• About
  • Blog
  • Working together
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Girl Gone Travel

Girl Gone Travel

North America, Travel
/
May 19, 2012

NYC Landmark: City Island Nautical Museum

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share

City Island in the Bronx is a favorite destination for many New Yorkers looking for a beach-side escape where delicious seafood fair can be found. The traffic on the one road into this small neighborhood is not for the faint of heart, or the impatient, but a beautiful summer afternoon spent in City Island is a tradition most New Yorkers can’t go without. We’ve loved visiting the area for years with our kids, and enjoyed this latest visit as we learned more about the area.

Aside from the seafood, and small beach town feel, City Island has a rich maritime history, all of which is recorded and preserved at the City Island Nautical Museum. A former school building till between 1897-1898, this site has survived the test a time, a fire, and even budget cuts.

With a supportive community that spans as far as Germany and volunteer staff, such as Barbara Hoffman and Barbara Dolensek who kindly gave us a tour during our visit,  the museum as been able to stay afloat and keep the history and memories alive.

 Barbara Dolensek and Barbara Hoffman are incredible sources of information at the museum

It definitely could use some love though. The stairs leading up to this historic site are falling apart and in such bad shape that they are unusable.

City Island Nautical Museum is one of 40 NYC landmarked buildings competing for restoration grants totally $3 million from Partners in Preservation sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Community members and supporters can vote once a day till May 21, 2012.

Walking through this great site, I also noticed valuable, historic pieces like an old canon ball that had been shot during old battle, left exposed, and other antiquities which could be better preserved in cases and better displayed if the resources were available.

I am not a sailor, nor consider myself much of a nautical aficionado, however, the staff there is and their excitement and enthusiasm is contagious as they detail what each display is and the history of various items seen throughout. There is no doubt that a visit to this museum will leave with you with a wealth of knowledge not only about the maritime industry, but about City Island as well.

Should this site ever loose the support of its community, and no one there believes it to be the case, a lot of what is City Island, the culture, the history of its people, the labor and love of many involved in building the nautical history and business that influenced the industry world-wide, would be transferred to places like Newport and other areas off the island, thus ripping from it a piece of pride.

We enjoyed our visit and would love to see this museum succeed and grow. It’s a wonderful side of NYC history no one really thinks about, or might even be aware of, it would be great to continue to share it with our community and children.

Remember, you can vote once a day for City Island Nautical Museum till May 21, 2012 through the Partners in Preservation website at http://partnersinpreservation.com/.

Disclosure: I have partnered up with Partners in Preservation as a blog ambassador to help spread the word and raise awareness of select historical sites throughout the tri-state area. Though I am compensated for my time, I have not been instructed to express any particular point of view. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I am proud to be a part of something so significant and so important to the preservation of the history of my home.

Related

Enjoyed this post? Give it some love and share!
Share
Pin this Post
Share this Post
Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

You May Also Like...

Christmas Tree Hunting in Long Island, NY

December 12, 2008

Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights, NY

December 10, 2008

Winter afternoon in the Bronx Zoo, NY

December 16, 2008

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Post
NYC Landmark: Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NY
Next Post
Best Bagels in Montreal, Quebec

Categories

  • Asia5 Post(s)
  • Caribbean17 Post(s)
  • Central America4 Post(s)
  • Europe54 Post(s)
  • North America318 Post(s)
  • Oceana1 Post(s)

About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

Contact

  • caincarol@gmail.com

Follow @girlgonetravel

Is a day enough to really experience Massachusetts Is a day enough to really experience Massachusetts’ Berkshire County? Not even close. But if you needed a quick little fix of mountain air, a day trip will do. 

Here were my stops on this 24 hour jaunt to the Berkshires:

📍Coffee and a morning bite at @wanderberkshires in Pittsfield, MA
📍@themountlenox author Edith Wharton’s home, for forest strolling, sculpture and flower garden admiring, and summer cottage touring - and for a light lunch in Lenox, MA. 
📍Mount Greylock for a drive up to Massachusetts’ highest point (at 3,489 feet) and some epic views.
📍Dinner and drinks at @touristswelcome in North Adams. 
📍Sunset views from Pontoosuc Lake near Pittsfield, MA. 

