Patchogue

Queen City of Long Islands South Shore

In the Twentieth Century

1

Hans Henke

Contents
Page 7 ................................................................. The Patchogue Business District Page 8 ..........................................................................................West Main Street Page 37 .........................................................................................East Main Street Page 59 ...........................................................................................East Patchogue Page 65 ................................................ The Elks Lodge and The Patchogue Hotel Page 73 .................................................................................. South Ocean Avenue Page 87 .......................................................................................... Estate Auctions Page 89 ..................................................................................... Early Automobiles Page 97 ..................................................... The Four Corners Group Picture, 1944 Page 101 .............................................................. The Patchogue Railroad Station Page 111 ............................................................................................. Baileys Mill Page 113 ................................................... The Lace Mill and Swezeys New Store Page 131 .......................................................... The Patchogue Police Department Page 139 .............................................................. The Patchogue Fire Department Page 145 ...................................................................... The Patchogue Post Office Page 149 ................................................................. The N.Y. Telephone Company Page 153 .................................................. The Patchogue Electric Light Company Page 159 ............................................................................. Aviation in Patchogue Page 163 ........................................................................... The Patchogue Theater Page 183 .......................... Parades, Entertainment and Sports in the 20th Century Page 196 .................................................................. Dodge City Amusement Park Page 198 ............................................The Smithport Beach and Patchogues Pool Page 202 .......................................................... The Ocean Beaches on Fire Island Page 213 ........................................................... The Patchogue River and the Bay Page 224 ................................................................................... 1957 Business Ads Page 231 .................................................... The Patchogue Village Administration Page 241 ......................................................................Patchogues Parking Fields Page 251 .............................................................................. The Sunrise Highway Page 257 .............................................................................. Patchogues Churches Page 267 .............................................................................. Patchogues Hospitals Page 273 ................................................................................ Patchogues Schools Page 285 ................................................................ Hurricanes, Storms and Floods Page 291 ......................................................................... Patchogues Newspapers Page 297 .................................................. The Four Corners Group Picture, 1993 Page 301 ........................................ Well Known Places of Business in Patchogue Page 319 ..................................... Patchogue at the Beginning of the 21st Century Page 323 ...................................... Events in Patchogue at the Turn of the Century Page 329 ........................................................................ Entering the 21st Century Page 337 ..................................................... Patchogue Events in the 20th Century

This picture book is a continuation of my previously published book, Patchogue-The Early Years. It shows the development of our community in the 20th Century using available pictures, covering the years between 1900 and 2006.

Acknowledgments
My appreciation and thanks to the following people who were kind enough to loan me their photographs : Donna Bodkin, Mary Blanding, Peter Barry, the Long Island Advance, Lillian Priest, Don Zimmer, Postmaster John Sweeney, Lou Meyers, Fred Printzlau, Adolph Morge, Professor Emil Polok, Gene Horton, Gateway Playhouse, Camera Concepts, The Davis Park Ferry Company and Clare Rose Distributors. Special thanks to Jim Mooney, Eagle Eye Aerial Photography, who made his beautiful aerial pictures of Patchogue available for this book.

Cover Design by Tom Reid Printed by AGC Printing and Design, Blue Point, New York

The Patchogue Business Section

West Main Street

The first settlers arrived in Patchogue around 1750. The center of Patchogue in the year1800 was located on the Kings Highway, which is todays Montauk Highway, extending from River Avenue to the Patchogue Lake. This center expanded towards the east in the coming years, and by 1850 the Patchogue business section extended several hundred feet past the intersection of Ocean Avenue. Many small buildings lined both sides of West Main Street, housing a variety of merchants and craftsman. Eventually larger buildings sprung up in this section. The first one was the Havens store, ca.1850, todays Brick House Brewery. The large three-story building on the south side of the street, which until 2005 housed the Colony Shop, was built in the 1870s. The threestory building on the corner of Ocean Avenue, which later became the home of the Swezey and Newins store, was built in 1869, and the large Wedgewood Building on the north side of the street was built in 1898. These were the pioneer buildings of the modern Patchogue business section on West Main Street, which were followed by other stores, theaters, banks and movie houses. No great changes were made to West Main Street until the 1960s and 1970s, when many buildings east of West Avenue were razed to make room for the construction of the Sixth District Court Building on the south side and the Breslin Building on the north side of the street. West Avenue had the distinction of becoming only the second street to cross Main Street in 1967 besides Ocean Avenue. The reason for this lack of intersections was, that Patchogue prior to 1880 developed mainly south of Main Street. Only after 1880 did the northern part of Patchogue attract home builders. There also was a lack of planned development and layout of the streets prior to 1900, resulting in the fact, that there is no other continuous east west road parallel to Main Street.

This is West Main Street in the year 1918. The first building on the left is the Star Palace, followed by the Central Hotel, the Roe Block and the Patchogue Bank building. The Roe Block is the building with the corner tower, which was removed in later years. The first building on the right, which is only partially visible, is Bartletts Hotel and Saloon, followed by the Pape building, the Syndicate building and the large red Masonic Temple. 8

Patchogues Four Corners about 1920. Traffic is now controlled from a booth in the middle of the intersection. This idea was later abandoned, especially after the booth took a ride on the front bumper of a car for a short distance. The building behind the booth is the Star Palace Theater.

West Main Street in the 1930s. Diagonal parking was a necessity because of a lack of parking fields, a problem that was not corrected until the 1950s and 1960s.

A curious picture of Ginocchios candy store on the southwest corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue. This 1905 picture shows what looks like a temporary structure attached to the front of the building, possibly built to make the candy store look like a candy castle? 9

During the first two decades of this century, Al Seitz had his barber shop on Main Street next to Swezeys. As the displays in the widows indicate, he also sold Victor Talking Machines, or gramophones as they were called later. This picture was taken in 1907.

