St. George
Arrive at the fan-shaped threshold of Staten Island, a historic gateway that transitioned from a British "military city" of 30,000 soldiers into the borough’s civic and cultural heart.
In 1776, Staten Island's largely Loyalist population provided supplies and intelligence, making it an ideal base. The British army used the springs near Tompkinsville (known as The Watering Place) to resupply over 400 ships anchored in the harbor.
At a Glance
- Route
- St. George Ferry Terminal east along Bay Street Landing to Stapleton + Alice Austen House extension; west along the North Shore Esplanade to Snug Harbor Cultural Center;
- Distance
- 4–7 miles
- Duration
- 4–6 hours
- Difficulty
- Easy — flat esplanades, some uphill to St. George sites
- Best Season
- Year-round; summer for FerryHawks games and outdoor programming at Snug Harbor
- Greenway
- South on street Bay St to Stapleton Esplanade or Richmond Terrace bike lane to Snug Harbor
Whether exploring the steep, Victorian-crested hills or tracing the edge of the Kill Van Kull, this journey reveals a waterfront that has perpetually redefined its relationship to the city and the sea.
Emerging from the ferry terminal, the journey splits into two distinct coastal narratives. Heading east takes you along Bay Street Landing and the revitalized Stapleton Waterfront, where industrial rail lines and naval piers have transformed into public parks facing the Upper Bay and the Narrows. Turning west leads along the North Shore Esplanade, charting a course past harbor memorials and busy shipping straits toward the architectural grandeur of Snug Harbor.
St. George Esplanade
The waterfront promenade adjacent to the terminal offers an immediate, sweeping panorama of Upper New York Bay, the Statue of Liberty, and the distant span of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Recent redevelopment continues to expand this public footprint, introducing new landscaped open spaces near Bank Street.
St. George Historic District
10 Richmond TerraceClimbing away from the water, the neighborhood's steep, terraced streets boast an exceptional collection of Victorian, Tudor Revival, and Arts and Crafts homes from its era as a premier residential enclave. Crowning the hillside are the Staten Island Borough Hall and the Richmond County Courthouse, two monumental French Renaissance civic landmarks designed by the renowned architectural firm Carrère and Hastings.
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church
53 St. Marks PlaceCompleted in 1844, this is one of the island's oldest Catholic parishes. Its prominent bell tower served for decades as a vital visual landmark for mariners entering the harbor.
St. George Theatre
35 Hyatt StreetOpened in 1929 as a majestic vaudeville and movie palace, this restored Baroque Revival landmark features a grand interior, ornate stained glass, and a massive pipe organ. It remains the cultural anchor of the neighborhood.
Pavilion on the Terrace
404 Richmond TerraceA beautifully preserved, freestanding 1835 Greek Revival mansion surrounded by lush gardens. It is celebrated as the oldest and most unique surviving structure within the landmarked historic district. Today, it has been restores as an event venue.
Empire Outlets
55 Richmond TerraceFlanking the terminal, Empire Outlets offers an open-air retail and dining experience with harbor-facing terraces. Directly adjacent sits SIUH Community Park, a waterfront baseball stadium home to the Staten Island FerryHawks professional team.
National Lighthouse Museum
200 Promenade at Lighthouse PointOccupies the historic U.S. Lighthouse Service General Depot (operating from 1862 to 1939), this site was once the principal manufacturing, storage, and supply base for lighthouse equipment along the Eastern Seaboard. Lenses, lanterns, and buoys were tested and shipped from here to stations nationwide.
Bay Street Landing
75 Bay Street LandingMoving east, the shoreline transitions to a quieter residential scale. This 16-acre complex repurposes the former brick warehouses of the American Dock Company, converted into cooperatives in the 1980s. At low tide, historic wooden pilings still break the surface, framing intimate views of the harbor shipping lanes.
Stapleton Waterfront
Once a 35-acre U.S. Navy base known as the Staten Island Homeport (decommissioned in 1994), this redeveloped stretch seamlessly blends modern residential design with public parkland. The esplanade features manicured lawns, fishing piers, and restored tidal wetlands engineered to reintroduce native intertidal ecology.
Canal Street Observation Deck
Elevated overlook provides broad views across the harbor toward Brooklyn and the Verrazzano Narrows. Nearby, Caspers Cove shoreline restoration projects have reintroduced native marsh grasses and intertidal habitat along the edge of the bay.
USS The Sullivans Pier | Homeport
Is a remnant of the former Homeport complex, the pier continues to serve as a gathering place during Fleet Week and other waterfront events. It is named for the five Sullivan brothers of Iowa, all killed when the USS Juneau was sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942 — a tragedy that profoundly shaped U.S. military family policy during World War II.
Ocean Yacht Club
76 Edward PlaceFounded in 1891, this is one of the oldest boating clubs on the island. Though the construction of the naval homeport in the 1980s altered its traditional marina access, the clubhouse remains a bastion of local sailing heritage, preserving vintage photographs and regatta memorabilia from the Upper Bay's working-waterfront era.
Alice Austen House
Continuing south along Bay Street brings you to Alice Austen House Park a rolling green lawn adjacent to scenic Buono Beach and a clear look across the harbor.
Clear Comfort (The Alice Austen House)
2 Hylan BoulevardThis National Historic Landmark is a charming Gothic Revival cottage dedicated to the life and work of pioneering photographer Alice Austen. The house commands the exact, expansive view of the shipping channels that fueled her artistry.
Buono Beach
A scenic stretch of public park sitting right on the edge of the Narrows with paved walkways, benches and a fishing pier.
North Shore Esplanade
Striking west from the ferry terminal, the multi-use North Shore Esplanade links the transit hub to the cultural sites of West Brighton. The views from this path shift toward the Kill Van Kull — the four-mile tidal strait separating Staten Island from New Jersey — and the Bayonne Bridge, one of the finest steel-arch bridges in the world. Tugboats, industrial dry docks, and the massive shipping traffic of the Kill occupy the foreground.
Postcards
Staten Island's September 11 Memorial, features two soaring white structures framing the void where the Twin Towers once stood.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Originally established in 1801 as 'Sailors' Snug Harbor,' a wealthy charitable haven for 'aged, decrepit, and worn-out sailors,' this sprawling 83-acre campus preserves an unparalleled collection of mid-19th-century American architecture.
Temple Row
The grand formal axis of the campus is anchored by 'Temple Row,' five monumental Greek Revival buildings facing the water. On the East Lawn sits the Neptune Fountain and a bronze statue of the institution's benefactor, Robert Richard Randall, cast by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
Noble Maritime Collection
Celebrates the heritage of the working waterfront; its centerpiece is John A. Noble's actual floating studio — a houseboat cabin salvaged from a ship graveyard and meticulously reassembled within the gallery.
Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art
(housed in Building C) features striking rotating exhibits set against historic interior murals.
Staten Island Museum
The city's last remaining general-interest museum — explores the intersection of art, local history, and natural science, highlighting the island's unique biodiversity and the legacy of the Lenape people.
Chinese Scholar's Garden
One of only two authentic scholar's gardens in the United States, hand-built by a team of 40 artisans from Suzhou, China, using traditional roof tiles, bridges, pavilions, a koi pond, and intricate scholar rocks.
Tuscan Garden
The Tuscan Garden is modeled after the Villa Gamberaia outside Florence, offering a formal garden of symmetrical water parterres and fountains.
Getting Here
| Stop / Location | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| St. George Ferry Terminal | Ferry | Free Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal, Lower Manhattan — 24/7 service, approx. 25 minutes; bikes permitted at no charge |
| St. George (SIR) | Rail | Staten Island Railway — all stops accessible from St. George station; connections to Stapleton, New Dorp, Tottenville |
| S40 bus — Richmond Terrace | Bus | Runs from St. George Terminal to Snug Harbor's North Gate in approx. 10 minutes; frequent service |
| S51 bus — Bay Street | Bus | Access to Stapleton Waterfront and Alice Austen House vicinity |
| National Lighthouse Museum | Walk | 200 The Promenade, Lighthouse Point — 5-minute walk east from the ferry terminal |
| Snug Harbor | Walk/Bus | 1000 Richmond Terrace — 1-mile walk west along the North Shore Esplanade or S40 bus from terminal |
| Alice Austen House | Walk/Bus | 2 Hylan Blvd — S51 bus from St. George or 30-minute walk south along Bay Street |
| Stapleton Waterfront Park | Walk | 20-minute walk east along Bay Street from the ferry terminal |
| Empire Outlets / SIUH Community Park | Walk | Immediately adjacent to the ferry terminal — no transit needed |
Community Logs
Photos, ratings, and quick tips from people who've made the trip.
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