Staten Island’s magnificent Hotel Castleton was destroyed in raging 1907 fire

The Hotel Castleton was located on St. Marks Place, between Hamilton Avenue and Nicholas Street, on a bluff overlooking New York Harbor. It was built in 1889 and destroyed by a fire in 1907, during Staten Island’s peak era as a fashionable summer retreat for affluent New York City families. The five-and-a-half-story frame structure stood as a prominent local landmark and was one of the last and most magnificent hotels erected during Staten Island’s golden age as a resort destination for city dwellers.

“George location where the grand hotel burned down is now home to the Castleton Park Apartments.”

The fire occurred on the night of December 12, 1907, when the hotel, closed for the winter season, was struck by flames that illuminated the entire bay and drew a crowd of spectators. The blaze completely destroyed the hotel, leaving only brick chimneys standing, and no one was on the premises at the time. Authorities believed the fire started in a storeroom adjacent to the barroom.

Today, the site is home to the Castleton Park Apartments, which opened in 1975. CAMBA Housing Ventures (CHV) partnered with Stellar Management to purchase and renovate the then-40-year-old Mitchell-Lama affordable housing complex.

Author’s summary: The Castleton fire ended Staten Island’s grand hotel era, with the site later redeveloped into Castleton Park Apartments and surrounding affordable housing, preserving the location’s historic memory while serving a modern community need.

Staten Island Advance — 2025-11-21

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