Staten Island is located in the southwestern part of New York City and State. The borough is coextensive with Richmond County and until 1975 was officially named the Borough of Richmond. You are just a Staten Island Ferry ride away from Manhattan with some of the best views of New York City available. Once in Staten Island, you can see unique attractions like the Himalayan monastery-style Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, the first museum to present the art and culture of Tibet and the Himalayas to a world audience. The rustic complex of fieldstone buildings surrounding it resembles a Tibetan mountain monastery and represents the first Himalayan style architecture be built in the United States. The surrounding landscape design, which Marchais named the Samadhi Garden, features a fish pond, meditation cells and many of her original plantings.
Another cultural attraction in Staten Island is the Chinese Scholar's Garden, a replica of a typical scholar's garden from the Ming Dynasty, one of the newest additions to the Staten Island Botanical Garden. Originally at the site of a marine hospital for aged seamen, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is a collection of architecturally significant 19th-century buildings set on the north shore of Staten Island. The site is a National Historic Landmark District. For more local history, visit Historic Richmond Town for a recreation of colonial New York. The beautiful Hamilton Park neighborhood was the setting for "The Godfather." Staten Island used to have the largest landfill in the world. It was closed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks to accept the debris. The landfill is being made into what will become New York City's second largest public park. For family fun, take the kids to the Staten Island Zoo and Staten Island Children's Museum which has memorable interactive exhibits on subjects such as insects, computers, water and pirates. After an active day of investigating this undiscovered city, you’ll have a convenient location to all the options when you stay at one of our Choice Hotels in Staten Island, NY. Book a room online now!