Name/Title
Pier and the Twin Lights, Highlands Beach, New JerseyEntry/Object ID
2010.46.118Description
Glass lantern slide of a working waterfront seen from the water, billboard reading "Siegel-Cooper" is visible on the far right.
This photo depicts the shoreline of Highlands Beach, a popular vacation spot during the Gilded Age. It was home to Sandlass Resort, run by the Sandlass family, which offered a variety of beachside and water recreation. The billboard on the right-hand side of the photo is for the Siegel Cooper department store, also known as "The Big Store," in New York City. It took up 15 and 1/2 acres between 18th and 19th street and even had a subway stop that lead directly into the store! By 1915, however, the company had declared bankruptcy and shuttered its stores.
Behind the beach are three towers: the first, a small white tower, is a postal tele-tower; the second and third are actually a single structure known as "The Twin Lights." This brownstone structure was built in 1862 to replace the original 1828 lighthouse. It now serves as a museum and historic site.