Editor’s note: A version of this story was originally published in 2019. It has been updated by Sydney Maldonado.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Wolfe’s Pond Park in Prince’s Bay is a large public park on the South Shore that is many things to many people on Staten Island.
Bounded on the west by Holten Avenue, on the south by Raritan Bay, and on the east by Chisolm Street, Luten Avenue and Cornelia Avenue, it boasts a beautiful beach and many recreational areas to exercise and explore. Popular activities at the site include basketball, biking and hiking.
Rich in history and wildlife, Wolfe’s Pond Park has plenty of seaweed and marine life on the beach on Raritan Bay. The rest of the park is ideal for picnics and barbecues, as well as fishing, barbecuing, bird-watching and other adventures.
In 1991 and again in 2011, the dam between the beach and the pond broke, draining the pond of freshwater and flooding it with saltwater. In both cases, this killed the freshwater fish and many of the red-eared slider turtles.
Scroll below for vintage photos of Wolfe’s Pond Park.
1955
Beach at Wolfe’s Pond Park, July 24, 1955.Staten Island Advance1970
Gov. Nelson Rockefeller rides a horse through Wolfe’s Pond Park in 1970.Staten Island Advance1975
Walkathon participants having lunch at Wolfe’s Pond Park in 1975.Staten Island Advance1978
A crowd relaxing at Wolfes Pond Park, July 6, 1978.Staten Island Advance1981
Nature scene at Wolfe’s Pond Park, October 6, 1981.Staten Island Advance1983
A scenic nature trail in 1983 at Wolfe’s Pond Park.Staten Island Advance
A view of the pond in 1983.Staten Island AdvanceA scenic nature trail in 1983 at Wolfe’s Pond Park.Staten Island Advance1985
A scene from the 1985 Veterans Action Coalition Picnic at Wolfe’s Pond Park.Staten Island Advance
Attendees enjoy Wolfe’s Pond Park Veterans Picnic in 1985.Staten Island Advance1986
A house at Wolfe’s Pond Park, on Cornelia Avenue, in 1986, one of the several dwellings within the boundaries of the park.Staten Island Advance1989
Wolfes Pond Park, foot of Cornelia Avenue. Homes in park (beachfront) that will be demolished in 5 years. Wolfes Pond Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance
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