at Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the minor-league Staten Island Yankees
This monument, entitled Postcards, honors the 270-some Staten Islanders who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, as well as another who died in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The two oversized "postcards" frame the skyline of Lower Manhattan, where the twin towers stood; on the inner sides of the postcards, each victim is memorialized with a granite plaque and a carved profile of his or her head in silhouette.
Off in the distance, amid the industrial landscape of eastern Bayonne, sits the ultra-exclusive Bayonne Golf Club, its man-made hills blanketed in the snows of a relentless winter. The course's lighthouse-like clubhouse is visible atop the hills in the center of the photo; here's a closer look at the scene.
There's no shortage of beautiful old houses here in New Brighton:
"Up and down hills, along shaded streets of gnarled trees and overgrown landscaping, there are grand examples of what constituted great style to the wealthy Manhattan exiles who built them between 1834 and the early years of the 20th century. Gingerbread Victorians, spiky Gothic Revival and Second Empire structures with mansard roofs alternate with the soft, curved arches and rounded turrets of shingle style and Queen Anne homes, each house built as a symbol of the status its first owner had achieved."
The Staten Island Firefighter's Memorial at the Chapel of St. Paul
The official plaque for this city landmark states that it's "the last unaltered survivor" of Hamilton Park, an early "model suburb" built between 1852 and 1874. According to the NY Times, "the subdivision featured cottages of 12 to 14 rooms with carriage drives and provisions for live-in staff. It was a hit with wealthy people from Manhattan, 30 minutes away by steamer, who could entertain themselves at the local yacht club or listen to the legendary Jenny Lind warble from the stage of one of the posh waterfront hotels."
The bulk carrier Balder is docked here at the Atlantic Salt Company, which supplies most of NYC's road salt — hundreds of thousands of tons of the stuff. Almost all of the city's salt is of foreign origin; it's cheaper to transport it from other countries by ship than from upstate by train. You can check out some cool shots of Balder's interior here, and see the ship in action (i.e., unloading salt) here.
Here's how Christopher Gray of the NY Times describes this circa-1887 house: "It is awkwardly spectacular, a mix of tight-lipped Puritanism and freewheeling shingled bumps, with a witch's-hat tower."
Built between 1874 and 1885 as a carriage house and servants' quarters
Established in 1839, St. Peter's is the oldest Catholic parish on Staten Island. The original church building here, dating back to 1844, was destroyed by a fire in the 1890s; the current church was erected in 1900-01.
