1. The City Island Nautical Museum Was Once a School

city Island Nautical Museum

The City Island Nautical Museum, located on 190 Fordham Street, was once the site of P.S. 17 (originally P.S. 102), a school building designed by C.B.J. Snyder and built by the city of New York in 1897–98. From the 1920s to the 1960s, island local Ruby Dill taught kindergarten at the school before it closed down in 1976. To this day, many residents remember her. In recent years, the building has also been designated a landmark because of its “special character and a special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.” For more heritage and curios, visit Trader John’s on City Island Avenue, a dream for nautical collectors.