'Jewel' of Garden City Needs to Be Restored

Over the years, little jewels have been steadily plucked from Garden City’s crown.

St. Mary’s and the original - well, third - Garden City Hotel no longer glimmer in the center of town and St. Paul’s has been dangerously close to loosening from its prongs for more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, one jewel is being fiercely guarded by the village and locals are fighting to restore it to its former glory.

“Our museum is like a little jewel, and it needs to be properly preserved and restored to keep it as it should be,” said Garden City Historical Society President Albert Intreglia.

Pieces of the village’s past that were rescued from destruction sit throughout the newly restored 11th Street structure, one of nine identical homes built in the A.T. Stewart era. While the inside is pristinely restored, the outside is in desperate need of repair.

Sign up for your local daily Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts here

The 1872 house survived hurricanes, harsh winters, and was famously relocated in 1988 to its current location from Fifth Street. While the inside of the building has its youthful glow, the outside of the house is now showing its age. A renovation would require the restoration of two porches in the front and side of the house, window trims, handrails that have rotted out over the years, clapboards, soffits, and balusters.

“We’re trying to restore it to its original form when it was built in 1872,” said Intreglia. “But we don’t want to clad the building in vinyl. There’s a way that restoration needs to be done and it is expensive.”

That’s why the Garden City Historical Society is raising $500,000 to complete an extensive restoration of the outside of the building.

“We don’t get any tax revenue so it’s all on us,” said Intreglia. “It’s a big nut to crack.”

Restoring the building is critical to keeping Garden City’s history alive as well as providing a source of art, Intreglia says.

“Garden City finds money for athletic programs and we don’t want to take anything away from that. But sometimes it seems that the arts are a far second to athletics,” he said, adding that the society regularly hosts award-winning classical musicians, art shows, and other events that promote the arts.

To help raise the funds and to commemorate the group’s 40th anniversary, the historical society is hosting a benefit gala on May 14 at the Garden City Hotel. Honorary co-chairs and Garden City natives past and present include Good Day New York’s Greg Kelly, Garden City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Althea Robinson, and musician and radio personality John Tesh.

Honorees include society member and past president Joanne K. Adams, society co-founder Denise Dunne, and Sen. Kemp Hannon, who assisted with the interior restoration.

Tickets for the gala are $95 per person or $125 at the door. Read the full details below on their Facebook page:

Photos: Facebook/Garden City Historical Society/Suzie Alvey

More on Patch:

• LBPD: Long Beach Trio Sold Cocaine to Undercover Cops
• Nassau Cops to Boost Patrols for Passover, Easter
• Cops: 2 Freeport Armed Robberies May Be Related
• Snow Likely in Nassau Tuesday
• Letter to the Editor: Hempstead Board Shirking Duties
• Nassau Police: Brake, Horn Lines Cut on Car Parked at Mall
• Cops: Pair Robbed Teen in Roosevelt
• 15 New Jobs in Nassau: Nurse, Laboratory, Store Manager
• Cops: Burglar Tampered With Safe in Freeport
• Customer Killed After SUV Crashes Through AT&T Store in Great Neck
• Wow Houses of the Week
• DA: Nassau to Auction 13 Forfeited Cars
• Man Arrested After Robbing Lindenhurst 7-Eleven, Police Say
• Gene Saks, Tony Award Winning Director, Dies in His East Hampton Home
• Police: Mattituck Man Arrested After Heroin Found in Car