Then & Now -- -- Newsday.com

THEN AND NOW

Reviving the Echoes of Lost Applause

There was great excitement in Patchogue in 1923 when Ward and Glynne's Patchogue Theater opened as an opulent vaudeville house, its art deco marquee illuminating a prosperous Main Street. Stars such as Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks and composer John Philip Sousa graced its stage as the street filled with new models hot off the Ford assembly line.

THEN AND NOW

Whatever Goes Around Comes Around

Returning from the War of 1812, Samuel Cox applied to the Town of Southold for permission to construct a tidal mill on Mattituck Inlet. But it took years before the creek was dammed and the mill and mill gates were completed. The mill opened for business in 1821, according to the Rev. Charles E. Craven's 1906 "History of Mattituck, Long Island, N.Y."

THEN AND NOW

A Modern Face Graces Hither Hills Cottage

HITHER HILLS State Park opened in 1929 and the first superintendent moved into a stone cottage built at the eastern end of the Montauk park. But it didn't end the controversy swirling around the tip of the South Fork. Superdeveloper Carl G. Fisher had a grandiose scheme for turning Montauk Point into the Miami Beach of the North, with huge hotels, casinos, yacht clubs, golf courses and polo fields. In 1924 he was buying up the Montauk peninsula, even obtaining an option on the rolling hills that were to become known as Hither Hills park.

THEN AND NOW

Cycling The Beat In Floral Park

The flourishing village of Floral Park got its first organized uniformed police force in 1918. With almost no crime in the village, the police needed only a booth at Tyson Avenue and Jericho Turnpike as a station house. Patrolman Al Surprise, one of two on the force, directed traffic astride his horse. When the horse wandered off and was killed by a train, it was replaced by a motorcycle, according to Edith M. Purcell's 1958 village history, "Across the Years: The Story of Floral Park."

THEN AND NOW

From Gingerbread to Pancake House

Spring a century ago not only brought the trees and shrubs into bloom, it also brought out the McQueen family to pose in front of their handsome Victorian gingerbread home at 6281 Northern Blvd. in East Norwich.

THEN AND NOW

Shipping the Goods to Fire Island

For more than a half century, the Fire Island Maid was a lifeline for hardy souls who lived or worked year- round on Fire Island.

THEN AND NOW

After Boom and Bust, Rocky Point Grows

Rocky Point in 1938 was a peaceful hamlet. That year the Long Island Rail Road, which had served the area since 1895, discontinued the Wading River line for lack of business.

THEN AND NOW

From Overhead, an Overview of Growth

THE FACE OF Long Island has been a-changing, and at no time is this more apparent than when it's viewed from the air.

THEN AND NOW

Still Real Troopers in Snappy Uniforms

AS POLICE fashion goes, New York state troopers are among the best-dressed. And they've held that sartorial distinction since 1917, when the troopers were established. In fact, the uniform has not changed much since then, said Trooper Tom Collins, who researches such matters. The colors are almost the same: gray shirt and pants with a black stripe down the trousers and a purple tie.

THEN AND NOW

Its Charm Lingers

BY THE 1900s, Farmingdale was a thriving metropolis with industry as well as agriculture -- enough commerce to warrant the Bank of Farmingdale opening in 1907 at the intersection of Main and Conklin Streets.

THEN AND NOW

Greetings From Yaphank, Wish You Were Here

A "MRS. NELSON" (first name unknown) sent this postcard to a friend in Queens from Yaphank, where she was vacationing in July, 1929. Evidently no romantic, Mrs. Nelson sent a view of the general store-post office-gas station on Main Street rather than a more bucolic scene such as the lake at sunset.