Saturday Snug Harbor on Staten Island

I learned of Snug Harbor from my Peaceful Places book. It has been a long but very enjoyable day. I will quote from the brochure. “Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is the largest, ongoing adaptive reuse project in America. It consists of 28 historical buildings….on an 83 acre campus on Staten Island. Formally Sailors’ Snug Harbour, a home for retired sailors built in the 1800’s Snug Harbour is now a distinguished regional arts centre where history, architecture, visual arts, theatre, dance, music, environmental science and botanical gardens provide dynamic experiences for all ages”

I want to make sure I visit all the boroughs  ( background :  5 boroughs make up NYC : Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island)  Snug Harbour seemed interesting.  The cousin of a Cbr friend, who I met last year ,  and I met , as arranged at the  S I  Ferry terminal. We walked east around the shore line of SI for several kilometres to Snug Harbour ( S H)  . We got there at 10.30. The main building was not opened so we wandered around and found a children’s activity play area that looked great. They had a sort-of café . We spent several hours chatting as we looked at different buildings. The main hall had lovely  tiffany  glass panels above the doors.  There was very little about the origins of the place.  It was used as a home for retired sailors til the early 1970’s. There was an exhibition of musicians that had some connection  with  S I . Sometimes the connection was tenuous.  It was not very well explained. Often there were newspaper clippings, but with no dates.  There were several large halls that were connected by passage ways.  Some group was rehearsing for their production of the Pyjama Game. In the Music Hall. We were told by some other visitors of a place to have lunch. We were initially taken thru the empty bar area to a table next to a huge U shaped table of 35 women at a hen’s party. Needles to say the noise was deafening. We had a very pleasant lunch chatting to each other and the bar lady in relative peace.

After lunch we went back to S H and wandered around the gardens. Like the buildings, some were in better shape than others. There was a maze that we wandered around,  a butterfly garden ( no butterflies) , a conservatory ( work needed) , a Tuscan garden ( dead squirrel in pond)  plus more. It sounds rather bizarre, but it was a lovely day, there were lots of lovely trees in full flower,  there was a wedding being set up, a children’s party in the children’s area, some interesting sculptures, lovely old buildings, a peaceful air. We  laughed a lot.

Walk back to Ferry terminal through streets , ferry back, tea/coffee stop on way to subway. I stopped on way home at last of eating places in my block – a take/away  taco place.  OK, but I donot have to go there again.

Bed time, excuse mistakes.