Hand, William

In the 1870s, the Manhattan Beach resort was constructed under the auspices of Mr. Austin Corbin. The resort was built for upscale New Yorkers as a summertime escape. The Manhattan Beach resort consisted of the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway, ferry service, a pavilion, and two luxury hotels, the higher priced Oriental and the Manhattan Beach Hotel. The Manhattan Beach Hotel, opened its doors in 1877, (dedicated by former president U.S. Grant). It consisted of 306 rooms for both seasonal and day guests. The hotel provided extravagant entertainment such as reenactments of the destruction of Pompeii, and the storming of the Bastille, firework displays, and live musical performances. The Manhattan Beach Hotel was under the architectural direction of J. Pickering Putnam of Boston while the carpentry was under William Hand; he was responsible for the furnishing of all materials necessary for the construction of the hotel. The hotel was erected in the Queen Anne style of architecture; a wooden, three story chateau constructed of long leaf pine and surrounded on three sides by a piazza, much of which was devoted to outside dining facilities. In 1911, the Manhattan Beach Hotel was closed and demolished due to the developing suburban neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the opening of the amusement parks in Coney Island.