Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club
Also known as: The Casino
Why it's listed
Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club occupies about 8.72 acres on the harbor waterfront on Long Island's North Shore. Its main building, a two-story stripped-Victorian clubhouse, was built in 1888 as a casino for the Glenada and Forest Lawn hotels, which were run by the Gerard family. The casino offered dancing, billiards, bowling, boating, swimming and tennis to summer visitors from New York and Brooklyn. The hotels were demolished after the Gerards sold the property in 1901, but the casino survived and remains the last extant structure tied to those resorts. After World War I, a group of residents in the growing suburban community formed the club, fully established in 1921, and reused the casino as its clubhouse. They added a boathouse, a relocated caretaker's cottage, a pump house, tennis courts and finger piers. Despite later alterations, the complex has offered recreation continuously, which is the basis for its recognition.
Significance in brief: The 1888 casino is the last surviving structure from the Glenada and Forest Lawn hotels of the Summer Resort Era. It was reused when residents founded the beach club in 1921, and the complex has provided recreation and entertainment continuously, first for hotel guests and then for the local community. The club also reflects the postwar growth of Cold Spring Harbor as a suburb.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 12001037, listed December 12, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 101 Shore Rd., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | December 12, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12001037 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | J.B. Lefferts, builder from Huntington (hired by William Gerard to erect the casino and other buildings) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian; No Style |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a beach club; the form describes the clubhouse as a well-used space and notes alterations over time. |
| Acreage | 7.3 |
| Coordinates | 40.87831, -73.46959 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 12001037.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q137302564
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.