The Anello Shoe Shoppe, 84 West Main Street, stood on the south east corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue in the 1920s.

The Citizens Trust Company Bank building on West Main Street. This new bank opened its doors June 20, 1925. In 1933 the Citizens Trust Company, established in 1903, merged with the Patchogue Bank and Trust Company, established in 1884. The name of the newly formed bank became the Patchogue Citizens Bank and Trust Company, later simplified to The Patchogue Bank. October 31, 1963 the Patchogue Bank became the Island State Bank. 10

The interior of the Patchogue Bank,1935.

The Citizens Trust Company bank building, when completed in 1925, was one of the most beautiful banks on Long Island.

The Masonic Temple on West Main Street became a total loss due to a fire November 7, 1974. The site of this building was purchased by the Island State Bank.

11

After a fire destroyed the Masonic Lodge November 7, 1974, the Island State Bank purchased the property and built this Drive-in Bank Teller facility.

Patchogue had an attended municipal rest room in the 40s and 50s, located in the Masonic Temple building.

West Main Street 1915. A trolley approaching the Four Corners. Patchogue could boast of a street car service from July 1, 1911 to October 10, 1919. Three battery powered cars, each having a capacity of 25 passengers, provided service from the dock at the foot of South Ocean Avenue to Blue Point and Sayville. In the first year, the line carried up to 1,000 passengers a day, but by 1919 competition from bus lines made the line unprofitable. 12

The Sunray Furnishing Company occupied this large brick building in the 1940s on the north side of West Main Street, a few hundred feet west of the West Lake and next to John Belzacs Bar and Grille.

On the opposite side of the street of the above picture a Used Furniture Store operated out of this long building, which later became Flaxmans Furniture Store.

In the 1940s Joe and Franks Market sold fruit and vegetables from this small roadside building on West Main Street, where now the Car Wash is located. For many years prior, John Sosinski Sr. sold candy, groceries and tobacco products from this little store. 13

The corner of Waverly Avenue and Main Street in 1940. The large house on the right had recently burned and Felices Gas Station would be built here in the future. Across the street is the Mount Carmel Church with the rectory barely visibly to the right of the church.

Felices gas station on the northeast corner of Main Street and Waverly Avenue in 1950. 14

The Swezey and Newins Department Store in the 1930s. The tower had been changed from the original look by enclosing the sides and the windows with siding material, a fact that complicated the fighting of the fire in the tower in 1946. Firemen fighting the fire, January 9, 1946. The water cannot reach the fire inside the tower effectively.

The Swezey and Newins building after the fire.

15

A birdseye view of the fire damage.

Fire damage to the upper story and the tower. 16

The Star Palace Theater was built in 1913 on the south side of West Main Street, 200 feet west of the Four Corners. Many famous personalities performed on the stage of the Palace. A 1920 newspaper article announced that on May 27 and May 28, Charlie Chaplin, the newlyweds Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Alice Brady and other famous performers would parade on the stage of the Palace in the costumes of the characters they made famous.

The Conklin Building in the year 2001. This is the renovated Star Palace, which bears no resemblance to the original building on the Main Street side, but if you look from the parking lot in the rear of the building, the unchanged structure of the theater is clearly visible. A souvenir program of one of the Star Palace events in 1918. 17

The Granada Theater was located on the south side of West Main Street, half way between Railroad Avenue and West Avenue. This popular movie house was built in 1928 for the owner, Samuel Savener. The theater opened November 22, 1928. Although it was a popular theater, it closed in 1947, most likely due to the competition of the other two Patchogue theaters. In the 1960s the Two Guys variety store operated from this building for several years. The building was eventually torn down and today the 6th District Court is located on this site.

The interior of the Granada Theater was done in a Spanish dcor with flowers and vines decorating the walls and the balcony.

18

Lou & Macks restaurant was owned by the Dorr brothers, William and Hermann. The restaurant was to the east of Guttes on West Main Street in this 1942 picture. Guttes at this time was a grocery store, established in 1931. Nicks Shoe Repair was the next building to the east, followed by the Liberty Restaurant and Swezeys. The reason for the concerned look on the soldiers face is because of Duke, the Patchogue mascot, who is just visible behind the car.

An interior picture of Lou & Macks restaurant and its patrons. Willie Dorr is standing behind the table and the gentleman wearing a white shirt is Gus Moos, a well known local expert zither player. The five zithers on the table indicate that this must be the local zither club. 19

Hermann Dorr behind the bar of Lou & Macks Restaurant.

The menu of Lou and Macks restaurant, 1946.

20

Another 1942 picture taken on West Main Street. The Liberty Restaurant, proprietor John Petropulos, was a well known local eatery, located next to Swezeys.

The 1948 wine list of the Liberty Restaurant. The prices are tempting in comparison to todays, but the weekly salaries were only forty to sixty dollars in 1948.

21

The White Spot Diner was located alongside the little stream across from the Lace Mill in the 1930s and 40s, Sal Vignato was the White Spots owner.

22

Changes

23

Some locations in Patchogue saw many changes over the years; the southwest corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue was one of them. The large Nathaniel O. Swezey mansion occupied this corner from the 1890s to the 1920s. In 1923 the offices of the Brookhaven Town Supervisor, the Town Clerk and the Town Assessor were located in this building until the new Town Hall was completed on South Ocean Avenue. The Dodge Motor Co. was the next occupant on this spot in 1926.

Patchogue always tried to be a progressive town, but here, the meaning of a drive-in restaurant seemed to have been misunderstood. It is safe to assume that the driver of the automobile had to go hungry for a while longer. The scene is at the Hofbrau House Restaurant on the southwest corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue, about 1947.

