Fascinating photos showcase New York City’s now forgotten beach oasis with its very own sandy shoreline
- The stretch of sand known as Battery Park Beach was located almost at the tip of Manhattan
- Suellen Epstein spent many weekends there with her then-boyfriend
- “By 2000, almost the entire former landfill site had been built on,” she explained
Fascinating photos show what once was a beach in New York City, enjoyed by residents and tourists for six years before it was built.
Created in the 1970s and known as Battery Park Beach, the expansive beach was located near the tip of Manhattan, with the Twin Towers in the background.
Suellen Epstein, who lived in the Tribeca neighborhood at the time, told the Tribeca Burger that she spent many weekends at the beach with her then boyfriend and that it was great for people who couldn’t afford to travel further afield.
She explained, “We didn’t have the resources to go to the Hamptons.
‘We were at the beach every sunny Sunday – as long as it wasn’t wet… You felt like you weren’t in the city – but in the Manhattan countryside.’
The stretch of sand, which emerged in the 1970s and was known as Battery Park Beach, was located almost at the tip of Manhattan
A black-and-white photo from September 23, 1979 shows the beach being used for a demonstration and concert against nuclear energy.
According to an article in The New York Times, the beach was in fact “acres of garbage” and not intended for public use.
According to The New Yorker, it was “not the most luxurious sand,” with a “grainy” texture.
A black-and-white photo taken on September 23, 1979, shows the beach being used for an anti-nuclear demonstration and concert, with hundreds of revelers sitting on the sand.
According to an article in The New York Times, the beach was actually “acres of garbage” and not intended for public use.
But the delay in construction plans led Manhattanites to view the sandy terrain as their own play space.
Some areas were cordoned off, but most were open for exploration.
Another New York resident, graphic and environmental designer David Vanden-Eynden, told The New York Times: “There was nothing there at all, and there were spectacular views of the towers and across the river.”
The same article describes what happened to the beach: ‘The first wave of settlers did not arrive in Battery Park City until the early 1980s.
‘In 2000, almost the entire former landfill site had been built on.
British performance and fashion group Shock on the sands of Battery Park Beach in 1981
Musicians Avis Davis (left) and Joy Ryder on the beach before one of the No Nukes: MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) concerts in 1979
“By 2000, nearly all of the former landfill was built over,” a New York Times article explains. Above, a shot of the beach with the Twin Towers behind it in 1973
‘Shortly after that, of course, the Twin Towers collapsed and the residents suddenly became refugees.’
Several times photographers were sent out to take pictures of the beach and some images shared on reddit have generated dozens of responses.
Many commentators call the scenes “wild” and “surreal.”
Another Redditor said, “I love these photos so much.
“I remember the first time I saw them. As a teenager, born and raised in New York, I was amazed that there was ever such a thing as a beach in Manhattan.”