preserve in the Summer of 2024
This natural preserve at the southern tip of Long Beach Island was very quiet, less some laughing surfers and a few seagulls. The waves just lapped the shore and I could see the skyline of Atlantic City in the distance. There is something about a quiet beach in the Fall that seems serene and picturesque. It was like watching a nature documentary.
The Holgate Nature Preserve at the tip of the island with Atlantic City looming in the distance in December 2023
After dinner on my visit in November of 2021 and in 2023 at the Chicken or the Egg, I finished dessert at The Woo Hoo and walked up through the downtown to see the last of the people roasting marshmallows in the park and walked to Kapler’s Pharmacy at 1 South Bay Street.
Kapler’s Pharmacy at 1 South Bay Avenue is in the Christmas spirit.
The inside of the store is just as festive.
The crowds await as the horse drawn carriages arrive to take people on rides around town.
The horse drawn carriages.
The drug store was sponsoring horse drawn carriage rides around the neighborhood. I thought what a nice way to end the evening with a twilight view of the sun setting and watching the Christmas lights going on at houses around the neighborhood. The Jersey Shore at Christmas can really surprise you.
Kapler’s Pharmacy event at 1 South Bay Avenue in 2021
People enjoying the horse drawn carriages in the afternoon and early evening.
I thought it was a nice group of visits to get my mind off what is going on in the world. What’s better than the Jersey Shore in warm weather? Visiting at all times of the year in warm weather and then returning for the Christmas holiday events. Who says the Shore closes at Labor Day?
Later that day I found out that Michigan State beat Penn State 30-27. What a way to end the day on my November trip!
The Michigan State versus Penn State Game 2021
Christmas at the Shore! What a change from COVID 2020 to November 2023!
The Beach Haven Christmas Tree Lighting 2020 (virtually of course):
Merry Christmas from Beach Haven, NJ in November 2023. It was in full swing
The Kapler’s Pharmacy horse drawn carriage in front of the Long Beach Island Historical Society at twilight.
The park across the street from the historical society at dusk lit for Christmas.
Relaxing at the firepits and watching the Christmas lights turn on that evening.
Who says that a beach town closes down at the end of the summer? Beach Haven has many wonderful things going on all year round!
The gardens in the Summer of 2024 along the main drag
Landscaping along the downtown area
The artwork along the Main Street
Patriotism in shell art
The old businesses that line the downtown are still popular, the Dairy King at 1806 Long Beach Boulevard
No matter what the season, on the beaches of Beach Haven as well of all of Long Beach Island there is something to do both in the summer and at the holidays. You just have to keep coming back.
The dock by the Maritime Museum
The dock by the bay
The dock side party continues into early October of 2025
All this keeps bringing me year after year to Long Beach Island
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Just sitting by the bay relaxing
Admiring the boats while I digested
The creative artwork by the shore
Christmas of 2025:
In 2025, I returned for the Christmas festivities and I have to say for a beach community, Long Beach Island and its small beach towns do not roll up their sleeves for the holiday season. It is alive with all sorts of activities and special events that make this a series of unique towns to come and enjoy at any time of the year.
It was an early morning drive to Long Beach Island and the holiday activities of the shore towns the line it of Beach Haven, Ships Bottom and Barnegat Light. Even in the colder months, there is a lot going on in these once sleepy summer towns. They are open for the holiday season.
The statue outside is always clever in its decorations
The entertainment was really good. Musicians Jimmy Azziz
His performance singing “Easy as Sunday Morning”
I really enjoyed the performance as did other people who stood by to listen to the mini concert.
I got to walk around the craft fair, admiring all the artists works and many of the display pieces. There were a lot of talented artists showing there work that afternoon.
One of the craft displays outside a store
While I was walking around waiting for Santa to arrive on the fire truck, I was admiring the display the people at Viking Village had set up in his honor for the holidays.
The Santa display set up in Santa’s honor
Then 1:00pm arrived and we could hear the bells and whistles of the fire truck as Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at Viking Village. There is always a lot of anticipation for their arrival and the crowds lined up so deep, that the truck dropped them off at the entrance and they walked in this time.
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by fire truck with help of the Barnegat Light Fire Department
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive to a enthusiastic crowd
Then they sat down to join the crowd and hear requests from children and adults alike. They were busy for the rest of the afternoon.