In the 1960s the Hofbrau House had become the Home Town Tavern and Restaurant. 24

Grand Opening of the Home Town Villa restaurant, the successor to the Home Town Tavern. The restaurant had been completely renovated inside and out. Mayor Waldbauer is holding the large scissor in this ribbon cutting ceremony.

Another change of owners and names. The restaurant is now Emanueles, ca. 1980s.

This combination store and office building was erected in 2001 on this corner. The corner became vacant in 1990, when Leones restaurant was destroyed by fire. 25

Mr. Simon, the owner of Simons Garage on West Main Street, was the last holdout to vacate his property in 1989 so the construction of the Breslin Building could commence. The Simon property was a combination home, gas station and junkyard. Arthur Simon lived here with his sisters Edith and Beatrice.

Simons Garage and gas station on the north side of West Main Street and the buildings to the left and right of Simons were condemned and razed to clear the north side of West Main Street for the coming construction of the Breslin Building, which is now the Brookhaven Memorial Hospitals dialysis center.

The Sinclair gas station and the Ace radiator shop on West Main Street, next to Simons Garage, also were demolished. In all, ten separate parcels were condemned by the village. This project, which was started under the administration of Mayor James E. Reese has resulted in the clearing of 100,000 square feet of space at the cost of $800,000 in federal funds. 26

West Main Street, west of Railroad Avenue, underwent great changes in the 1980s and 1990. Old buildings on the north side were demolished and the Breslin Realty Development Corporation started the construction of a large commercial building on this site. The corner stone was laid November 13, 1990.. This is a picture of the ground breaking ceremony.

The Breslin building under construction, December 1990.

Disputes between Mr. Breslin and the Village of Patchogue delayed the completion of the building for several years. This episode came to an end when Brookhaven Memorial Hospital bought the building in 1997 for $ 1.765 million. This $6 million project turned this 27.000 square foot building into a 24 station dialysis center, a home care agency and a financial office. This is a 2001 picture.

The entrance to the BMH dialysis center, 2004. 27

A 1949 West Main Street photo, looking towards the center of Patchogue. The building on the left, with the large sign, is the Siegel Brothers electrical supply store. The fence on the left side of the picture borders the Lace Mill property and the trolley tracks are still visible in the street.

Taken from in front of the Lace Mill, this 1962 picture shows the section of Main Street soon to be crossed by West Avenue. The white building on the left is Maurice Siegels electrical supply store, which had to be demolished when West Avenue was extended north, and thereby became only the second road in Patchogue to cross Main Street.

28

A picture of West Main Street, taken in the 1960s from the corner of Havens Avenue. This section of Main Street experienced the greatest changes in the following two decades. Only the two dark buildings in the center are still standing today.

West Main Street as seen from the corner of West Avenue in 1970. Soon all the buildings, starting from the right up to the white building with the small gable, the former Granada Theater, would fall victim to the wrecking ball. In this cleared space the new 6th District Court building would rise. The building on the right side of the picture housed Kurts Coffee Shop and Ben Schiffers Used Book Store.

Kurts West End Coffee Shop on the corner of West Avenue and Main Street. 29

The southeast corner of Main Street and West Avenue in August 1981, site of the future Sixth District Court building.

The demolition of the buildings on the southeast corner of West Main Street and West Avenue took place in December 1982 This was phase 1 of the demolition, the Hodkin building, still standing in the background, would be demolished in the following month.

Inauguration of the Sixth District Court building, on the southeast corner of Main Street and West Avenue. Suffolk County Executive Peter Cohalan is cutting the ribbon and Legislator John Foley, on the left, is holding the ribbon. The court building was constructed in 1983 and completed at the end of the year. 30

The new Sixth District Court building complex. This picture was taken in 1991 from the southwest at the same angle as the top picture on page 30.

The Sixth District Court building was renovated and enlarged in 2005. This is the new look, September 2005.

The rear of the court building and the large parking lot, September 2005. 31

This building on the northwest corner of West Avenue and Hammond Street was called the Flat Iron Building because of its triangular shape. It was built in 1914 by Mr. Greenfield, the owner of the Greenfield Hotel, from the profits he made from the 1913 firemens convention. That must have been a lot of beer.

A 2005 picture of the site of the former Flat Iron Building, now occupied by a Food Mart.

This large building on the northwest corner of West Avenue and Main Street was one of Patchogues oldest houses. It was built in the 1830s by Jonathan Beers. James Ketcham had a tavern and post office here in 1840, and in the following years this building became a hotel under several different owners and names. The last owner was Mr. Greenfield. In later years this building became an apartment house that slowly deteriorated and it was demolished in the 1980s. 32

This old building on the northwest corner of Main Street and Havens Avenue dated back to the 1870s. Over the years many different stores conducted their business from this building, the last one was a kosher delicatessen. A fire destroyed the building in 1991 and to this day this corner is an empty lot.

A 1960 picture of the Patchogue Recreational Bowling Alley on Havens Avenue This building is dating back to the turn of the century and it had many uses over the last 100 years. It was called the Auditorium in its early years, where movies were shown by Roscoe Turner on Saturday nights for a 5 cent fee. Seating was on folding chairs. In 1913 William B. Sinn operated the Suffolk County Laundry in the basement. In 1926 the Austin Manufacturing Company leased the Auditorium to manufacture fine womens clothing. Old timer Mike Weiner recalled playing basketball here, which required extra skill, because many baskets had to be shot over the exposed roof trusses. The last tenant was Maggios Bowling Alley. This building possibly had other uses besides the ones mentioned. In 2006 the roof partially collapsed after the building had sat vacant for many years and it had to be demolished.

33

The Shand store in 1980. Built in the 1850s, this is one of the oldest commercial buildings in Patchogue. The original owner of the store was John S. Havens.

