Patchogue Photo Gallery - Places

This is a postcard of West Main Street, looking west. Swezey and Newins Department Store is on the right corner, where Thomas meets Elizabeth. It's followed by Lewis Seitz's barber shop, though Patrick never did make his haircut appointment,  and the Bartlett House. Murdock's Restaurant, where Daniel and Sgt. Owens met for lunch, is on the left side of the street, close to Ocean Ave.

This is a wider shot of West Main, still looking West. Here you can get a better look at the south side of the street. Swezey and Newins is on the right and Ginoochios Fruits and Confectionary is across the street, followed by Mr. Murdoch's Restaurant  - "The Old Homestead",  which is right across the street from Mr. Seitz's barber shop

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Looking east on West Main, you can see Swezey and Newins off in the distance. At this end is White House Hotel. The next building is the Masonic Temple, where a dentist, Dr. Mott Demarest , had his offices. The nexx large building is the Syndacat Building, which among other businesses, housed the Municipal Works and the local Post Office.

To the left of the banner, you can see the large white house that was the Central Hotel. It accomnodated up to 100 guests, and along with the Roe Hotel, it stayed open all year round. In the off season, it would rent rooms to hunting parties and businessman, etc.

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Known as the Patchogue Lace Mill, the company was a major employer through its heyday in the 1920s and 30s. It clesed in 1954 and after a number of occupants, and a series of fires, was rebuilt around 2000. Today, it's occupied by the Blue Point Brewery Co. 

The Syndicate building , built in  1898 , housed the new Post Office , which remained there until around 1917, when  it was relocated to a building on the corner of South Ocean and Terry Ave.  In 1931, a new Post office was built in its present location on East Main St.

This would be the block Daniel lived on. You can see the banner for Roe's Hotel down the street.  McBride's Pharmacy would be on the corner and Mr. Knecht's Butcher Shop would be a few shop's down. Further down from the Roe's Hotel was Overton's Livery where Dr. Tennyson might have housed his horse and buggy.

This is across the street from Daniel's Hotel. Hammond Mills Dry Goods, Furniture and Clothing would be on the corner. Conklin's Pharmacy would follow, along with Weeks Bros. Ladies and Gents Clothing store and Pettit's Jewelers. By 1904, it seems Mrs. Smith had moved her Millinery Shop to East Main from Ocean Ave. 

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Taking a look further down East Main Street, you'll see it becomes much more residential. This is the area where Dr. Tennyson has his residence and office.  It was close enough to town to be able to walk but far enough away to enjoy the peace and quiet of the country. Notice while there are sidewalks, the streets are still unpaved.

Roe's Hotel is where Daniel has been staying since he arrived in Patchogue. The hotel was open all year and advertised its electric lighting and steam heating. It could accommodate 200 guests and boasted a bar, cafe, and dining room. There was also a livery in back where Daniel could house his horse and buggy.

Conklin's Pharmacy was right across the street from the Roe's Hotel. Daniel might have picked up his headache powders here or on the corner in McBride's Pharmacy. Conklin's also had the first public telephone in the area and was the central office of NY and NJ Telephone Company.

Looking east from the Four Corners, you can see McBride's Pharmacy on the far left.  Just a little further down the street, you can see the portico of Roe's Hotel. In the forefront, a policeman is crossing the street.  This is much what our character, Sgt. Theodore Owems might have looked like.

Looking north on North Ocean Avenue we find a mostly residential area at this point in time, and for the most part, it still remains  that way today.  Mrs. Frank Newins ran her  boarding house down that way.  Oak Street is the first cross street,  branching off to the right just north of Main Street. A little further down, Lake Street crosses from the left.

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Looking north from Main Street. You can see there are just a few stores before the residential area begins. Mr. Ruland, the undertaker, was located at #15 North Ocean Ave. This picture is a bit later than our 1904 timeline,  but it gives a great look at Swezey and Newins Department Store on the left and McBride's Pharmacy on the right. Daniel's hotel is just a bit down the street to the right.

Looking north from Main Street. You can see there are just a few stores before the residential area begins. Mr. Ruland, the undertaker, was located at #15 North Ocean Ave. This picture is a bit later than our 1904 timeline,  but it gives a great look at Swezey and Newins Department Store on the left and McBride's Pharmacy on the right. Daniel's hotel is just a bit down the street to the right.

Looking north toward Main St. we can get an idea of what Ocean Ave. (now South Ocean Ave.) looked like around 1904.  Swezey and Newins is off in the distance. Other stores along this street were Newins restaurant, where Daniel met Kathleen. It would have been on the east side of the street, close to Main Street. You can see the sign for Aldrich's Jewelers on the left.

This is the same view as the previous photo, but with a closer look at the east side of the street. Hammond Mills and Co. Dry Goods is on the corner, a short walk north of Newins Restaurant.   Continuing south on that side of the street you'll pass  Conklin's Stationery, where Daniel picked up his copy of "Hound of the Baskevilles.", as well as other businesses.

We're still looking north on South Ocean Ave. but more on the west side of the street this time.  It's also after 1908, as the trolley is coming down the road. Ginoochio's Fruit and Confectionary Stroe is on the corner of Ocean and West Main, and if you walk down the street a bit to Ackerly's Music Store, you could visit Kathleen at the library, where it was located in 1904.