Santa and Mrs. Claus await the first family to visit them
The proud couple with their first little visitor
As the long lines started for their visit, I decided to get some lunch while the crowds waited in line. In the same complex was the restaurant, ‘Off the Hook’, a wonderful seafood restaurant I had eaten at before.
Viking Fresh Off the Hook at 1905 Bayview Avenue in Barnegat Light, NJ
The food here is excellent and again I really enjoyed my meal. They had a limited menu and I started with the New England Clsm Chowder, which I enjoyed so much the year before.
The start of my meal, the New England Clam Chowder
It was thick and rich and loaded with clams
For my lunch, I ordered the Fried Shrimp Tacos. They were served in a soft taco shell with fresh shredded lettuce and tomatoes. With a little hot sauce and sour cream, they made the best lunch.
The Fried Shrimp Tacos with fresh shredded lettuce and tomatoes and fried potato chips
Now this is dining at the shore!
Yum!
Maybe it was the salt air or the excitement of the holidays and Santa’s visit or just the beautiful day of just the delicious food and eating outside on the picnic bench but it was such a nice lunch and I really enjoyed myself. The meal was excellent. It was also nice to eat outside on a sunny day.
On the way back to Beach Haven to visit the Beach Haven Library Open House, I stopped at Baked on the Beach at 2102 Long Beach Boulevard for dessert. I love their cookies and needed something sweet to finish the meal.
Baked on the Beach at 2102 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City
I had to get one of their cookies and got the ‘Beach Bum’ with all sorts of chips inside an oatmeal cookie.
The Beach Bum cookie
The delicious desserts at Baked at the Beach
After I finished at the Craft Fair and lunch, I headed down to Beach Haven to go to the Beach Haven Library & Museum Open House. I never knew that there was a museum at their library so I looked forward to seeing it. What a beautiful library.
The Beach Haven Library & Museum at 219 North Beach Avenue
It is such a beautiful and historical library dating back from 1924. The downstairs was very interesting with wooden bookshelves and display cases and shelves showcasing the libraries collection. On the top floor was the museum with many artifacts from the island’s nautical and resort past.
The first floor of the museum with the library book collection
The second floor book collection
The second floor museum gallery
While the museum was small, it was packed with all sorts of interesting artifacts. There were hotel ledgers from long closed hotels, relics from ship wrecks and items from local families.
Hotel ledgers where guests once signed in
The artifacts save from ship wrecks and pictures of local spots
The upstairs conference room decorated for the holidays with book shelves lined with the collection
Downstairs there was a very nice Open House with snacks and a working fire with music and nice conversation with the staff.
The Open House Refreshment table
The Christmas decorations in the library with the working fire place
The Christmas tree in the Children’s Room
After I left the library, I explored the Downtown area and the Pharmacy had their Open House too with ice carvings and several contests. This was a how many reindeer can you count in the window contest.
The Counting Reindeer contest in the window
So many reindeer
The ice carving demonstration
Before I left for my last event on the island, the Ships Bottom Tree Lighting Ceremony, I stopped for some ice cream at The Woo Hoo.
I decided on the Christmas specialty flavor, ‘Santa’s Favorite Cookie’, which was a Cinnamon ice cream filled with crushed biscotti cookie, cookie dough, chocolate chips and M& M’s. It was heavenly.
‘Santa’s Favorite Cookie’ ice cream
Yum!
I love the holiday decorations at the Woo Hoo
With the wonderful lunch and some time before the tree lighting, I walked over to the pier to see the sun set over the island. This is always a treat.
The sunset over the pier
The sunset was so beautiful that night
The decorations in the park in Beach Haven
It got darker for the tree lighting ceremony and I got so lost. Then I did not know where the tree lighting was taking place. I had to Google the location about three times and I finally found it down by the harbor by the bay. By that point, they had lit the tree and people were visiting Santa. It was a nice way to end the evening at the shore.
The Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Ships Bottom, NJ
People were taking pictures by the tree and visiting Santa. They also had refreshments for everyone as well.
The beautiful Christmas tree in Ships Bottom by the bay
The decorations with Santa leading the way
The festive pirate ship
People were visiting Santa in the gazebo that night
This was a nice way to end my evening at the shore. The lights and the sounds were really nice and there was still a nice crowd when I left the tree lighting. It was really a wonderful afternoon at the shore. Long Beach Island knows how to celebrate Christmas.
Who says the shore quiets down after summer is over?
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