Snug Harbor

This is one of th best hidden secrets of New York, and one of the reasons I went to live on Staten Island. It is not easy to describe Snug Harbor. Originally, it was a set of buildings in pseudo Greek style where old sailors could retire to. They had their own self-contained village with church, clinic, theatre, brewery, graveyard and hospital. It is surrounded by a large park that is now the Staten Island Botanical Garden (there are still tortoises in the ponds). It is now also the largest cultural centre in New York with a lot of functions: there is a concert hall (David Bowie was here), many exhibition areas, artist studios, a maritime museum. I never got tired of coming here. And the view over the Kill van Kull to the Jersey shore always changes.