Historical Views of the Rockaways
Far Rockaway Bay - Once a Main Body of Water
From The Rockaway Museum Commentary by Emil Lucev,Curator Dedicated To The Memory Of Leon S. Locke
Yours truly has submitted maps of old Far Rockaway many times to views, and has had one published in my book, "The Rockaways" in April of this year! These antique cartographic and bay chart specimens show the once famous Far Rockaway Bay, which separated the Far Rockaway mainland from the outer bar swimming beach known as "Hog Island." Far Rockaway Bay was about one thousand feet at its widest, and ran from about Beach 32 Street westerly into the present Nassau County.

Today's view was taken in 1919 from about the Nassau line, or better, from about Beach 9 Street. It is dead low tide, and the high water mark is visible on the right at center.

We are looking west towards the Ostend Bathing Casino at center, then Roche's Beach, and finally the Edgemere Club Hotel at Beach 35 Street in the left background.

Now visualize an imaginary line starting from right center passing between the Ostend Casino, close to the four towers of the Kuloff Hotel (that was on the shore of Far Rockaway Bay) and continue to the Edgemere Hotel, where the Creek to Jamaica Bay once was. At the Edgemere Hotel come left toward the small wave at left center. Now you are virtually looking down the center of old Far Rockaway Bay … 1871 to 1893… before the two great storms of latter year destroyed the outer beach, which was on the left!

The outer beach came back again big enough to be built upon once again, and was destroyed by another great storm in 1903, never to return! This storm pushed in sand to make a good onshore beach with the same high water line as shown. After 1919 this beach shown was slowly washed away, and caused the building of a new beach and ocean promenades in later years.

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