Shands general merchandise storestore, on the northeast corner of Havens Avenue and Main Street. The store, which was owned by the Shand family since 1914, was sold in 1990. This picture was taken in 1989.

In 1995 the former Shand store became the Brick House Brewery and Restaurant. The wooden front extension of the store was removed and replaced with a brick extension, housing the brewery equipment, which blends in nicely with the brick of the main building. Great care has been taken to preserve as many of the original features of the building as possible. 34

West Main Street in the year 1914. The large building on the right is the Syndicate Building, which is now called the Wedgewood Building. The small white structure between the two large buildings is the White House Hotel, which was removed in the early 1920s and in 1925 this spot became the site of the future Patchogue Bank.

West Main Street in 1950. Next to the Swezey and Newins store stands the former Bartletts Saloon and Restaurant, soon to be torn down and the space incorporated to the Swezey store. The large Syndicate building, or Wedgewood Building as it is now called, still has the original upper floor. The last large brick building is the Masonic Temple, which was destroyed later by a fire.

The Wedgewood Building on West Main Street in 1968 . On September 10, 1967, a fire destroyed the upper floor, and metal construction was used to replace the original masonry facade. 35

Scenes on West Main Street in 1962.

36

East Main Street

37

After 1850, the Patchogue business section started to expand to the east past Ocean Avenue. Roes Eagle Hotel, built in 1851 on the north side of East Main Street, was one of the first buildings. During the following fifty years the business section expanded up to Maple Avenue, while east of Maple Avenue large mansions lined both sides of the street. One of the first large homes here was the J.S. Havens home near

Medford Avenue, built around 1850. Many prosperous Patchogue merchants built their homes on East Main Street between 1880 and 1911. A further expansion of the business section started in the late 1920s and continued for the rest of the century. Gradually most of the large homes were torn down to be replaced by commercial buildings, leaving only two at the present time.

East Main Street, c. 1915, was surfaced with brick. The trolley tracks were only running up to Bay Avenue. The large building on the right is the Roe Hotel and the tower visible above the tree is part of the Fischel building, in which the Swezey and Newins store occupied the ground floor. The large building on the left is the Hammond and Mills building.

East Main Street in the late 1910s. The Roe Hotel is on the left. This scene has changed much, only the building with the gable on the right side of the picture survives basically unchanged to this day. Years ago Michaels Camera Store was located in this building. 38

East Main Street opposite Rider Avenue in 1908. The three homes belonged to Charles E. Rose, on the left, C.T. Lowndes in the center and Walter S. Rose on the right. The C.T. Lowndes home became in later years Nan Gurneys Inn and then the Clayton Nursing Home.

Xellers Restaurant was located on the northwest corner of East Main Street and Rose Avenue. William Xeller also was the manager of the Elks Club in 1926. By 1939 the restaurant moved to a new location opposite Medford Avenue.

This is the former Xeller Restaurant building on East Main Street which, in 1939, became Hymans Service Station. 39

Xellers Restaurant moved to this larger building when the business outgrew its old location. This building stood on the south side of Main Street, opposite Medford Avenue.

The cozy little dining room in the second Xellers Restaurant.

Browns Boarding House on the east side of East Main Street, opposite the Patchogue Theater. 40

Nichols Hotel stood next to Browns Boarding House on East Main Street on the property now occupied by the Patchogue Library. This building was the former home of Justus Roe. The hotel was operated by Franklin Nichols from 1919 to 1947, when it was sold to Mr. Brudi. In the 1950s the building was demolished to allow for the construction of a modern building, which became the W.T. Grant store.

An interior view of Nichols Restaurant on 25 South Ocean Avenue in 1910, before the Nichols family bought the Roe home on East Main Street in 1919.

The Ackerly building, built in 1924 on the east side of the Ward and Glynnes Theater, has not changed much to this day. The Rainbow, a piece goods store, opened a large and up-to-date store in one of the four available stores on the first floor in 1925, while apartments were rented on the second floor. 41

In 1926 this traffic control booth was used on the Four Corners, one of many different kinds of booths and other devices to control traffic prior to the installation of traffic lights.

The Four Corners in the early 1930s now sported a traffic light mounted on a concrete base and steel frame. The Bee Hive department store is located on the ground floor of the Roe Hotel. East Main Street in June 1927. The Ward and Glynnes Theater can be seen in the background. Diagonal parking was in practice till the 1940s on Main Street. At this time the north side of East Main Street had uniform looking brick faade buildings to the left and right of the theater. This look changed when the 1978 fire destroyed the theater lobby and the buildings to the left of the theater entrance. 42

Snow removal on the Four Corners in 1927. With new motorized equipment, Patchogues streets could be efficiently cleared. Nelson McBrides drugstore is on the right. This picture of the Mills building was taken in April 1927. It stood on the southeast corner of Ocean Avenue and Main Street. Ludwig Bralls United Cigar Store, Williams Apparel Shop and Aldrichs Electric Store occupied the ground floor with many smaller businesses on the second floor. The New York Telephone Company had their switchboards located on the second floor until their new building next to the Methodist Church was completed.

East Main Street in 1940. A Patchogue police officer is on duty in the middle of the intersection to control traffic. Patchogue always had a patrolman stationed on the Four Corners, a tradition that was kept up until the 1960s, when the Patchogue police force was absorbed by the Suffolk County Police. 43

A large fire destroyed most of the Roe Hotel on West Main Street March 7, 1934. The fire loss was $100.000. Forty guests and a dozen employees managed to escape unharmed.

The old Mills building on the corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue sports a new brick faade in this 1947 picture.

