ST. GEORGE
Geographic Setting
Bounded by Victory Boulevard to the south, then curving northward along St. Marks Place, Fort Place, and Belmont Place, continuing west on Crescent Avenue to Jersey Street, and reaching the Kill Van Kull to the northwest and the Lower New York Bay to the north and east, St. George stands as the historic and civic heart of Staten Island. Perched on steep hills overlooking the harbor, this neighborhood commands one of the most striking panoramas in New York City—an unfolding vista of Lower Manhattan, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and the sweep of the bay below.
At its core lies the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, a gateway through which millions of passengers have entered and departed the borough for well over a century. Surrounding it rise the borough’s principal institutions: the Staten Island Borough Hall, St. George Theatre, Supreme Court Building, and Richmond County Bank Ballpark, all clustered within walking distance of the harbor. Yet beyond its civic grandeur, St. George remains a lived-in, layered community—a mix of late 19th-century rowhouses, apartment buildings, and tree-lined side streets where history, art, and everyday life intersect beneath the harbor light.
Etymology
The name St. George dates to the 1880s and reflects a curious blend of marketing vision and civic aspiration. It was coined by Erastus Wiman, a Canadian-born entrepreneur and real estate developer who sought to transform Staten Island’s northern tip into a major transportation and commercial hub. Wiman named the area “St. George” in honor of his business associate, George Law, a financier and ferry operator who, according to legend, agreed to allow ferry access to his waterfront holdings on the condition that the district bear his name.
The saintly title lent the project a touch of grandeur—suggesting both moral virtue and Old World refinement—and the name endured long after Wiman’s speculative ventures faded. Today, St. George evokes not only the man but the myth: the guardian at the borough’s gate, the patron of Staten Island’s connection to the city beyond.
The Neighborhood
Origins through the 19th Century
Long before it became Staten Island’s urban center, St. George was a patchwork of farms, estates, and woodlands overlooking the Narrows and the Kill Van Kull. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, its elevated terrain—then known as Signal Hill or Fort Hill—served military purposes; during the Revolutionary War, both British and American forces used its high ground to monitor naval movements in the harbor. By the mid-19th century, the area’s advantageous position near ferry routes made it a natural site for development.
In 1886, Erastus Wiman, working with the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company, orchestrated the creation of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and adjacent rail connections. He envisioned St. George as the “Manhattan of Staten Island,” a commercial and residential district built around transit and tourism. The opening of the ferry—first operating from a purpose-built pier on the Lower Bay—transformed the area overnight. Streets were laid out on a steep grid, grand public buildings were planned, and investors poured into the surrounding hillsides.
By the 1890s, St. George had become the borough’s new urban core. The construction of the Staten Island Borough Hall (1906), the Staten Island Courthouse, and a range of cultural and commercial structures reflected its new civic prominence. Meanwhile, residential neighborhoods spread up the hillsides, filled with stately Victorians, brick rowhouses, and multi-story apartments built for ferry commuters and professionals. The neighborhood’s architecture, combining late Victorian elegance with early 20th-century solidity, gave St. George its enduring urban character.
Early 20th Century: The Borough’s Heart and Harbor Gateway
With the consolidation of New York City in 1898, Staten Island became the fifth borough, and St. George its administrative seat. The district flourished as both a government center and a transportation hub. The Staten Island Ferry—now municipally operated—became the lifeline connecting the island to Manhattan, ferrying thousands of passengers daily across the harbor.
By the 1920s and 1930s, St. George was a bustling, walkable urban district. The opening of the St. George Theatre (1929), a lavish Beaux-Arts landmark designed by Eugene De Rosa, marked the peak of the neighborhood’s cultural golden age. Its ornate interiors hosted vaudeville acts, orchestras, and later, cinema—earning it a reputation as “the most magnificent theatre on Staten Island.” Nearby, restaurants, department stores, and civic offices lined Bay Street and Richmond Terrace, while streetcars and elevated trolleys brought commuters from every corner of the island.
