Destination: GREAT NECK

Destination: GREAT NECK All the good stuff about Great Neck's historical villages @ the crossroads of the American Dream.

We are an all-volunteer community organization with a diverse board, dedicated to the betterment of Great Neck, NY and all of its villages including: Village of Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston, Great Neck Gardens, Harbor Hills, Saddle Rock Estates, University Gardens.

Many longtime Great Neck residents remember the Sizzler restaurant that stood at 14 Northern Boulevard during the 1970s,...
06/05/2026

Many longtime Great Neck residents remember the Sizzler restaurant that stood at 14 Northern Boulevard during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. It is now the Moonstone Asian spot. Like other Sizzler locations throughout the New York metropolitan area, it was known for affordable steak and seafood dinners, its popular salad and sundae bar, and the family-friendly atmosphere that made it a favorite and affordable special destination One interesting local connection is the Great Neck Sizzler had a prominent location at 144-08 Northern Boulevard. The first photo is similar look to the once Great Neck site, a classic freestanding Sizzler restaurant exterior with the distinctive mansard-style roof and roadside sign.

Giddy up, Kensington! When longtime Great Neckers refer to the Kensington Gate, they are likely talking about the decora...
06/05/2026

Giddy up, Kensington!
When longtime Great Neckers refer to the Kensington Gate, they are likely talking about the decorative white posts that stand near the entrance to the Village of Kensington. They are among the most recognizable historic landmarks on the Great Neck peninsula. Around 1904, developers Charles E. Finlay and E. J. Rickert purchased much of the former Deering, Thorne, and Allen family farmland north of the Long Island Rail Road. Their vision was to create one of Long Island’s earliest planned suburban communities for affluent New Yorkers.

To give the development a distinctive identity, they erected elegant white gates modeled after the gates of London’s famous Kensington Gardens. The gates became the symbol of the new community, and the neighborhood itself took the name “Kensington.” The gates were more than decoration and marked the entrance to what was marketed as an exclusive residential enclave with amenities that were extraordinary for the early 1900s, including a waterfront beach and boat dock, Tennis courts, a large swimming pool, carefully planned roads and landscaping, architect-designed homes in Colonial, English, and Italian styles.

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06/05/2026

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This capture of horse drawn carriages down Middle Neck Road is believed to be of the street across the Village Green in ...
06/05/2026

This capture of horse drawn carriages down Middle Neck Road is believed to be of the street across the Village Green in the village of Great Neck, ( the “Old Village”) heading north.
The Village Green is one of the most historically significant public spaces in Great Neck. Today it is a beautifully landscaped park at the corner of Arrandale Avenue and Middle Neck Road, but its origins go much deeper into the story of the “Old Village” of Great Neck. In the early 1900s, Community leaders, particularly philanthropist and civic leader Roswell Eldridge, believed that open space should be preserved before development consumed all of the peninsula’s remaining green areas. This vision helped lead to the creation of the Great Neck Park District in 1916, one of the oldest park districts in New York State. One of the treasures of the Village Green is the Rose Garden, designed in the late 1920s by renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, one of America’s most important garden designers. The rose garden remains one of the most elegant public gardens on Long Island.
The modern Village Green encompasses approximately 6.5 acres and includes: The Veterans Memorial, Gazebo and bandstand, Walking paths, Children’s PlayGarden, Butterfly Garden, Fountain, Great Neck House ( community center) nearby. neck

Station Road is one of the historic estate corridors of Kings Point. Many of the large parcels along this road were orig...
06/05/2026

Station Road is one of the historic estate corridors of Kings Point. Many of the large parcels along this road were originally carved from much larger estates that developed after the arrival of the railroad to Great Neck in the late 19th century. The extension of rail service transformed Great Neck from a rural peninsula into a favored residential enclave for New York City’s affluent families providing a semi-rural lifestyle within commuting distance of Manhattan. Station Road’s very name is a nod to our past.
Here, one of the more notable estate properties in the village of Kings Point, which is part of the greater Great Neck Peninsula. The property sits on an unusually large parcel of approximately 2.7 acres, a size that harkens back to the Gold Coast estate era of the well heeled New York City’s families with substantial country homes on the North Shore. Due to subdivisions during and after the Great Depression, the great majority of plots of land in Kings Point are “only” one acre of land.

The Great Neck of the early 1900s was a very different place from today. Before subdivisions and village streets, much o...
06/04/2026

The Great Neck of the early 1900s was a very different place from today. Before subdivisions and village streets, much of the peninsula consisted of sprawling waterfront estates, formal gardens, carriage drives, greenhouses, and gentleman’s farms. It was one of the western gateways to Long Island’s famed “Gold Coast,” where industrialists, financiers, and successful New Yorkers built country homes overlooking the Long Island Sound. By 1900, wealthy families were discovering that Great Neck offered something rare: large tracts of waterfront land only a short train ride from Manhattan. The peninsula became dotted with grand residences surrounded by landscaped grounds, often designed in the English, French, or Italian traditions. Many estates stretched from the shoreline to inland roads. Sweeping lawns descending to the water, stone walls, formal rose gardens, pergolas, orchards, and elaborate gatehouses. Summer parties, tennis matches, and yacht outings were part of the social life of the peninsula.
Today, along with the magnificent homes and estates across our 9 villages, our park district is renowned for maintaining the precious public parks and green spaces on the peninsula.

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06/04/2026

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North Station Plaza. Then & Now
06/04/2026

North Station Plaza. Then & Now

Beverly Road features some of the more substantial historic residences in the Village of Kensington, the private incorpo...
06/04/2026

Beverly Road features some of the more substantial historic residences in the Village of Kensington, the private incorporated village within Great Neck. This house sits on approximately 0.59 acres along Beverly Road, one of Kensington’s signature streets, known for its mature tree canopy and early 20th-century estate homes. Built circa 1915–1929 (sources vary slightly) Per the Great Neck Historical Society, it was designed by Harry Otis Chapman, a notable architect active on Long Island and in the New York metropolitan area during the early twentieth century. Homes designed by him are relatively uncommon, making this property architecturally significant within Kensington.

Beverly Road was one of the original planned streets in Kensington’s development. When Kensington was created in the early 1900s, developers planted extensive rows of lindens and elms, creating what contemporary accounts described as a continuous archway along Beverly Road. The village was intentionally designed as an estate community with strict covenants keeping commercial development out. That planning is still visible today. Beverly Road remains one of the most attractive streets in Kensington, lined with mature homes from the village’s formative period.

Address

100 Middle Neck Road
Great Neck, NY
11021

Telephone

+15164177737

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