Greenport NY is so chock-a-block full of cool vintage and retro finds that I’ve been wrestling for over 2 months now with how to tell you all about it. You know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well here are my photos that will illustrate what an absolute FIND Greenport is, for the vintage lover or retro day-tripper:
The Antique Carousel:
We took the car over on the ferry and the first sign of a cool place in my book was our visit to the vintage carousel right on the waterfront. I wasn’t the only one who was happy to see these 1920’s era wooden steeds (0rginally built for a traveling carnival) whirling around, and one of the Retro Roadgirls was more than happy to try and grab the brass ring.
Walking along quaint Front Street I was directed to go check out the interior of the Arcade department store, as my hostess knew I’d love the wide wood plank flooring and incredible variety of useful items.
I spoke with a lovely little lady at the far register who said that the store had been there for at least 70 years, but also noted that there are for sale signs in the windows. With a little bit of something for everyone – shoes, work gear, back to school items, notions, stationery, home goods, hardware, it would be hard to imaging what could fill the void if this place were to close. I bought some flower seeds and hope to plant them at the Hacienda!
I was SO wishing we hadn’t had such a tasty diner breakfast when I spied the vintage restaurant sign and charming interior of the Coronet.
One thing I love about Long Island are the luncheonettes, and will make a plan to come back with an empty belly and do a proper review of the Coronet, but for now I’m simply smitten with the vintage decor and positive online reviews.
Crossing the street towards the water we spied some authentic old businesses with trendy shops clustered around:
White’s Hardware is where I picked up a drain stopper for the old porcelain kitchen sink back home- do I know how to pick our souvenirs or what?
For the seafaring visitor, S.T. Preston & Sons is nothing but nautical. I’m a landlubber myself, but I did love the fact that the old cash register was still in use:
(I wonder, is that ST Preston or the son behind the counter?)
Little did I know that we were just across the street from the Oldest Same Family Owned Restaurant in the United States, Since 1870 – Claudio’s.
We were in luck that the Retro Roadgirls wanted to watch the World Cup and I wanted to do some investigation into this historic establishment, so we stopped here for a spell. I loved the old stained glass windows and friendly service.
And I’m told the bar was installed in 1886 when it was salvaged it from an old hotel being torn down in New York’s Bowery. The day we visited it was swarming with soccer fans both local and international, and it was a heartwarming sight to see everyone getting together to cheer on the US Team.
(seeing this less than good photo makes me want to go back, with Retro Roadhusband this time, so he can have some of the fun I did that weekend!)
You know, there are still a lot of neat lil places in Greenport I have to tell you about, so here’s the link to part 2 of the cool old school vintage fun you can have in Greenport NY!
View NY – Long Island Retro RoadMAP in a larger map
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