Residential life thrived in the hills above the ferry terminal, where elegant apartment buildings such as the Apthorp-like Ambassador Apartments and turn-of-the-century houses along St. Marks Place and Carroll Place attracted artists, civil servants, and professionals. The view from these streets—of the skyline across the bay—became part of St. George’s identity: a reminder that here, more than anywhere else on the island, Staten Island touched the city both literally and symbolically.
Mid–Late 20th Century: Decline, Change, and Preservation
The mid-20th century brought challenges familiar to urban centers across America. As car ownership increased and suburban development expanded across Staten Island, St. George’s dense, walkable character began to wane. Ferry ridership declined with the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (1964), and many downtown businesses closed or relocated. By the 1970s, the once-grand civic center had entered a period of decline, with neglected properties and empty storefronts marking the neighborhood’s streetscape.
Yet even during these years, St. George retained its sense of place. The ferry—declared free in 1997—remained Staten Island’s most iconic connection to Manhattan, drawing tourists and locals alike. The St. George Theatre, saved from demolition through community activism, became a symbol of resilience, later restored and reopened as a cultural venue in 2004. Preservationists also championed the restoration of Borough Hall, the courthouse, and the surrounding residential districts, recognizing their architectural and historical significance.
Demographic shifts brought new vitality to the area. Immigrant families from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean joined established residents, bringing diversity to the shops and markets that once again lined Bay Street. Artists and young professionals, drawn by affordability and proximity to the ferry, began renovating historic homes and lofts, quietly setting the stage for renewal.
21st Century: Renewal and Cultural Renaissance
In the 21st century, St. George has reemerged as Staten Island’s cultural and civic nucleus—an evolving blend of historic architecture, waterfront redevelopment, and artistic energy. Major public and private investments have reshaped the waterfront with projects such as the Empire Outlets retail complex and the North Shore Esplanade, offering new promenades, dining, and views across the harbor. The restoration of the St. George Theatre and Borough Hall has solidified the area’s role as the borough’s cultural heart, hosting concerts, performances, and civic events that draw crowds from across New York City.
The residential landscape reflects a balance of past and present. Historic apartment houses stand beside new mid-rise developments that seek to accommodate growing demand for walkable, transit-accessible housing. The hillsides above the ferry terminal remain prized for their views and architectural diversity, while the adjacent Stapleton and Tompkinsville neighborhoods form part of a broader wave of North Shore revitalization.
Despite rapid change, St. George has preserved its eclectic identity. Its streets pulse with a mixture of students, commuters, and artists; its waterfront buzzes with ferries and festivals. The Staten Island Ferry Terminal, renovated in the early 2000s, remains the neighborhood’s beating heart—a portal between Staten Island and the rest of the city, open day and night, every day of the year.
Spirit and Legacy
The spirit of St. George lies in its dual nature: civic and human, monumental and intimate. It is both the formal front door of Staten Island and a living neighborhood of homes, schools, and shops perched above the harbor. Its legacy is one of vision, reinvention, and endurance—a community that has served as the borough’s gateway for more than a century while continually redefining what it means to belong to both an island and a metropolis.
New York City
Use this custom Google map to explore where every neighborhood in all five boroughs of New York City is located.
The Five Boroughs
One of New York City’s unique qualities is its organization in to 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. These boroughs are part pragmatic administrative districts, and part vestiges of the region’s past. Each borough is an entire county in New York State - in fact, Brooklyn is, officially, Kings County, while Staten Island is, officially Richmond County. But that’s not the whole story …
Initially, New York City was located on the southern tip of Manhattan (now the Financial District) that was once the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Across the East River, another city was rising: Brooklyn. In time, the city planners realized that unification between the rapidly rising cities would create commercial and industrial opportunities - through streamlined administration of the region.
So powerful was the pull of unification between New York and Brooklyn that three more counties were pulled into the unification: The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. And on January 1, 1898, the City of New York unified two cities and three counties into one Greater City of New York - containing the five boroughs we know today.
But because each borough developed differently and distinctly until unification, their neighborhoods likewise uniquely developed. Today, there are nearly 390 neighborhoods, each with their own histories, cultures, cuisines, and personalities - and each with residents who are fiercely proud of their corner of The Big Apple.