The Glenda Lyn store, specializing in ladys apparel, was located in the Main Street section of the Mills building, bordered by the Woolworth on the left and the Russel store on the right. The Woolworth store had an entrance on Main Street and also one entrance on South Ocean Avenue, a feature that still existed when Max Kavners Mens Store occupied this store. 44

Thanks to the efforts of Adolph Morge, a Patchogue Village patrolman and amateur photographer, we have all these Patchogue scenes from the 1940s and 50s preserved. This view of the south side of East Main Street shows from left to right: Kallers jewelry store, Nicks barber shop, Mike Weiners shoe store and Sacks Stationary.

This 1950s view of the south side of East Main Street, almost opposite Maple Avenue, shows the Rex bar and grille and part of the Jack and Jerry store.

In the 1930s this Shell gas station stood on East Main Street, just west of the Post Office. In the background the Patchogue Diner and the Roe mansion are visible. 45

The Patchogue Grille, a hundred feet west of Maple Avenue, in 1940. The building in the background is the Roe mansion.

The interior of the Patchogue Grille.

46

Main Street in the late1940s. On the extreme right a small part of the Peoples National Bank is visible. The diagonal parking would soon be eliminated, after off street parking fields had been constructed.

A beautiful 1958 picture of Main Street. Starting on the right we can see The Peoples National Bank, Optometrist Kurt Roeloffs store, the Patchogue Stationary Store and the Bee Hive. The white building above these stores is the remnant of the Roe Hotel that survived the 1934 fire.

47

The Pergament Paint store and the Patchogue Stationary store became a total fire loss on April 23, 1959. This was the former location of the Bee Hive department store. This Jim Mooney aerial photo shows clearly the extend of the damage. The intersection on the left side of the picture is Patchogues Four Corners. The burned building is the section of the Roe Hotel that survived the 1934 fire. Today this is the site of Blums ladys apparel store.

A fire at Dales Fabric Shoppe on East Main Street, February 2, 1968 also damaged the adjacent Patchogue Stationary Store. A second fire on February 13 made a total loss out of the damaged stationary store.

A February 26, 1967 fire destroyed the Sylvia Dee store and the Judsons Mens Store on East Main Street. 48

Stanleys Furniture Store at 44 East Main Street was the scene of a major fire November 7 ,1974. At the same time, the Masonic Temple on West Main Street was also destroyed by fire.

The fire in the large Mills building complex, February 10, 1956, totally destroyed all the buildings on the southeast corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue.

A large group of spectators on the Four Corners watching the Patchogue Fire Department fighting the fire in the Mills Building, February 10, 1956. 49

The Main Street section of the Mills Building after the fire. The building on the left survived the fire thanks to the great effort of the firemen and it is still standing today. This $1,000,000 fire destroyed the Woods Jewelry Store, the Glenda Lyn shop, the Miles Shoe Store, Cantors Dress Goods, Muriel Modes, Falkoff Shoe Store, Blums and the Stuart Drug Store.

The corner section after the fire. The Patchogue radio station WPAC was located on the upper floor, as the letters W and A in the windows indicate.

The Newmark and Lewis Appliance Store on Medford Avenue was totally destroyed by a fire July 26, 1991. 50

The old stately Roe home on East Main Street was razed in February 1956. It was built in 1911 for Gelston G. Roe, owner of Roes Hotel. The site of this home would become the site of the new Bee Hive store in the near future.

The new 60 000 square feet Bee Hive Store opened August 15, 1957 on the south side of East Main Street. The management added 100 employees to the former staff of 50. This store had the first escalator in Patchogue.

Interior view of the Bee Hive Department Store. 51

The Bee Hive store stayed in business only till the end of the 1960s, when the Mid Island department store took over the building.

The Burlington Coat Factory became the successor to the Mid Island department store.

The Woolworth Store on East Main Street in 1960. In the following years this became the Patchogue Stationary Store, than the Yesteryears Auction Gallery and now the Dollar Store. 52

The former Nettie Roe home, two houses east of Rider Avenue, is the last survivor of the homes and mansions built more than one hundred years ago on East Main Street.

In the foreground of this 1957 picture the foundation for the coming new Peoples National Bank building is visible. The large home is the residence of John J. Roe Sr. The building in the background is the Patchogue Hotel.

The Glass House and the Doll House stores on 8890 East Main Street were heavy damaged by fire June 11, 1977. The building was remodeled in 1978 to become a mini-mall with a walk-through to the Terry Street parking lot.

The Village Mall. 53

The Cadillac and Oldsmobile dealership of Barrie Brothers on East Main Street in 1958. The dealer ship was established in 1926.

Angelos Restaurant on East Main Street opened as a small restaurant in the late 1960s and the owner gradually expanded the restaurant in the following years by buying adjoining stores.

Angelos was enlarged and modernized by the owner and renamed Mediterranean Manor. This is a 2005 picture. 54

The Elks Lodge on East Main Street, a stately building, was one of the few remaining old homes on Main Street. Built c. 1850 it was the home of John S. Havens, owner of the store on the corner of Main Street and Havens Avenue that in 1914 became the Shands store. In1881 John Joseph Craven, MD purchased this home. The former president of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, was in the medical care of Dr. Craven after his capture, when he was held in Fort Monroe in 1865. After Dr. Cravens death in 1893, the home came under the ownership of the Tiger family, which operated a large nursery here, the grounds of which extended past Oak Street. In later years the Canfield and Tuthill families owned the building. The USO became the owner for a few years during the war years and then in 1947 the Elks bought the building and it became the Elks Lodge.

The dining room and the bar in the Elks Lodge, 2001. 55

Another view of the Elks Lodge dining room.

The property of the Elks Lodge was sold to the New Jersey based Commerce Bancorp, when the overhead on the property became too high. Attempts to save the building by moving it to another location failed because of the prohibitive cost involved. The demolition of the building began February 13, 2002.

The Commerce Bancorp building under construction.