TurninAg around, we can take a look south on Ocean Ave. from Main St. You can see Pape's Confectionary Store on the right, across the street from Newins' Restaurant. The local newspaper, the Patchogue Advance, is further down on the right, as is Ackerly's Music Store, and Krause's Ladies Furnishings is across the street.

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We've moved further south on Ocean Ave., heading for the Bay, but we've turned around to take another look toward Main Street. The Mathodist Church is on the left, and if we keep heading south, we'll pass Frank Schwartz's Portrait Shop, Mrs. Clara Schenk's Millinery,  Joe Luca's Barber shop and A. D. Schoenfeld's Bakery.  I wonder if that's Daniel's buggy?

We've finally reached the foot of South Ocean Avenue, where a variety of fine hotels and restaurants lined the Great South Bay.  Here you can see the entrances to the new Mascot House on the left and the Ocean Avenue Hotel on the right. For those who were looking for something a bit more economical there were bungalows to rent.

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This is the Mascot House before it was moved to the west side of Ocean Avenue around 1905. It sat on the dock at the southern end of Ocean Avenue, so that boats could come right up to it, a plus if you enjoyed sailing or wanted to get the ferry to Fire Island. 

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Built in 1878, it was situated at the foot of Ocean Avenue. Spreading out to the east along the Great South Bay , by 1909 it had added extenstions that allowed it to accommodate  275 guests with many of their rooms facing the Great South Bay.

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By 1900, the Cliffton House was one of the largest hotels on Long Island. Sitting to the east of Ocean Ave. off Bay Ave., it covered 13 acres right on the Great South Bay and could accommodate 300 guests and their families.  Guests could play croquet and tennis on the great lawn or go for a walk on the boardwalk.

 Patchogue was a popular vacation resort in the late nineteenth and early twenteith century. This is a photograph of the Clifton House great lawn, where guests could enjoy tennis, croquet, and archery, or just sit and enjoy the ocean air.

We can only imagine where these ladies are heading as they wait on the dock of Patchogue Bay. One thing is sure, they're looking forward to a day of fun. You can see the Mascot Hotel off in the distance to the right.

 This group looks like they're prepared for an enjoying day of swimming off the dock. Notice while girls could go bare-legged, women were expected to cover their legs with stockings. Men clearly were not.

This image shows bathers off a dock at Bay Shore, another south shore village close to Patchogue. It could , however, very easily be an image off any Patchogue dock. Regardless of its location, the parcipitants appear to be having a good time .

If jumping from the dock wasn't you're style, you could always grab a blanket and go sit on the sand by the shore or  dabble your feet in the surf. You might even walk in up to your waist if you were feeling frisky. Those bathing suits were cumbersome though.

Patchogue is seperated from the ocean by a barrier island known as Fire Island, which runs along a good portion of the south shore. If    you preferred to swim in the ocean, rather than the bay, you might want to take an excursion over on a steam ferry much like this.

 Bay Avenue ran from East Main St. down to the Great South Bay. In this picture, the entrance to the Cliffton House is to the left. 

Maple Avenue was a block east of North Ocean Avenue and ran north, crossing over Oak Street.

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This family is sailing on the Swan River, which is in east Patchogue. The photograph was taken on the north side of the Sweezey Avenue Bridge, which ran over the river.

Canaan Lake in northern Patchogue was once a popular vacation destination, where visitors could rent bungalows and spend a week or two swimming or fishing in the lake.

East Lake was east of Patchogue Village in what is now East Patchogue. Tdoay, it's known as Swan Lake and flows into Swan River , which leads to the Great South Bay.

West Lake lies on the western edge of Patchogue, just north of West Main Street. It flows into Tuthill Creek, which eventually leads to the Great South Bay.

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An estuary of the Patchogoue River, Palace Brook is just one of the  many lakes, rivers, brooks and creeks that dotted Patchogue.  Not to mention the village  sat on the Great South Bay. Is it any wonder it became such a popular resort ?

The Patchogue River is the only deep water port on Long Island's south shore. Once lined with commercial enterprises, the mills have long since been replaced by restaurants and marinas.

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This shot is of Patchogue's coastline, looking at it from the Great South Bay. During its heydey swanking hotels, restaurants, and more economical bungalows lined its shores, making it one of Long Island's most popular resorts. 

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 A view of the Long Island Railroads  Patchogue Depot, located on Division Street. If you look close, you can see the buggies lined up witing to take the visitors to the ir final destination.

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The Long Island Railroad was the main means of transport from Patchogue to Brooklyn and New York City in 1904 and Daniel uses it quite often to get home.

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More to Come

Patchogue had an excellent Fire Department, which in 1904 was located on the corner of Lake Street and North Ocean Avenue. 

High School

Maple Ave Grammar School

Better known as the Lace Mill - on west main

Lumber Mill on Patchogue River

More To Come

On East Main and Conklin Ave. before it's move to South Ocen Avenue in 1907

Methodist Church on South Ocean Avenue

Congregational Church on East Main Street