Tag Archives: Cherry Grove

A massive fire swept through Cherry Grove’s commercial district on Fire Island last night, destroying several private homes, the Holly House Hotel, and the Grove Hotel, the last of which was home to the famed Ice Palace nightclub. For decades the Ice Palace hosted the Miss Fire Island pageant and served as the kickoff location for the annual Fire Island …

Yesterday my pal Jerry accompanied me to the Invasion Of The Pines, the 37th annual marking of the day in 1976 when a drag queen was denied service at a restaurant in Fire Island Pines. Every Fourth of July since then, hundreds of drag queens board a chartered ferry in Cherry Grove and “invade” the Pines for a day exploding …

Fire Island’s Cherry Grove Community House will be placed on the New York and national registries of historic places in recognition of its role in creating “America’s first gay and lesbian town.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand applauds via press release: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced today that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service placed Cherry Grove Community …

Fire Island, which is arguably the most famous gay vacation destination in the world, was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The damage is so severe that the spokesman for the National Seashore believes that at least one new permanent inlet between the bay and the ocean has been created, effectively dividing Fire Island into two separate islands. Steve Weinstein has the …

Fire Island News managing editor Michael Lavers tips us to yesterday’s wedding of Robert Scherffius and Victor Alfieri, who met 58 years ago.

Yesterday my pals Jerry, Chris and Little David accompanied me to the Invasion Of The Pines, the 34th annual marking of the day in 1976 when a drag queen was denied service at a restaurant in Fire Island Pines. Every Fourth of July since then, hundreds of drag queens board a chartered ferry in Cherry Grove and “invade” the Pines …

Fire Island’s famous Cherry Grove Hotel, home to the Ice Palace nightclub, was severely damaged in a fire last night. The blaze broke out inside a housekeeping shed along the north side of the two story Grove Hotel around 2 a.m. Firefighters from Cherry Grove, the Fire Island Pines, Point O’ Woods, Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Saltaire and Sayville …

Yesterday the Farmboyz and my visiting pal from LA, Jerry, joined me in a lovely trip out to Fire Island. The Farmboyz, strangely enough, had never been, and Jerry hadn’t been in 27 years. And although I’ve spent nine summers in NYC, this was only my third visit. We started the morning with a tour around the houses in the …