The completed Commerce Bank, 2002. 56

The north side of East Main Street.

Street scenes on East Main Street, 1962.

The Grand Union store opposite Rider Avenue.

W.T. Grant store. 57

Mc Brides Pharmacy.

Main Street in the winter of 1978. Patchogue had a snowfall of 18 inches January 19, 1978 and the blizzard of 1978 added another 25 inches over a period of 36 hours on February 5 6. Blizzard 1964.

A few winters were worse than others.

East Main Street opposite the Congregational Church, winter 1964.

The winter of 1995 96 gave the merchants a big workout clearing the sidewalks. 58

East Patchogue

59

The Swan River Nursery was a large and well known nursery on Montauk Highway in East Patchogue. This nursery was started in 1893 by Charles W. Avery on the property of the Avery family, which owned this land since1754. From this park-like nursery, products were shipped to all parts of the island and New York City.

When Montauk Highway was cut through the Avery property, Humphrey R. Avery took this opportunity and built this attractive display building and office on the north side of the highway and a large fountain on the south side to make his business appealing to potential costumers. Today a shopping mall is located on this spot.

The quaint little Ye Olde Homestead Tea Shoppe stood just east of the Swan River Nursery on South Country Road in the 1930s and 1940s. 60

A 1930 picture of Romolos Swan River Rest in East Patchogue, in the fork of South Country Road and Montauk Highway. Swan Cleaners occupies this building now.

The post office and ice cream factory on South Country Road in East Patchogue in 1907.

The Swan River Casino on Conklin Avenue by the Swan River c. 1930. 61

The Patchogue Shores Country Club on South Country Road in East Patchogue was the former Jackwill Farms estate, the residence of Ruth Litt. 62

The Pine Grove Inn in East Patchogue had a rustic appearance in this 1940 photo. It is a well known restaurant to this day.

The dining room in 1940.

The 1940 bar of the Pine Grove. 63

The Pine Grove Inn is basically the same structure as in 1940, but much modernized on the inside and outside.

The Palm Pines Restaurants address was 347 Grove Avenue. It was the former home of Dr. Charles F. Walter in 1926.

An advertising postcard of the Palm Pines restaurant. The question seems to indicate an owner of German ancestry. Sharlie is referring to the former owner of the building, Dr. Charles F. Walter, a frequent guest at the Palm Pines. 64

The Elks Lodge and the Patchogue Hotel

65

The old Elks Club Building had to be removed from its location on the corner of Maple Avenue and Main Street to make room for the new Elks Hotel. Here the building is moved past Swezeys, on the Four Corners, to its new location on West Main Street, where today the parking lot of the 6th District Court is located. The date of this picture is February 7, 1925. Buildings at these times could be moved without great difficulties, since there were very few overhead wires and traffic lights to worry about.

The former Elks Club Building became an apartment house on its new location, which deteriorated over the years and eventually became a total fire loss June 13, 1974. Eight families became homeless.

66

The new Elks Hotel and Club House on East Main Street, opposite the post office, was dedicated March 4, 1926. It served the Elks until 1936, when it was vacated. The hotel was not used again until 1941, when it became the Patchogue Hotel. In 1969 the hotel was demolished and a large apartment building was erected on this spot.

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The lounge of the Elks Hotel.

The spacious dining room on the ground floor of the Elks Hotel. During the Patchogue Hotel days it became a popular restaurant.

The game room of the Elks Club. 68

The upper floor of the Elks Club was one large hall. During the Patchogue Hotel days it was used to host many meetings and social events for the people of Patchogue.

69

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The end of the Patchogue Hotel, 1969.

Another picture of the demolition of the hotel.

The former site of the Patchogue Hotel opposite the post office is now taken up by the Tiffany Apartments. 71

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South Ocean Avenue

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South Ocean Avenue was one of the first streets running south from Main Street towards the bay. It was originally called Water Street or The Lane. There were no buildings on the west side of the lane, only 5 farms on the east side. By 1850 a continuous line of homes had been built on the east side of the street between Main Street and the

bay and only a few homes on the west side. This was the largest concentration of homes in Patchogue in 1850. The first stores appeared just south of Main Street in the 1870s, gradually extending the business section south, but never further then the railroad line.

South Ocean Avenue as seen from the Four Corners c. 1918. The sign in front of the police officer was the first form of traffic control on the always busy Four Corners. Later this was upgraded to various other signs, control booths and finally traffic lights.

South Ocean Avenue in 1918. This photo was taken from the corner of Terry Street, looking north. The white building on the left is the Union Savings Bank. 74

Charles Howells store at 35 South Ocean Avenue specialized in mens furnishings. The picture of this store in the Mills building was taken in 1904.

Charles Odells store, 467 South Ocean Avenue, sold staple and fancy groceries, foreign and domestic fruits and specialized in butter and eggs. This picture was taken in the early 1900s.

The Algonquin Restaurant, on the northeast corner of South Ocean Avenue and Smith Street, was photographed in 1926. Today this building is an apartment house. 75

The Log Cabin, a Lincoln store on South Ocean Avenue in the 1930s.

The former Ginacchios fruit and confectionary store on the southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Main Street, now occupied by Simon Smietans jewelery store, had to be vacated in 1935 . This building, and the ones to the south of it, soon would be demolished to make room for the new Furman Building.

A fire on December 10, 1960 damaged the Furman Building on the southwest corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue, destroying the Richard York Shoe Store, the Bonnie Mart Restaurant, Roberts Stationary and several offices on the upper floor. The building has been repaired. 76

The latest in fashion in 1916.

The Whelan Drug Company conducted their business for a few years around 1945 from the Arcade building on South Ocean Avenue, which was part of the Mills building. The Mills building complex, built in three separate sections, extended for 93 feet on Main Street and 190 feet on South Ocean Avenue.

