STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Every street has its memories, from major thoroughfares to the local "Main Streets" in each community on Staten Island.
There are bars we remember. The corner stores. The local gas station.
Here are some vintage shots from a few well known streets on Staten Island's South Shore.
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Talk of the Town, Great Kills.
One of the true granddaddies of the South Shore bar scene, the bar opened in 1942.
And like all true dive bars, Talk of the Town stays open until 4 a.m.
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What used to be a liquor store and dry cleaners in downtown Huguenot is now the Ciro pizza cafe.
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You can still see these never-used LNG tanks from Arthur Kill Road. Other LNG tanks on the Island exploded in 1973, killing 40 workers. That put an end to the LNG industry here on the Island.
Barry Schwartz/Staten Island Advance
Here's the aftermath. Read more about that tragic day here.
Anthony DePrimo/Staten Island Advance
Here's one of the tanks in a photo from 2016.
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Back then, it was known as the Burke's Landing restaurant.
According to Advance archives, George Burke restored the 1830 Greek Revival home in a Civil War motif.
The spot is now home to the Old Bermuda Inn.
Advance file photo
Burke's Landing closed in 1987. Here's a shot of the interior, featuring chef Marta Viguri and owner George Burke.
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Looks like the guy on the left, who was loading up his car, got a look at the photog here.
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Richmond Valley Animal Hospital.
My family dog, Gunther, was put to sleep here years ago, after a long illness.
I remember my mom taking him for a final walk behind the hospital, giving him his favorite treats, talking to him. She couldn't come into the exam room for the actual moment, though. But my sister, Grace, and I stayed with Gunther until the end.
Probably 30 years ago or more. I still think about it.
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I had friends in Huguenot that I used to visit all the time. I stopped into this pharmacy a lot. It was right near the Huguenot train station.
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Long vanished South Shore house. There's a shopping area on this site now, including a pizzeria and catering hall, according to Google Maps.
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Another old neighborhood liquor store, this one right next to the Great Kills train station.
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Today we know this as Killmeyer's Old Bavaria Inn, one of the true stalwarts of the Staten Island eating and drinking scene.
Quoting Island historian Pat Salmon, the Advance in 2018 reported that the oldest parts of the building date from 1845.
She said, “It was originally used as a store and residence by John Batchellor. It was bought by brick baron Balthazar Kreischer in 1855. He deeded the property to Nicholas Killmeyer in 1859. The Killmeyers ran the establishment from 1859 until 1947, when it was taken over by the Simonson family. It was later called Simonson’s Inn and then the Century Inn."
Ken Tirado took the place over from Cap Simonson in 1995 with partners. He and wife Elise own the place now known as Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn.
Advance file photo
Here's a shot of "The Century" from 1986.
Advance file photo
Century Inn owners Mr. and Mrs. Cyrenius (Cap) Simonson are shown behind the bar in 1977
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Speaking of all things Killmeyer, this mansard-roofed building in Charleston was built in 1873, and formerly housed the Nicholas Killmeyer family’s general store and residence when Charleston was known as Kreischerville.
The Advance said that the property was up for city landmarks designation in 2016.
Dec. 23, 2014. (Staten Island Advance/Virginia N. Sherry)
Virginia N. Sherry/Staten Island Advance
Here's a shot of the home from December of 2014.
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Today, this is known as the Grand Oaks Country Club and golf course. But many of us remember it as the South Shore Country Club. My sister had her wedding reception there.
The 19th Century Dutch Colonial building was also known as the Mayflower Country Club. Built by well-heeled types and opened in 1930, the club fell on hard times when the stock market crashed.
Advance file photo
Here's the gang at the groundbreaking for the Mayflower in the mid-1920s.
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How many car parts did you pick up at Yacc's Used Auto Parts back in the day?
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Graffiti was a big problem back in the 1980s. And it's creeping back now in New York City.
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We get it! The Colonial Rifle and Pistol Club is on this site.
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There are a lot more stores on this end of Huguenot Avenue today. This building is still there. There's a Dunkin' Donuts next door.
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Long an iconic Great Kills business: Lincoln Plumbing Supply. Business owner Thomas Paccione died in 2004.
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I'm not great with geography. Those look like the gigantic hills of the old Fresh Kills landfill. Were they visible from Arthur Kill Road like that? Too big for the Brookfield landfill, right?
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Our Lady Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church. The building looks a bit different today. The church was founded in July 1916. A school was established in 1959.
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The School of Rock is on this spot now.
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Check out the size of that satellite dish. Must have been a real stress on the roof. Cable seems a lot easier.
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This dish is even bigger! Think of the money people spent back then just to watch more sports.
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No idea what was on the site back in the 1980s, but I kind of like the look of this building. Kind of Moorish with that deep, curved doorway. It's near Wood Avenue.
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With junior high friends in Huguenot, I spent a lot of time waiting for the train. although sometimes I walked home to Eltingville via Amboy Road.
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Speaking of trains, this is the old Atlantic station of the Staten Island Railway.
Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance
The Atlantic and Nassau stations were demolished, and replaced by the Arthur Kill station.
The Atlantic station was built to serve the old Atlantic Terra Cotta Company.
Nassau was built for the Nassau Smelting Works firm.
Learn more from my "ghost stations" photo essay here!
