Staten Island Advance

15 memorable Staten Island things we want back

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Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano

South Beach Amusements

For 46 years, up until 1999, countless families came through South Beach Amusements for the many outdoors rides and attractions at the festive site on Sand Lane, according to Advance archives. Townhouses replaced the former amusement park. In 2013, Key Food opened where the arcade previously lured thousands of visitors over its six-plus decades in business.

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Staten Island Advance

A&W on Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills

This gem served thousands of Staten Islanders for several decades until it became Mike's Souvlaki Express in 2009. The sequel to the drive-in restaurant was shuttered for good from damage from Hurricane Sandy. However, another drive-in plans to open on Staten Island on the South Shore.

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Staten Island Advance

Golden's Deli

Golden's Deli closed in January 2012 after a 30-year run. The New Springville eatery became a borough institution for its kosher fare (notably its matzo-ball soup) and a subway car parked in the middle of the main dining room. Some folks may also remember the longtime Island eatery for its "deeeeeeelicious" commercial featuring "Cousin Brucie" Morrow.

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From the Collection of the Staten Island Museum

The Castle: The old Staten Island Hospital

Fondly known by Staten Islanders as "The Castle," the old Staten Island Hospital included the S.R. Smith Infirmary. It was demolished in 2013. The site opened in 1861 and became a hospital eight years later. In 1979, the castle and adjoining buildings were sold to a developer to be converted to condominiums. The castle was gutted and work on the newer high-rise portion of the project got under way, according to Advance archives. Earlier this year, Borough President James Oddo and his staff laid out future plans for the old castle: The effort is underway to transform it into an education complex.

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Staten Island Advance

Safari Amusement Center

Catering to Staten Island families since the 1980s, Safari expanded from a simple mini-golf course and snack stand over time – adding a batting cage, go-karts, bumper cars and boats. The business, which operated on Parks Department property at the corner of Richmond Avenue and Arthur Kill Road, closed in 2010.

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Staten Island Advance

The original Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll

Fifty cents to ride the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, please. The toll went up eight years after the span opened in 1964, and it's gone up every few years since. The only thing consistent with the toll increase is the rumor that the bridge was to be free for Staten Islanders once it was paid for. Unfortunately, the cold truth is that only the increasing toll is real. The rumor is nothing more than a rumor.

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Staten Island Advance

LaRocca's Italian Ices and Pizzeria

This Midland Beach staple served Staten Islanders 250 flavors of Italian ices and plenty of pizzas for more than two decades. It started with just 10 flavors in 1987. The business' goal was all about pleasing the customer, owners told the Advance in the summer of 2012 during LaRocca's 25-year anniversary, its last. Hurricane Sandy ended the business' run that fall.

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Roll N Roaster

Staten Island's own Roll N Roaster was in the Pergament Shopping Mall in New Springville next to the former Department of Motor Vehicles. The business used to have a commercial that referenced the Island eatery: Check it out.

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Staten Island Advance

Weissglass Stadium

There was stock car racing at the old Weissglass Stadium in Port Richmond. In fact, wrote Mike Azzara in 2004, Weissglass was home to a variety of sports, from baseball and football to boxing, wrestling and the rodeo, in addition to car and motorcycle racing. Concerts and even prayer meetings were staged there. The picture to the right shows a demolition derby in 1969. The track closed in 1972.

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Staten Island Advance

Bowling on the Green

This longtime New Dorp bowling alley was home to thousands of strikes for 44 years until it was knocked down in 2004 and immediately replaced by rows of homes. The destruction of the 42-lane alley signaled another loss for the borough's bowling community, which has been on a slow decline since more than two dozen alleys lined the Island in the sport's heyday in the 1950s. Two alleys remain: Showplace in Travis, and Rab's in Dongan Hills.

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Staten Island Advance

Trunz Meets/Great Kills Meat Center

Trunz Meats, later called the Great Kills Meat Center, on Amboy Road, was a community staple for more than 65 years. The butcher shop closed in 2003. Trunz Meats opened on Amboy Road in Great Kills in 1935, next door to the location that would make it famous on the South Shore. The store specialized in cut-to-order and bulk meat, and had a reputation for freshness.

The Trunz name became synonymous with meat products in New York City at the turn of the last century. Max Trunz, who emigrated from Germany in 1892, bought a pork store on Grand Street in Brooklyn in 1904 and expanded rapidly through the 1950s. The chain grew to more than 80 stores, six of them on Staten Island.

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Staten Island Advance

Drive-In Theatre on Richmond Avenue

The Fabian Drive-In Theatre opened on Richmond Avenue in New Springville on May 29, 1948, and operated next to the former Staten Island Airport. The airport closed in 1964; the theater was shuttered the following year.

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Staten Island Advance

Al Deppe's

As anyone who lived on Staten Island from the 1930s to the 1960s will remember, Al Deppe's Restaurant at the corner of Richmond Avenue and Arthur Kill Road was the place to go for food and fun, the Staten Island Museum wrote in the Advance last year. Hot dogs, soft shell crabs, and other seafood goodies were sold at the eatery at the corner of Richmond Avenue and Arthur Kill Road. (It's the second business at that corner to appear in this slideshow.)

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Staten Island Advance

Woolworth's

Also known as the Woolworth 5 & 10, the company's Staten Island location operated in the area surrounding Tappan Park in Stapleton, which was one of the most popular shopping districts on the Island before the Staten Island Mall opened.

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Staten Island Advance

Victory Diner

The Victory Diner first opened in Castleton Corners in 1932 and later moved to Richmond Road in Dongan Hills. It survived on Staten Island for decades until 2007, when the property it stood on was to be developed. After a plan was hatched to make for future use of the diner, it was moved to Midland Beach, where it remained idle for for five more years until Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the old diner. It was demolished in 2013.