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A Resort on the City’s Edge: A Visit to Brighton Beach in the Early 1900s

In the early decades of the 20th century, Brighton Beach was a popular and respectable seaside resort, a place where New York’s middle class could escape the summer heat of the city. Connected to the metropolis by a fast and efficient train line, it offered a more refined and family-oriented atmosphere than its famously chaotic neighbor, Coney Island. The resort was defined by its grand hotel, its popular horse racing track, and its large music hall.

The social and physical center of the resort was the massive Brighton Beach Hotel. This enormous wooden structure, with its long, shaded verandas stretching for hundreds of feet, faced directly onto the ocean. The hotel was famous for an incredible feat of engineering in 1888 when it was physically moved inland several hundred feet on railroad tracks to save it from beach erosion. Throughout the early 1900s, it catered to a prosperous clientele, offering luxurious rooms, fine dining, and grand balls in its ballroom. Guests would sit in rocking chairs on the verandas, enjoying the cool ocean breezes.

The primary way for visitors to reach the resort was via the Brighton Beach Line, a railroad that ran directly from downtown Brooklyn and offered connections from Manhattan. The train terminated right at the resort, making it an easy day trip for thousands of city dwellers. On a hot summer weekend, the trains would be packed with families heading to the shore.

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For many years, the main attraction besides the beach itself was the Brighton Beach Race Track, a major horse racing venue located just behind the hotel. The racetrack drew large crowds of spectators and gamblers throughout the racing season. The track was forced to close around 1908 after new state laws banned gambling on horse races.

Entertainment was also provided at the Brighton Beach Music Hall, sometimes called the Brighton Casino. This large theater hosted popular light entertainment suited for a summer audience. It presented musical comedies, operettas by composers like Victor Herbert, and high-class vaudeville acts. It was considered a more sophisticated alternative to the raucous shows and cheap amusements offered a short walk away in Coney Island. The main activity for most visitors, however, was simply promenading along the boardwalk, relaxing on the sand under a rented umbrella, and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.

#1 Brighton Beach, circa 1901, with a sign that reads, “Neither indecent bathing suits nor immodest deportment will be tolerated.”

#3 Racecar driver Al Poole in his Simplex at Brighton Beach, 1910.

#11 People on Brighton Beach enjoying a day in the sun, 1910.

#18 Brighton Beach, Coney Island; Manhattan Beach Hotel, undated.

#19 The Riccadonna Hotel on Ocean Parkway and Sea Breeze Avenue, Brighton Beach, 1900.

#20 Construction workers pose on construction site with roller coaster in background, Brighton Beach, 1920.

#23 Beachgoers on Brighton Beach with the Manhattan Beach Hotel in the distance, 1890s.

#24 Frame peaked roof building and stuccoed low building alongside the Manhattan Beach Rail Road tracks on the west side of West End Avenue, Brighton Beach, 1923.

#26 Parkway Baths, viewed from the Brighton Beach Rail Road station at Ocean Parkway, Brighton Beach, 1923.

#27 William Gray Hassler playing on the beach, probably Brighton Beach, 1911.

#28 Children playing in wet sand, Brighton Beach, 1920.

#30 Group of women in dresses seated on Brighton Beach, 1920.

#37 Newly-built concession building, Brighton Beach, 1920.

#41 New concrete steps leading down to the water, Brighton Beach / Manhattan Beach, 1920.

#42 William Gray Hassler and his mother at Brighton Beach, 1912.

#43 William Gray Hassler photographing his mother on Brighton Beach, 1912.

Written by Makayla White

An amateur content creator and dreamer. I Run, Cycle, Swim, Dance and drink a lot of Coffee.

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