Now that Glen Island, once described as a “resort,” will open again June 25, we thought we would revisit a quick history from the archives:
Glen Island, New Rochelle, is a lovely county park accessing the Long Island Sound, and one which has a fascinating history.
With summer unofficially begun, there is an interesting piece about Glen Island, New Rochelle’s glory days in The Daily Beast, when ” Glen Island had grown to occupy seven small islands connected by pedestrian bridges.” It was a 19th Century theme park.
A plaque that can still be found in the area describes the layout of the amusement park, and many beautiful ruins remain, including those of a German beer garden.
I found some old family photos recently, dated 1962. I definitely remember going to Glen Island as a young child. My question: were people able to rent rowboats then? There’s a photo of 3 of the men in my family in a boat–was it there?
yes you could rent row boats back in the day . i been going there since 1965