#bershirecountrymasschusetts #theberkshires #daytrip #roadtrip #intheberkshires @visittheberkshires
On my previous visit to The Berkshires, I shared a On my previous visit to The Berkshires, I shared a phenomenal dining experience at Tourists Welcome in North Adam’s, MA. 

And I have two more wonderful spots to add to my growing list….alreasy popular with those in the know, so I am just chiming in to further affirm all the accolades. 

Starting with @havencafebakery in Lenox, MA. Super friendly staff, killer chai (and an awesome tea selection) and a small but delightfully seasonal menu. Felt super “homemade” in the yummy, cozy way that makes you feel nostalgic. 

My mind was blown at @statefoodndrink in North Adams, MA. Come on Mondays and experience a Southern classics menu, which …zomg…so good! I cried a little inside to be missing out on their Vietnamese night (Tuesday) but promised Chef Tu Le I would be back for that and their weekend brunch 🙌🏾. The vibe is also welcoming, even for such a massive, factory space, and it felt fun with several community-focused happenings taking place in the surrounding spaces. An immediate favorite and a must on your next trip to The Berkshires! 

#berkshiresma #foodietiktok #goodeatsberkshires @visittheberkshires
Come with me on a little hike in the Berkshires, M Come with me on a little hike in the Berkshires, MA with no trending audio as distraction. 

The Cascades Trail is an easy 2.1 mile hike in and out in the City of North Adams. We all needed a quiet little escape into the woods along a rushing brook, over a few wooden bridges and fallen foliage and towards a  small cascade. 

There are countless hikes for every type of adventure-seeker, but when the goal is just a stroll and a moment of connection with nature and your thoughts, there are plenty of those trails too. 

#berkshiresma #hikeinma #easytrails #getoutsidema @visittheberkshires
Peaceful morning. ❤️ We’re going on a little Peaceful morning. ❤️ We’re going on a little getaway to the Berkshires with our youngest and looking forward to a much needed mini-vacation. 

And while a little escape is always nice, waking up to the stunning beauty of the place we call home is such a gift. 

#fingerlakes #newyork #keukalakeny
A message about yesterday’s event: Happy Monday A message about yesterday’s event:

Happy Monday, y’all. Woke up in time to enjoy the soft glow of sunlight that shines its way around our house in the morning, and sipped on a cafecito without being rushed for anything. So already today is a win. 

Yesterday we worked our longest day yet for our little coffee cart that could (7 hours!!!) at the Heritage Fiesta in Ithaca, NY. 

Though we were ready for a crowd, the reception was also unexpected because there was a popular coffee shop just steps away. 

But we had Cómodo Fam stop by, family (who also fed us 🙏🏾), and soooo many members of the Latinx and BIPOC community who were just excited to see a small business like ours representing. 

I want to share that we were ALL worried about potential harassment and assault by 🧊and fliers were handed out to prepare us. And you would think that it would’ve intimidated the community enough to not come out…BUT WE DID. In numbers. 

And for hours that little parking lot next to Press Bay Alley was packed with all sorts of Latinx and non-Latinx community members, eating, laughing, dancing, singing, and drinking all the cafecitos and refreshers we had to offer. Literally. We went home cleaned out!

All this to say that we are all aware of the threats but we also understand the power and importance of coming together as a community and a people. By no means are we all the same, and Lord knows a lot of Latinos have a lot of self-reflecting to do based on the choices they made, but yesterday was a testament to the best of us, and I thank @yenospina and @lcatompkins for putting together such a wonderful event, for inviting @cafecomodony to be a part of it, and to all the friends, old and new, who came out to support us and la cultura. 

#fingerlakes #newyork #cafecomodo #coffeelover
Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite lazy day pastimes of the season: market shopping for fall goodies - which in the Finger Lakes is especially bountiful. 

📍Joseph’s Wayside Markey, Naples, NY

#fingerlakes #newyork #octobermood #fallday

Copyright © 2025 Girl Gone Travel | Privacy Policy | Copyright Notice