A heavy snow storm in 1934 created this traffic problem on South ocean Avenue. The buildings on the right are from right to left: the Patchogue Electric Light Company office, the Union Savings Bank, the Methodist Church, the New York Telephone Company and the Rialto Theater.

Another picture taken after the 1934 snowstorm on South Ocean Avenue. On the left is Carnel and Lipnicks Stationary store and to the right the store of optician Kurt Roeloff. 77

The Union Savings Bank was established in 1896 and opened its offices in the Tower Building on the Four Corners, above the Swezey and Newins store. In 1912 this new bank was built in the northwest corner of South Ocean Avenue and Church Street in the style of the Georgian Period of classic colonial architecture. It was faced with the whitest Vermont marble available.

Interior of the Union Savings Bank, 1918.

Dr. Agate Fosters former home on the northwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Gerard Street. At the time this picture was taken, c. 1970, the house was vacant. This house was an apartment house in the 1940s and a home for the elderly before it was demolished in the 1970s. 78

Hyman Steiner, the owner of the Economy Pharmacy on South Ocean Avenue, had been in business in Patchogue since 1931. His store was next to the Olympia. The date of this picture is approximately 1944.

Nelson McBrides drugstore on the northeast corner of Main Street and Ocean Avenue was one of the oldest businesses in Patchogue, established in 1881. this picture was taken in 1945.

The Ruby Lane store for women on South Ocean Avenue was bordered on the south by Kresges 5&10 store and on the north by the Audrey Shop on the east side of the street. 79

The counter of Jimmy Doukas Confectionary and Luncheonette at 110 South Ocean Avenue. Not far from either the High School or the Rialto Theater, it was a favored place to have a soda or lunch, especially liked by the young crowd.

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A 1970 picture of South Ocean Avenue and the Rialto Theater. The Rialto was originally the Unique Theater but was renamed the Rialto when Mike Glynne bought the theater in the early 1920s. The theater became a total loss due to a fire December 5, 1925, but was rebuilt and enlarged and reopened May 28, 1926. A second fire, February 16, 1978, destroyed the theater again and it was never rebuilt.

The Rialto on fire, February 16, 1978. The cause was not the high temperature of the Saturday Night Fever.

This is Sam Carnel, in 1942, behind the counter in his stationary and cigar store on South Ocean Avenue. 81

This apartment house on Church Street, the former home of Daniel Chichester in 1900, was demolished in the 1990s and the drive-in of the North Fork Bank took its place.

The site of the former Chichester home is now the drive-in of the North fork Bank.

South Ocean Avenue in 1950. The large buildings on the right are all part of the Mills Building complex, which became a total loss in one of Patchogues largest fires on February 10, 1956. 82

A 1917 picture of the Olympia Confectionary and Ice Cream Store at 32 South Ocean Avenue, a favored place, especially for young people. The store was in the old Ackerly building on the west side of the street, where today the entrance to the parking lot is located. Clarence Lagumis was the manager in 1926.

A 1950 menu. 83

A 1940 photograph of the interior of the Olympia. The store was totally destroyed in a fire on December 28, 1953.

The rear of the burned out building.

Scenes of the Olympia fire, December 28, 1953.

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The Station Bar and Grille on South Ocean Avenue, next to the railroad tracks. This dilapidated building was demolished in 1952 and Nancys Restaurant would be built on this spot.

Nancys Restaurant on South Ocean Avenue, next to the railroad tracks. The restaurant was built on the site of an old, large structure that was demolished in 1952. Nancys was a popular restaurant. A fire March 15, 1969 destroyed the restaurant, but it was immediately rebuilt.

Nancys Restaurant the way it looked after it was rebuilt. In August of 1970 it came under new ownership and was called the Golden Lantern. The restaurant was gutted by a flash fire April 26, 1971 and never rebuilt. 85

The Mallard Restaurant, on the east side of South Ocean Avenue, in 1957. The Ocean Avenue Hotel stood just south of this older building. It became a restaurant after the demolition of the hotel and it had several different owners and names. In 1957 it was the Mallard Restaurant, then Wolfgangs and later Georges Restaurant. After modifications to the exterior it became Mister Lees Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge in the early 1970s and later Pippins.

Mister Lees Restaurant and Cocktail Bar.

Pippins Restaurant was vacant when a fire gutted the building December 6, 1975. In previous years this was the Mister Lees restaurant and cocktail lounge. 86

Estate Auctions
All but 10 acres of the estate of Kate L. Gilbert, bordering the Patchogue River, was auctioned off in July 1913. A second auction was held in September 1913 for the remaining 10 acres, including the main house.

The Boyle Estate, the last of the large Patchogue estates was auctioned on September 5, 1925.

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The Carman Estate was the first large estate in Patchogue to be auctioned. The date was Saturday, February 22, 1913.

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Early Automobiles

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Howard S. Conklin, the owner of a stationary store on South Ocean Avenue, was also a photographer whom we have to thank for hundreds of photographs of Patchogue. He was especially fascinated with automobiles. Whenever he spotted a new kind of a car coming through Patchogue, he would ask the driver to let him take a picture. These are some of his pictures of automobiles.

Howard S. Conklin and wife with his personal automobile.

John Foleys automobile in front of Roes Hotel, July 19, 1904. 90

W.M. Harrisons automobile, May 8, 1905.

A Packard on South Ocean Avenue, July 29, 1910.

R.J. Skolers Maxwell, April 20, 1907.

W.M. Harrisons automobile, May 8, 1905.

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Edwin Bailey and his grandchildren with his Ford automobile in front of his home on Baker Street in the year 1906.

Mr. Ball and his 1902 White in front of Howard Conklins store, September 1, 1904.

