The
North Shore of
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban...
is the area along Long Island's northern coast, bordering
Long Island SoundLong Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound...
. Traditionally, the region has been the most affluent on Long Island and among the most affluent in the
New York metropolitan areaThe New York metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan New York, Greater New York, or the Tri-State Region, is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and is also one of the most populous in the world. The metropolitan area is defined by the U.S...
, which has earned it the
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
"the Gold Coast." Though some consider the North Shore to include parts of
QueensQueens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Five Boroughs which form New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a subdivision of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States.Located on...
, particularly the quasi-
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
an northeastern neighborhoods such as
DouglastonDouglaston, population 14,168 , is a community in the New York City borough of Queens. Douglaston comprises six distinct neighborhoods: Doug Bay, Douglas Manor, and Douglaston Hill, all located north of Northern Boulevard on the peninsula abutting Little Neck Bay; Douglaston Park, located between...
, the term is generally used to refer to the Long Island coastline in
Nassau CountyNassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,334,544...
and western
Suffolk CountySuffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,419,369. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came. The county seat is Riverhead, though many county...
.
The
North Shore of
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban...
is the area along Long Island's northern coast, bordering
Long Island SoundLong Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound...
. Traditionally, the region has been the most affluent on Long Island and among the most affluent in the
New York metropolitan areaThe New York metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan New York, Greater New York, or the Tri-State Region, is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and is also one of the most populous in the world. The metropolitan area is defined by the U.S...
, which has earned it the
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
"the Gold Coast." Though some consider the North Shore to include parts of
QueensQueens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Five Boroughs which form New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a subdivision of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States.Located on...
, particularly the quasi-
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
an northeastern neighborhoods such as
DouglastonDouglaston, population 14,168 , is a community in the New York City borough of Queens. Douglaston comprises six distinct neighborhoods: Doug Bay, Douglas Manor, and Douglaston Hill, all located north of Northern Boulevard on the peninsula abutting Little Neck Bay; Douglaston Park, located between...
, the term is generally used to refer to the Long Island coastline in
Nassau CountyNassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,334,544...
and western
Suffolk CountySuffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,419,369. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came. The county seat is Riverhead, though many county...
. It is often used as a generic name for the entire northern half of Long Island, including much of the
Hempstead PlainsThe Hempstead Plains is a region of central Long Island in New York State in what is now Nassau County. It was once an open expanse of native grassland estimated to once extend to about . It was separated from the North Shore of Long Island by the Harbor Hill Morraine, later approximately the...
rather than just the hilly areas immediately next to the coastline.
Being a
terminal moraineA terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....
of the
Wisconsin glaciationThe last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age, occurring in the Pleistocene epoch. It began about 110,000 years ago and ended about 9,600 - 9,700 BC. During this period there were several changes between glacier advance and retreat. The maximum extent of...
, the North Shore is hilly, and its beaches are more rocky than those on the flat, sandy outwash plain of the
south shoreThe South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York, is the area along Long Island's Atlantic Ocean shoreline. Though some consider the South Shore to include parts of Queens, particularly the beach communities in the Rockaways such as Belle Harbor, the term is generally used to refer to...
.
Gold Coast
Thanks to the late 19th century spread of the private estates of
VanderbiltsThe Vanderbilt family is a significant international family with Dutch origins, who were highly prominent during the 1800s due to the family patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, the tenth wealthiest person in history, who created railroad and shipping empires...
,
RooseveltsThe Roosevelt family is a prominent American political family of Dutch descent that produced two United States Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D...
,
WhitneysThe Whitney family is an American family notable for their social prominence, wealth, business enterprises and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. There are a number of very prominent members of this family including inventor Eli...
,
Charles PrattCharles Pratt was a United States capitalist, businessman and philanthropist.Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. Pratt's product later gave rise to the slogan, "The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with...
