Editing Cherry Grove, New York (section)

==History==
[[File:Welcome to Cherry Grove sign.JPG|thumb|"Welcome to Cherry Grove" sign]]
===19th century===
Cherry Grove dates its modern history to the 1868 purchase by Archer and Elizabeth Perkinson. They bought the land between Lone Hill (now Fire Island Pines) and the Cherry Grove Hotel from the ocean to the bay for 25 cents per acre and named the area for the [[Prunus serotina|black-cherry]] trees in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fireislandqnews.com/sections/inside_pages/history_jeanne_skinner.html|title=Cherry Grove: Before and After the Great Hurricane of 1938|last=Skinner|first=Jeanne G.|date=July 10, 1918|website=Fire Island News|publisher=Fireislandqnews.com|access-date=December 4, 2013|archive-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705152632/https://www.youtube.com/embed/WWKhID5Nz-g?rel=0&autoplay=1|url-status=live}}</ref> The Perkinsons opened a hotel in 1880. According to local legend [[Oscar Wilde]] stayed at the Perkinson Hotel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairharbor.com/pl_cg_hist.htm |title="History Cherry Grove", Fairharbor.com. Retrieved November 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215085509/http://www.fairharbor.com/pl_cg_hist.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2012 }}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1921, the Perkinson family sold all the land east of Duryea Walk to Lone Hill, and then divided what was left into 109 building lots. A lot 50 × {{convert|80|ft|m}} could be purchased for $250 or less, and ocean-front lots cost no more than a dollar a front foot. Buildings from the newly deactivated [[Camp Upton]] in [[Yaphank]], were ported over to form the core of the new colony. A post office was established in 1922 at the site of where "Tides" (formerly "The Monster") is today; the first [[boardwalk]]s were built in 1929. In 1930, Duffy's Hotel replaced the original hotel and was the only place with electricity and a phone.

The [[1938 New England hurricane|1938 Long Island Express Hurricane]] destroyed much of Cherry Grove and discouraged mainlanders from coming. In their stead, the gay community that already frequented the island settled there moving from Ocean Beach, with figures such as [[Antoine de Paris]] and [[W. H. Auden]] leading the way.<ref name="jiler">{{Cite book |last=Jiler |first=John |title=Dark wind: a true account of hurricane Gloria's assault on Fire Island |date=1993 |publisher=St Martin's press |isbn=978-0-312-09311-2 |location=New York |pages=46–48 |author-link=John Jiler}}</ref>
[[Image:Hotel Ciel Fire Island Pines Long Island New York.jpg|thumb|Belvedere]]
In the 1950s, Cherry Grove was already known as a "safe haven" one of three that included [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]], and [[Key West]], where they "could only fleetingly enjoy a carefree, 24-hour-a-day queer life by running off to a handful of destinations comfortably removed from a homophobic America."<ref name=Vintage>{{cite news|url=https://www.out.com/print/2020/5/06/these-vintage-cherry-grove-photos-will-make-you-miss-queer-beaches|work=[[Out (magazine)|Out]]|title=These Vintage Cherry Grove Photos Will Make You Miss Queer Beaches|first=Bill|last=Henning|issue=May–June 2020|access-date=December 1, 2020|archive-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204211529/https://www.out.com/print/2020/5/06/these-vintage-cherry-grove-photos-will-make-you-miss-queer-beaches|url-status=live}}</ref> Only 60 miles from New York City, it was isolated because of its location off Long Island that required access by a ferry or, at the time, [[seaplane]].<ref name=Vintage /> The gay aura of the town supposedly arose when [[Christopher Isherwood]] and [[W. H. Auden]] arrived dressed as [[Dionysus]] and [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], carried aloft on a gilded [[litter (vehicle)|litter]] by a group of singing followers.<ref>Ester Newton, ''Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town'', 1995, Beacon Press, {{ISBN|0-8070-7927-8}}</ref>

[[Truman Capote]] stayed at the Carrington House, just east of Cherry Grove, where in 1957, he completed his groundbreaking novella, ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (novel)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]''.<ref name=Baldwin>{{cite web|url=https://www.fireislandnews.com/arts-culture/book-reviews/james-baldwins-fire-island/|work=Fire Island News|title=OUT SOUTH SHORE: James Baldwin's Fire Island|first=Christopher |last=Verga|date=August 22, 2024|access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref>

