Postcards from the Rails
The Staten Island Railway begins just behind the St. George Ferry Terminal, to the far left. Both are part of the civic center of Staten Island, with its diverse mix of architecture and population.
The two towers of Castleton Park Apartments are the tallest buildings in the Borough. Between them is the landmark Curtis High School, and to the right St. Peters Church with its bell tower.
Out on the water, far right, a tug returns from escorting a huge container ship along the Kill van Kull to Port Elizabeth.
A ship and low Manhattan beyond.
THE TERMINAL
THE TOWN
The town name was derived, not from the dragon-slaying saint, but from George Law, a precocious land baron who had acquired rights to the waterfront at bargain prices. According to Island historians, Charles Leng and William T. Davis, it was only after another prominent businessman, Erastus Wiman, promised to "canonize" him in the town's name that Law agreed to relinquish the land rights for a ferry terminal.
