9 Most Courageous Attractions on Staten Island That Will Long Live in People’s Memory

8:10 am  |  06.03.2021

Staten Island is undoubtedly one of the most exciting places in New York, where every visitor can find an attraction that will be kept long in the memory. The island is the home for five southernmost neighborhoods.


It is connected with Brooklyn and New Jersey by bridges and if a traveler would like to get there from Manhattan, a ferry can be picked up. There are quite a lot of attractions and amusements, so the list below makes our 9 main reasons why a person should be lost on Staten Island.

Staten Island Zoo

This is definitely one of the most exciting places on the whole island. The zoo occupies eight acres and offers visitors to have a glance at more than 800 species and more than 1400 different animals. The zoo has a fantastic rattlesnake collection, which is regarded as the biggest in the country. It is initially built on the estate ground that used to belong to Colonel Edward Harden. Overall this is a very attractive place where people can take a walk and spend hours. There are plenty of cafes with outstanding meals, which will be enjoyed by both children and adults.

Staten Island Zoo entrance

The zoo is surrounded by attractive nature as well as all amenities inside it are kept in pristine conditions. Surely, this is one of the most attractive places on the island that will grant excellent leisure time and the chance to encounter very exotic animals.

Shug Harbor Cultural Center

Shug harbor is an outstanding place surrounded by botanical gardens and a marvelous collection of the architectural buildings of the 19 century. Botanical gardens occupy the territory of 83 acres/ Many of the buildings are the home for art organizations. Initially, the purpose of the harbor was to make a home for retired sailors. It gradually evolved as more and more buildings were constructed. There are dozens of different buildings that will hardly leave any visitor indifferent.

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Shug Harbor Cultural Center main buildings

Every person can enjoy 26 Greek revival buildings, Italiante and Victorian-style constructions, Beaux Art, and lots of others. Every person who visits the place can spend hours contemplating the unusual design of these 19th-century buildings that look very impressive and kept in a pristine condition.

Fort Wadsworth

This is a former military base and nowadays a national park. It is located on the narrows and divides the New York bay into two parts – the lower and the upper halves. The military base was operational and was closed down in 1994. Since that time this is nothing but an art object that attracts lots of visitors. It was considered as one of the longest military bases in the US that has an operational fleet.

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Fort Wadsworth and Lower bay views

Fort Wadsworth is made of several fortifications such as Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins. The buildings look very impressive and now regarded as part of the National park. It is preserved well and treated as one of the best attractions on Staten Island.

Staten Island 9/11 Memorial

The outdoor sculpture is located in St. George on Staten Island. The memorial was built in 2004 to commemorate 274 residents of Staten island that lost their lives in the tragic events of the terrorist attack. The memorial looks very impressive and its central line point exactly at ground zero in Manhattan. The vast majority of people’s bodies who lost their lives were not found but only unidentifiable remains hence the place is regarded as the rest for all those people.

Staten Island 9/11 Memorial and views on ground zero

The memorial looks very impressive with outstanding views on New York harbor and Manhattan. It is a perfect place to enjoy the views and pay respect to those who lost their lives.

Historic Richmond Town


This is a very cute museum complex that is consisted of dozens of retro-styled buildings in Richmond on Staten Island. It is located on the historic geographical center of the island on the crosses of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond road. Richmond town takes its origins back to the 1690s but it was treated as not very trustworthy. Eventually, at the beginning of the 18ths century, it has got the original name that it uses until the present.

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Historic Richmond Town houses

Richmond town is made of more than 30 historic buildings that were built by Dutch, British and French. All buildings that can be found in Richmond town were constructed from the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century. All of them look very impressive and regarded as a great attraction on Staten Island.

Children Museum

The children’s museum on Staten Island is certainly the place to visit. It was founded in 1974 and opened its doors to the public in 1976. The museum is dedicated to the creativity and curiosity that characterizes all children. The museum consists of two main buildings, which are connected by the walkway between each other.

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Main entrance to Children Museum

The museum has a live animal collection that causes particular interest from visitors. The main mission that the museum carries out is to make the stress on the learning processes and that it can be fun. The buildings are very attractive and surrounded by lots of green areas. Surely this is a must-have on any visitors list.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk beach

The boardwalk is located on the Eastern side of Staten Island near New Dorp Beach and Midland beach. The walk was destroyed completely during the Hurricane Sandy disaster. It took quite a while to finish construction works and eventually it has become one of the best sidewalks in New York. People can enjoy fantastic views on the Lower Bay.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk beach and views on Verazzano bridge

This is probably the best place to see Verazzano bridge and get down to the beach to relax and take sunbathes. The sandy beach is very wide and treated as one of the best in New York City. There are thousands of people going there every day and the whole atmosphere is very nice.

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Chinese Scholar garden

Chinese scholar garden on Staten island was opened in 1999 and has become one of the greatest attractions in the area. It was created with the help of various organizations ad considered to be a sheer state of the art. It was created by 40 leading Chinese artists who have given a lot of effort to create this magnificent place.

Chinese Scholar garden and Koi pond

There are lots of different objects such as sculptures, rocks, walk paths, bridges, pavilions, and lots of other things that are made in traditional Chinese style. The most gorgeous views can be enjoyed by looking at the Koi pond and its surroundings.

Empire outlet

This is a modern state-of-the-art shopping mall, which was opened in 2019. The outlet store is enormous and offers its visitors 350 000 sq. ft. of space. People can enjoy more than 100 different designer brand products that can be purchased at discounted prices. There is a hotel with more than 200 rooms and enormous parking space. There are lots of other facilities such as cafes and restaurants, which surely attract more people.

Empire outlet mall views from the front

It is located on the northern side of the island right on the embankments. People can enjoy perfect views of Manhattan skyscrapers as well as other parts of the city. The outlet shopping mall is extremely modern and features decorative lighting that makes the place even more attractive and pleasant to have a look at.


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