The hamlet's major hotel and lounge in the 1950s was Duffy's, which burned on September 27, 1956, and was replaced by the Ice Palace Hotel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fireislandcc.org/cherry.html |title=Fire Island Chamber of Commerce Cherry Grove History |publisher=Fireislandcc.org |access-date=December 4, 2013 |archive-date=April 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407141305/http://www.fireislandcc.org/cherry.html|url-status=usurped }}</ref> John Eberhardt, a developer who died in 2014, was credited for building the Belvedere Hotel and many other properties in the hamlet, from 1956 to the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |title=John Henry Eberhardt |url=https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/article/20140322/NEWS/303229934 |access-date=August 21, 2021 |work=Palm Beach Daily News |date=March 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name=Belvedere>{{cite web|url=https://libn.com/2025/04/10/iconic-fire-island-hotel-hits-market-for-first-time-in-68-years/|work=Long Island Business News|title=Iconic Fire Island Hotel Hits Market for First Time in 68 Years |first=David|last=Winzelberg|date=April 10, 2025|access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref>

In early May 1959, [[James Baldwin]] visited Cherry Grove, staying in the Grove Hotel, where he wrote part of his intersectional
Novel, ''[[Another Country (novel)|Another Country]]''.<ref name=Baldwin />

===21st century===
While the Grove has its charms, several residents in 2005 expressed concerns about the lack of any services and population in the winter, the high cost of food and beverages, some "disrespectful visitors who come to party ... 'Day trippers'" (especially on the 4th of July), over-regulation of [[zoning]] by the town of Brookhaven, and a large population of voracious deer who eat up both [[beach grass]] and private gardens.<ref name=Weekender /> A new generation of entertainers and socialites call Cherry Grove their summer home, including [[Hedda Lettuce]], [[Michael Musto]], [[Panzi]], and [[Wanda Sykes]] and her wife and children.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fireisland-news.com/roses-view-cherry-grove-12/|title=ROSE'S VIEW – CHERRY GROVE|work=Fire Island News|first=Robert|last=Levine|date=June 3, 2017|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204004532/http://fireisland-news.com/roses-view-cherry-grove-12/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://fireisland-news.com/cherry-grove-roses-view-6/|title=CHERRY GROVE: ROSE'S VIEW|work=Fire Island News|first=Robert|last=Levine|date=May 26, 2019|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204004529/http://fireisland-news.com/cherry-grove-roses-view-6/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], one of only a few sites so far listed for their role in American LGBT history.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eltman|first=Frank|title=Cherry Grove On Fire Island Gains Historic Federal Designation As Gay-Rights Landmark|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/cherry-grove-fire-island_n_3541506.html|newspaper=[[HuffPost]]|date=July 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924184852/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/cherry-grove-fire-island_n_3541506.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|access-date=February 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A "pop-up" [[urgent care center]] opened in 2014, which is part of [[Northwell Health]]; a [[golf cart]] for [[emergency medical services]] was also purchased for the Grove, for the new 24/7 [[paramedic]] services.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/cherry-grove-on-fire-island-gets-improved-emergency-medical-care-1.8981054|title=Cherry Grove upgrades emergency medical services, an 'asset' to Fire Island hamlet|work=Newsday|first=Carl|last=MacGowan|date=August 6, 2014|access-date=December 11, 2014|archive-date=December 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217023458/http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/cherry-grove-on-fire-island-gets-improved-emergency-medical-care-1.8981054|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CherryGrove EMS">{{cite news |url=http://www.longislandpress.com/2014/08/18/cherry-grove-ems-offers-new-lifeline-in-far-flung-area-of-fire-island/ |title=Cherry Grove EMS Offers New Lifeline in Far-flung Area of Fire Island |work=Long Island Press |first=Timothy |last=Bolger |date=August 18, 2014 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705152603/https://www.longislandpress.com/2014/08/18/cherry-grove-ems-offers-new-lifeline-in-far-flung-area-of-fire-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Local residents "raised about $90,000 from donors to hire locally based paramedics, which have responded to more than 30 calls since May as of mid-August and will remain staffed through the end of September, when bustling crowds thin out at the beach."<ref name="CherryGrove EMS" />

In the early morning hours of March 27, 2015, an epic fire of historic proportions "destroyed" the Grove Hotel, Holly House, and two residential homes nearby; 23 fire companies responded from Fire Island and the south shore of Long Island and three firefighters were injured.<ref name=destroyed>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/officials-blaze-destroys-club-hotel-in-cherry-grove-1.10137047|work=Newsday|title=Officials: Blaze destroys club, hotel in Cherry Grove|last=Valente|first=John|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-date=March 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328120321/http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/officials-blaze-destroys-club-hotel-in-cherry-grove-1.10137047|url-status=live}}</ref> The fire "engulfed" the surrounding properties, but the fire departments were able to put out the blaze, in this, "one of the most popular LGBTQ destinations."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/fire-island-blaze-engulfs-and-destroys-buildings-gay-area270315|work=Gay Star News|title=Fire Island blaze engulfs and destroys buildings in gay area|last=Morgan|first=Joe|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=March 27, 2015|archive-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705152541/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/fire-island-blaze-engulfs-and-destroys-buildings-gay-area270315/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to its social media accounts, the Ice Palace, a famous nightclub, "had negligible damage", but was not destroyed along with the hotel. The hotel has since been rebuilt.