,
J. P. MorganJohn Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, F. W. Woolworth, and others in areas where rocky terrain is more productive of pretty views than crops, the North Shore has a long-held reputation of elegance and gentility. Many stately old homes can be found there, and an "old money" atmosphere pervades. Some of the largest or most prominent ones, such as Castle Gould (known as
Hempstead HouseHempstead House is a large estate located in Sands Point, New York . Measuring 225 ft long, wide, Hempstead House has 3 floors and contains 40 rooms, punctuated by an tower. Once construction had completed, the estate needed 17 house servants and 200 farmers and groundskeepers to maintain its...
under the ownership of
Daniel GuggenheimDaniel Guggenheim was an American industrialist and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer Guggenheim.-Biography:...
) in Sands Point,
Sagamore HillSagamore Hill was the home of the 26th President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt from 1886 until his death in 1919. It is located at the end of Cove Neck Road in the Incorporated Village of Cove Neck, New York, on Long Island, 25 miles east of Manhattan. Sagamore Hill is located within...
,
Vanderbilt MuseumThe Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is located in Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA. It is named for William K. Vanderbilt II and is located on the site of his estate. His will dictated that the grounds be used as a museum, which it became in 1950...
and
Oheka CastleOheka Castle was the country home of financier and philanthropist Otto Kahn. Built by Kahn between 1914 and 1919 and located on the Gold Coast of Long Island's north shore, it was and remains the second largest private home in the United States, comprising 127 rooms and over , as originally...
still exist but are no longer private homes. There are many articles, books and films depicting
Gold Coast MansionsThe north shore of Long Island, New York, in a sixteen mile stretch from Great Neck to Huntington, was a favorite retreat for the rich and the famous. Many were wealthy industrialists of the Gilded Age who pioneered great industries. These captains of industry spent fortunes on their lavish...
.
In popular culture, the North Shore is perhaps best known as the setting of
F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are evocative of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the Twenties...
's 1925 novel
The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City during the summer of 1922 and is a critique of the American Dream....
, which centered on the area's wealth and the aspiration of the title character to be accepted as a part of its society. The novel's "West Egg" and "East Egg" were fictionalized versions of the real North Shore villages of
Kings PointKings Point is a village in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 5,076.The Village of Kings Point is in the Town of North Hempstead...
and
Sands PointSands Point is a village located at the northernmost tip of the Cow Neck Peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island in Nassau County, New York. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 2,786. The Incorporated Village of Sands Point is in the Town of North Hempstead.Sands...
. The distinctive upper class speech pattern known as
Locust Valley LockjawLocust Valley Lockjaw is the colloquial term for a stereotypical upper class American accent associated with elite residents of the New York metropolitan area, particularly those on the North Shore of Long Island...
takes its name from the North Shore's
Locust ValleyLocust Valley is a hamlet located in Nassau County, New York. Locust Valley is an unincorporated area of the Town of Oyster Bay...
area. The aristocratic cachet persists despite suburban infill converting much of the North Shore into commuter towns.
Though the western stretch of the North Shore is considered by most locals to be the more fashionable of Long Island's coasts, once the island splits into two forks at its east end, the North Shore becomes largely rural. This area is known as the
North ForkThe North Fork of Suffolk County, New York, is a peninsula in the northeast part of the county on the North Shore of Long Island. The southeast part of the county is an even longer peninsula, called the South Fork...
, and it contrasts starkly with the
South ForkThe South Fork of Suffolk County, New York is a peninsula in the southeast part of the county on the South Shore of Long Island. All of the South Fork is an area known as the Hamptons. The shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the North Fork....
's
HamptonsThe Hamptons refers specifically to the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the east end of Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island. According to the Census Bureau, the Hamptons have a land area of 552.14 km² . Officially they also have 1,212.99 km² of...
, though it resembles the more easterly
Outer LandsThe Outer Lands is a term denoting the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States...
. In the past 25 years, the North Fork has reinvented itself as a major center for the production of wine.
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