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Back in the day, when you could play ball in the street and not see a car for an hour. True thing.
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Remember when these boxy cars were everywhere?
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The historic Kreischer Mansion.
The home was built around 1885 by wealthy brick manufacturer Balthasar Kreischer for his son, Charles. The property once housed a second identical house built for his son, Edward. That home was demolished, and the existing property was landmarked in 1968.
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The mansion made headlines as the scene of a grisly 2005 murder of a Bonanno crime family associate.
The mansion fell into disrepair after a Victorian restaurant failed there in 1997. Plans are afoot to restore the mansion and establish an active adult community on the site.
Four Advance journalists recently visited the site to settle once and for all whether the mansion is haunted.
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There still a deli at this address?
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The Arthur Kill Correctional Facility. The state jail was closed and the land is now home to the Broadway Stages film and television production facility.
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Dig that cool Volkswagen Beetle. People made fun of those cars, but they're collectible now.
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This Richmond Valley beverage distributer was later known as R. Ippolito Distributing, and in 2015 was bought by Anheuser Busch Distributers of New York, based in the Bronx. It was also known as Clare Rose Distributors.
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Giffords Lane has changed over the years, but it still has the same small-town feel it did when these photos were taken by the city Department of Finance in the 1980s.
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Cool van for your band.
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Not sure where exactly this was, but it kind of looks like a lover's lane spot.
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Was once the Huguenot Medical Arts Building. Today, it's the Huguenot Branch of the New York Public Library.
Advance file photo
This building used to be the Huguenot public library. The South Shore definitely needed an upgrade. A fire damaged the building in March of 1977.
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This address has a colorful history. Here, it looks like your standard corner store.
Advance file photo
It was also known as Mollie Ryan's Pub, which had been shuttered by the time this photo was taken in 2016.
But the real surprise...
Historic Richmond Town photo
The site used to be the Rossville Post Office. This photo is from around 1880. The post office closed on Jan. 31, 1919.
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Part of the Historic Richmond Town settlement. Or, simply, "Richmondtown," as we all knew it back when I was a kid.
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I believe this is part of the Brown Diesel Works company in Charleston.
The company was a provider of marine, industrial and truck diesel engines,
It's a cool industrial building.
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Anybody remember Pat's Deli in Great Kills?
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In 2015, this five-family home in Huguenot went on the market for $999,999. I couldn't find any other info in our archives about it. But I love the big porch there, as well as the turret.
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Can it be that there's still a hot bagels place and a pizzeria on this site? According to Google Maps, yes.
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Lobster House Joe's (the second one) is now at this address.
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The Brookfield landfill. Looks nice, but it was an especially toxic dump. A supervisor there was convicted of taking bribes to let people dump whatever they wanted. The guy was taken down by former D.A. Bill Murphy.
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This building served as an entrance to the landfill, according to Advance archives.
Advance file photo
Today, the landfill has been reclaimed as a 258-acre city park.
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St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church was closed and merged with St. Joseph-St. Thomas R.C. Parish in 2017.
St. Michael's Home for Children. a Catholic orphanage, had previously been on the site. St. John Neumann took over the home's gym for its church.
Advance file photo
Here's a shot of the orphanage from December of 1977.
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Can't imagine what the city was photographing here.
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Not even going to hazard a guess, but the building looks quite old.
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You got your ears on? Looks like a CB radio antenna on the roof. Remember the CB craze from the 1970s and 1980s? I had a handle on the air: Flying Tiger. How lame is that?
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According to the city Finance Department website, the property where this imposing old building is located belongs to the Staten Island Railway and city DOT.
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According to block and lot information, this is St. Luke's Episcopal Cemetery in Rossville.
It is the resting place of Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier Gen. Edward Wellman Serrell. A
n engineer who built railroads, bridges and tunnels, Serrell commanded the 1st New York Volunteer Engineers, and served as chief engineer of the X Army Corps in 1863. He was chief engineer and chief of staff under General Benjamin P. Butler in 1864.
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The Umberto Garden Center is on this site now. Advance records show that the property was sold for $190,000 in 1996.
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Another grand old building that's no longer with us. The Ocean Palace Chinese and Japanese Restaurant is now at this address.
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Opened in 1980, and was still in business as of 2016. Google search says that it's now closed.
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This unique, eye-catching home also appears to have been demolished.
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Still a Huguenot business location. Romeo Photographers and Video Productions is here now.
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You sill get some great views of the Outerbridge Crossing from Arthur Kill Road.
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I just thought this was a cool home, kind of Mediterranean looking.
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It appears that this building has also passed into history.
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Not much to look at here, except for that vintage U.S. Mail truck on the left. How awesome were they?
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If you ever wondered where they parked all those Pioneer school buses.
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This was the spot!
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Today? RNS Auto.
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Home of Evergreen Florist today.
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A LOT of businesses and organizations have called this location home over the years: Interstate Piping, G&H Golf, Ace Office Products, the Park Village Homeowners Association, Staten Island Body Salon, Crown Estates Development Corp., Speaktel Communications. Popular!
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I couldn't figure out if this was a parking area or some kind of vehicle graveyard.
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Pile of old tires makes for a nasty environmental spot.
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Your basic Staten Island gas station and auto repair garage.
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The house-with-columns look is a lot more prevalent on Staten Island these days.
Composite by Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance