Local History Notes from the Great Neck Library

Horses once roamed wild on the Great Neck peninsula.  Okay, not really.  Okay, not at all.  But horses were a big part of daily life here, and most everywhere, before small mechanized vehicle...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/historical-great-neck-and-its-loves-of.html

IN 1933 THE LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD (LIRR) WAS PLANNING TO ELIMINATE THE CONGESTED, SOME WOULD SAY DANGEROUS GROUND LEVEL CROSSING ON MIDDLE NECK ROAD BY CONSTRUCTING AN OVERPASS.  THE LIRR ...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/and-just-why-was-long-island-rail-road.html

The presence of the United Nations Security Council in Lake Success brought many residents from other countries into our community.  In this wire service photo dated 1948, Philippe Pressel ta...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-additions-to-librarys-historical.html

   CU·LET  ‘kyü-lət  (noun) - The small flat face at the bottom of a gem cut as a brilliant. PHOTOGRAPH  OF CULET PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO, CA. 1930. NOTE THE GAS STREET LAMP ABOVE TH...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/09/portrait-of-alexander-culet-great-neck.html

PHOTO BY JAMES KAVALLINES, TAKEN FOR THE NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE. In 1961, two residents from the New Hyde Park/Great Neck area, Hazel Kaufman and Fran Wunderlich, became increasingly alarme...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/06/from-new-hyde-park-great-neck-around.html

A century ago, postcards were the favored social networking tool.   Because of this non-electronic format, we have a record of one of the main shopping areas in our community, as it appeared a...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/06/main-street-great-neck-1912.html

2011 marks the Centennial of the Village of Saddle Rock, the first village established on the Great Neck peninsula.   Louise & Roswell Eldridge founded the Village of Saddle Rock in January ...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/05/saddle-rock-turns-100.html

Over the years, claims have been made that many famous people lived in Great Neck.  At the library, we give claims that can be substantiated credence, but if we cannot find hard evidence to supp...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/05/did-fanny-brice-ever-really-live-in.html

The Local History Collection recently acquired this circa 1870's postcard handout depicting the steamship Seawanhaka and advertising its schedule.  This item was purchased with money from the R...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/05/seawanhaka-saga-continues.html

Many of us know that Groucho Marx lived in a home on Lincoln Road in Thomaston for several years, but did you know that Harpo Marx also lived in Great Neck for a short time? According to a Sept...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/harpo-marx-stayed-and-spoke-in-great.html

The Local History Room recently added to its collection the library's oldest existing records - Board of Trustees minutes, correspondence, and ledgers from 1894 to 1949.  Previously, these docu...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/we-owe-you-one-horse-great-neck-library.html

As we add new and interesting materials to the Local History Collection at the library, we will post entries on this blog about them.  For instance . . . Pursuant to a patron request for inform...

http://gnlibrarylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-great-neck-librarys-local.html