Site #1: Cold Spring Harbor

Cold Spring Harbor, L.I., The Whaling Museum, 89.03.05_cropped.jpg

Edward Lange, Cold Spring Harbor, L.I., Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 89.03.05

Can you find this view in Cold Spring Harbor? Scroll down to the interactive map to find out where Lange stood or try heading to the park at the intersection of Shore Road and Harbor Road to get a similar view.

Cold Spring Harbor was once a booming whaling town that reached its economic height during the middle of the nineteenth century. By the time Lange recorded this scene in the 1880s, however, the last whaling ship had long since sailed away. Commercial tourism filled the economic void after the whaling industry collapsed. Instead of whaling boats traveling to and from the North Shore's ports, steamships began regularly ferrying visitors from New York and Connecticut to Long Island’s waterfront towns.

You can learn more about Cold Spring Harbor’s material and nautical history further down Main Street, at the Preservation Long Island Gallery and Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum! Plus, you can see several Lange paintings in person!