70 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JANUARY 2018 70 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 70 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
DESTINATIONS
Garden City: the heart of it all
BY RUTH BASHINSKY
Garden City is buzzing with chic
restaurants, casual pubs and
eateries offering unique fare from
around the globe, plus historic
landmarks and some of the best
shopping on Long Island.
It is no surprise that this tony village
with stately homes, manicured
lawns and picture-perfect tree-lined
streets has attracted movie stars,
pro athletes, politicians, and famous
writers through the decades. Its lure
has drawn the likes of best-selling
author Nelson DeMille, actress
Susan Lucci and Good Morning
America co-anchor Lara Spencer,
who graces this month’s cover. It
is also home to Roosevelt Field,
the former airport where Charles
Lindbergh departed on his historic
1927 solo transatlantic flight — a site
that is now a LI shopping mecca.
“This quaint village not only offers
beautiful and bustling downtown
shopping districts but also
acres of playing fields, parks and
recreational areas,” says Garden
City Mayor Brian Daughney.
Garden City was one of the
first planned communities in
the country. Successful Irish
entrepreneur Alexander T. Stewart
founded Garden City in 1869 on
an empty plain. The village was
incorporated in 1919 by its four
property owners’ associations.
Garden City is also the location
of Adelphi University’s main
campus. The university is the oldest
institution for higher education on
LI. Alumni include American jazz
drummer Steve Reid and American
composer and playwright Jonathan
Larson.
The village has also served as
a backdrop for movies and TV
shows, including Person of Interest.
With all of that and a recent
downtown revitalization, Garden
City is waiting for your arrival.
LOTS TO LEARN
The unincorporated part of the
village known as East Garden City
is home to Museum Row, where
there’s no shortage of things to do
for visitors young and old. For the
kids, check out the Long Island’s
Children’s Museum (11 Davis Ave,
516-224-5800, licm.org), features
interactive exhibits designed to
make learning fun for the little
ones. Next door, the Cradle
of Aviation Museum (Charles
Lindbergh Blvd., 516-572-4111,
cradleofaviation.org) pays homage
to the many aviation firsts made
in the area, such as Lindbergh’s
historic flight. The Planetarium
Dome Theater inside the museum
offers daily films that are all in a
70mm-film format, 10 times the
size of a conventional film frame.
Tucked between those two museums
is The Nassau County
Firefighters Museum and Education
Center (1 Davis Ave.,
516-572-4177, ncfiremuseum.org),
where visitors can learn about the
proud history of local firefighters
and enjoy hands-on displays.
Museum Row is also home to the
old Nunley’s Carousel, where riders
can reach for the brass ring for old
times’ sake.
Garden City is also home to Nassau
Community College, the largest
single-campus community college
in New York State, and the
Adelphi University Performing
Garden City is home to Adelphi University, the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island
The Cathedral of the Incarnation
serves as the seat of the Episcopal
Diocese of Long Island.