All about the Staten Island Neighborhood Eltingville:
Staten Island is broken down into 14 different zip codes from 10301 to 10314 and into 67 different neighborhoods. Throughout this series of blogs, we will be discussing each and every neighborhood on Staten Island as well as breaking down the history, what stands there today and transportation and what community district it falls into. Staten Island is broken up into three different community districts which are: North Shore, Mid-Island, and South Shore.
Today we will be breaking down all the history about the Staten Island neighborhood, Eltingville. This neighborhood is home to the South Shore and to the zip code 10308 and 10312. South of Great Kills and north of Annadale, respectively. Eltingville's major thoroughfare is Richmond Avenue, going down north on Amboy Road and Hylan Boulevard which is the commercial area of Eltingville.
The area was formerly known as South Side and then Seaside. It received its current name from a well-known family by the name of Elting who moved there in the early 19th century. Up until 1860, when the line was expanded to Tottenville, it served as the southern terminus of the Staten Island Railway. The train station, which lies a short distance north of the intersection of Amboy Road and Richmond Avenue, became the center of the community's economic activity.
Eltingville was predominantly established by Scandinavians in the early 20th century, primarily Norwegians, to the extent that unrelated families in the area frequently had similar surnames, including Hansen, Johnson, Erickson, Ronning, Nygren, Bundesen, and Swanson. Because of the Scandinavian influence in Eltingville, herring in wooden barrels may be purchased and pickled at home. Henry W. Erickson, a founder member of the congregation and the builder of the church, was a Norwegian who helped form the Eltingville Lutheran Church. The church functioned as a strong support base for the neighborhood. Scandinavian carpenters, such as Henry W. Erickson and another well-known builder, Ernst Nilsson, who immigrated from the nation of Sweden at the young age of 12 and became a multimillionaire in the construction of houses in southern Staten Island. There is little information available on the contributions of the Scandinavian immigrants who built these dwellings because many of them have already been destroyed or are still being pulled down.
As part of the urbanization of New York City, Eltingville saw a lot of new housing development once the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was completed in 1964. Farmland that had formerly dominated the region was developed, similar to many other Staten Island communities, and the once rural area joined the city conurbation. The lack of sewage connections that resulted from this originally created logistical issues that needed to be fixed. As a result, numerous major thoroughfares, including a sizable portion of Hylan Boulevard in the 1990s, regularly had to be diverted for local traffic.
Eltingville is served by many local buses around the surrounding streets. S54, S59, S78, S79 and S89. As well as express buses to Manhattan, SIM1, SIM1C, SIM4, SIM4C, SIM5, SIM6, SIM7, SIM8, SIM9, SIM10, SIM15, SIM22 and SIM31. Many of the buses terminate at the Eltingville Transit Center. Eltingville is also served by the Staten Island Railway. The neighborhood also is served by many schools with tons of transportation to each. The elementary schools P.S. 42, I.S. 7 and the Eltingville Lutheran School.
As you may see, Staten Island exudes so much history that is still honored throughout our neighborhoods. Eltingville is home to many people from Staten Island. The neighborhood is covered in every corner with many food spots, transportation, parks and schools. This neighborhood is worth learning more about and living in.
Looking to buy or sell your home on Staten Island? For all your real estate needs, look no further than Tom Crimmins Realty! Give us a call at (718) 370-3200, and we can provide you with professionally-trained agents who are flexible to all that you’re looking for!
Posted by Tom Crimmins Realty on
Leave A Comment