Sea Cliff Village Museum

95 Tenth Avenue

Sea Cliff, NY 11579

671-0090

Open: Saturdays and Sundays, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Museum History

Twenty-five years ago, Charles Hurley, a lifelong resident of Sea Cliff, foresaw the need to collect and preserve the historical treasures of the Village. After convincing Village Trustees of the value of his idea and obtaining a charter from the State of New York, he created and nurtured, with the support of many dedicated citizens, the Sea Cliff Village Museum.

Over the years, the Museum has grown and matured through support of the Village, the Friends of the Museum and the devoted labor of hundreds of volunteers. Over sixty-six major exhibits have been presented, photographic and costume collections have been preserved, an on-going oral history project has been established, visitors have gained an insight into the rich history of the Village, and innumerable students have conducted research using the museum’s collections. The Sea Cliff Village Museum is, indeed, a living “time capsule” dedicated to preserving the historical heart and soul of the Village by recording Sea Cliff’s past, present and future for generations to come. The Museum strives to educate and raise community awareness about Sea Cliff’s history and helps foster the community’s appreciation for this priceless jewel in our unique Village.

The Museum hosts two major exhibits each year. On the second floor, one can see photographs and artifacts of yesteryear that are on permanent exhibit. Visit the Gift Shop off of the main foyer. There you can find books, toys, note cards and an assortment of gift items at reasonable prices.

Support the Museum by becoming a member or a docent. Help secure the Museum’s fiscal health and its irreplaceable collections by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Museum’s Endowment Fund. Membership and Endowment Fund brochures are available at the Museum and at the Sea Cliff Village Library. “By securing the future, we are preserving the past.”

“Gaslight and Gingerbread”

A Photographic Recollection of Old Sea Cliff

By Charles Ransom

Are you curious about the provenance of your house? Do you wonder what structure stood on your property when the Village was called Sea Cliff Grove? As you meander the Village’s narrow lanes, do you envision what Sea Cliff life was like during the Victorian era? Ponder no longer; the answers can be found in the red, hardcover book called “Gaslight and Gingerbread” that can be purchased at the Sea Cliff Village Museum gift shop and at the Sea Cliff Library.

Open the cover and you will see a map of Sea Cliff Grove when it was a Methodist campground, a summer retreat for city dwellers seeking tranquility and a respite from their hectic lives. Try to find the number of the tent plot where your house now stands. Two reservoirs have become one; the hiking trails with their four fountains have given rise to dwellings of various architectural styles; and the bathing houses and piers are gone, replaced by our beach pavilion and yacht club.

Delve further into “Gaslight and Gingerbread” and take a trip back in time…a trip down nostalgia lane. Some structures have changed little since the 1890s while others have been drastically altered or razed and replaced. As you turn each page and study the photographs, your imagination will transport you to a bygone era. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the trolley still existed to carry commuters to the Sea Cliff station where men outfitted in suits and straw hats and women costumed in full-skirted, long-sleeved dresses and feather-plumed hats awaited the coal-fired train to transport them to the city? Summer vacationers could stay at one of Sea Cliff’s numerous, regal hotels whose pricier rooms had a water view. The steep streets were easier to navigate in slow-paced horse-drawn carriages. There are photos to document the complete freezing of Hempstead Harbor in the early 1900s, as well as the wooden boardwalk that was destroyed by the infamous 1938 hurricane. Numerous are the pictures of the citizens who laid the social foundation of our wonderful Village; many of their descendants still call Sea Cliff home.

“Gaslight and Gingerbread” is a treasure trove and a rich pictorial history of a bygone time. Accolades to the late Charles Ransom for organizing old photographs into a pictorial Village memoir that is a valuable keepsake. The reprinting of the 1971 “Gaslight and Gingerbread” is an accurate reproduction of the original with digitally enhanced photographs from cover to cover. Visit the Museum gift shop or the Sea Cliff Library to make “Gaslight and Gingerbread” a part of your book collection.