Mr. Conroy and his auto, August 30, 1904. The white coat, cap and glasses for men and veils for women were mandatory equipment in the days of open cars and dusty roads. 92

An unknown make automobile in front of Roes Hotel, 1910. Robert Baileys 1910 E.M.F.

Cars are getting better, as this 1918 picture shows. Photo taken at Weeks Garage in the Roe Court. Mr. King, a local furniture merchant and his early version of a delivery truck, fully loaded.

No need to raise the car to inspect it underrneath, they were high enough of the ground to crawl under. 93

Now there is a high price car, a Rolls Royce.

Mrs. Emma Norton and Mrs. Abbot in front of the Norton house, 272 East Main Street, corner of Potter Street.

The Reverend Havens and his family posing for a picture on this automobile, June 28, 1904. 94

Now this is what one would call a major tune up! Or are these mechanics building a car from a do it yourself kit? The scene is at J.O. Hulses garage at 52 West Main Street and the year is c. 1905.

This is definitely a young fellows car, just the bare essentials.

And some people prefer a beautiful horse anytime over a noisy automobile. This picture of Edgar Sharp and his horse and buggy was taken in 1903. Edgar Sharp had an insurance and real estate office in the Mills building. 95

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The 1944 Four Corners group picture

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In 1944 all Patchogue citizens were invited to take part in a 360 degree group photo shot staged at the Four Corners. This picture was sent to all the soldiers from Patchogue serving in the Armed Forces. It was impossible to fit the picture in its original format in this book, so it had to be divided into sections.

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The Patchogue Railroad Station

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A 1900 picture of the station.

It looks like a Sunday evening in the summertime. The visitors are leaving on the New York train.

The train from New York arriving at the station. The jitneys are lined up and waiting to bring their costumers to the hotels. 102

On a hot summer weekend the railroad station would become a very busy place.

An elevated view of the Patchogue railroad yard and station, taken from the smoke stack of the Bailey Mill.

A train approaching the Ocean Avenue crossing c.1905. The switching tower had not been built at this time. 103

A Pennsylvania Railroad steam engine just east of the South Ocean Avenue railroad crossing in 1936. Steam engines are now much bigger and much more powerful than in the early years of the century. 1955 was the last year of steam engine service on the Long Island Railroad.

The Cannonball train, 1967.

The old style railroad cars in the 1950s. This is a Pennsylvania loaner car.

The Patchogue railroad yard in the 1940s during the last years of steam. 104

A 1962 Jim Mooney aerial photo of the Patchogue railroad station, taken before the renovation. South Ocean Avenue is running across the bottom of the picture.

The station and parking lot in 1962. In the course of the next year the station building would be torn down and the parking lot modernized.

The end of the old 1889 station building came in May 1963. Here Mayor Waldbauer, operating the crane, takes the first bite out of the station roof. 105

The demolition is getting serious now.

Another Jim Mooney Eagle Eye Air Photo, this time of the renovated railroad station, taken September 28, 1963.

Opening day of the rebuilt Patchogue railroad station, September1963. This was also the year of Patchogue Villages 70th anniversary. Mayor Waldbauer is at the microphone. To the left of the podium in this picture sits senator Otis Pike and on the right, Suffolk County Executive Lee Dennison. 106

The last steam engine train at the South Ocean Avenue crossing, November 26, 1967. This was a special train, an organized last steam trip for fans on the Montauk Line.

The local train service between Babylon and Patchogue, called Scoot, operated originally with steam engines, but was converted to diesel power in 1949. In 1955 a pair of R.D.C.s (Rail Diesel Cars) took over this service for a few years.

A diesel powered train in 1970. 107

The Montauk train approaching Patchogue Station, October 23, 1976, This type railroad car was used from 1960 to the end of the century.

Railroad platform under construction. This new type platform was needed to accommodate the new diesel electric trains coming into service. 108

The new Railroad platform, July 1997

The new double-decker diesel-electric trains serving on the Montauk line now. 109

110

Baileys Mill

An artists sketch of the Bailey Mill, ca. 1910. The street on the left is West Avenue and the future bowling alley would be located on the site of the foremost buildings in the picture.

The office staff of the Bailey Mill in 1930 Top row, L. to R.: Joseph Gould, Louis Rauch, Glen Hendrikson, George Andrechock, Charles Gould Center row: Harry Beare, Gerard Hayduck, Lincoln Andrews, Charles Beurnier, Richard Lewis, Ivor Conklin Front row: Fred C. Hendrikson, Lavern A. Walker, Robert Bailey, Mrs. H. Goodger, Mrs. D.C. Beurnier, Mrs. Ruth Emison, Miss Kathleen Henshaw, Miss Irene Buxton, Oscar Allen, Arthur Lewis, Claude C. Conklin 111

The Bailey Lumber Mill went out of business in 1939 and the site was taken over by the Bruns Kimball Company in 1940. This company was building aircraft rescue boats for the Defense Department until their contract expired. In 1944 the new occupant of the Bailey Mill site, the United States Prefab Corporation, a subsidiary of the Adirondack Log Cabin Company, was awarded a government contract under the Land Lease Program, to build thirty thousand prefab homes for England, but this contract was cancelled after the construction of only 300 homes. This company

employed 353 people in 1944. In the following years the mill complex was leased to several other firms and manufacturers. On November 22, 1951, a large fire, causing $500,000 damage, wiped out three firms leasing in the mill and damaged a fourth. The National Lock Corner Cabinet Corporation, Colonial Art, and the Castle Silver Company were the firms totally wiped out. The Castle Silver Company produced plated hollowware and was finishing surgical instruments for the Department of Defense, employing 35 people.

The Patchogue Bowling Ally, a picture taken from the Railroad parking lot in 1991. This was the site of the former Bailey Mill. 112