CHERRY GROVE: Fire Destroys Two Hotels, Gay Nightclub, And Several Residences

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 Pines Drag Invasion. Local authorities say that the source of the blaze, which reportedly broke out on the nearby boardwalk, is unknown. About 80 firefighters were on the scene and two suffered injuries, but no residents were hurt, possibly because most of Fire Island is unoccupied at this time of year. Last night's fire was yet another in a recent string of disasters to strike Fire Island's two predominantly gay towns. The commercial district of neighboring Fire Island Pines was destroyed in a 2011 fire and both towns were flooded during 2012's Hurricane Sandy.

(Via Towleroad)

UPDATE: Contrary to the above-linked Newsday report that the Grove Hotel is a "complete loss," this news item says the Ice Palace nightclub portion of the complex suffered only minor damage.

Tweet Of The Day - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

At The 2013 Drag Invasion Of The Pines

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 with glitter, feathers, and lots and lots of drinking.  I've posted about 150 photos from our day in chronological order of the madness. Lots of handsome men and hilarious drag at the link. You'll probably want to check out Paula Deen's full outfit....

FIRE ISLAND: Cherry Grove Community House Makes National Historic Registry

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 House and Theater on the National Register of Historic Places. Last month, Senator Gillibrand urged the Chief of the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program to designate the Fire Island site on the official list of the country’s historic places worthy of preservation. Located on Fire Island, this historic site provided one of the first settings for collective gay identity to openly appear in our nation’s history. “This is great news. The Cherry Grove Community House and Theater represents the first civic entity to integrate gay and lesbian interests into governance and social life,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am thrilled that this historic site, the first civil rights organization for the LGBT community, is finally acknowledged for their contributions.”

Newsday notes that the structure was built in 1945 across the bay in Sayville and floated on a barge to Fire Island. More from their story:

In the conservative climate of the mid-1940s, the community provided a rare sanctuary, where "the integration and self-affirming presentation of homosexual men and lesbians in Cherry Grove's social life" gave it "exceptional historic significance," according to the application. The community house was built in Sayville because construction resources were tough to come by on Fire Island after World War II, Yaeger said. The theater was added in 1948, and Yaeger believes it's one of the oldest "continuously used gay theaters in the United States, and probably in the world."

Fire Island Devastated By Sandy

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 story at Edge:

The Pines may have experienced at least one extensive breach on its eastern end, with another even more severe breach just east of the Pines, according to Jay Pagano, who heads the local property owners assocation. In an email statement, Pagano said that pools and decks of houses fronting the ocean along a wide swath of the Pines were extensively damaged.  In a later email, he reported that flooding is "quite extensive," with "debris and trees down throughout the community." Many of the boardwalks that are Fire Island’s sidewalks are destroyed, as are all of the Pines’ stairs that lead from the boardwalks to the beach, Pagano reported.

Much more serious is the destruction of the dunes "along the length of the community." The dunes are the front line of protection. The Pines has been involved for several years in expensive dune restoration. [snip] In an telephone interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Karen Boss described the Pines Harbor as "completely submerged." Photos of the harbor show water going well onto land. In addition, there are reports that many of the bulkheads along the bay built have been destroyed. The bulkheads, built on community and privately owned property, serve to protect the island from erosion. But they couldn’t withstand the surging onslaught of water caused by Sandy’s high winds. This is the second year in a row that a mid-fall natural disaster devastated the Pines. Last year, a fire swept through the downtown harbor area. The destruction encompassed much of the commercial property, including the town’s main bar and nightclub.

Many photos of the destruction can be seen here and here.

Married After 58 Years

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

Invasion Of The Pines 2010

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 for a day exploding with fireworks, feathers, and lots and lots of drinking. I don't know if there was an official theme this year, but we saw lots of Star Trek/Star Wars costumes as well as some angry takes on the BP oil spill. Slideshow below, full size photos here. We started the morning at Cherry Grove's Ice Palace, from where the queens promenaded to the ferry to the Pines. Later we made stops at Jumpin' Jacks, Sip N Twirl, the Blue Whale, and the Pavilion before staggering back onto the ferry. World Of Wonder's Wayne Anderson has a great slideshow too.

Fire Damages Cherry Grove Hotel

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 responded to the scene. The four people inside the hotel evacuated safely, but Ocean Beach firefighter Ian Levine said the thick smoke made it difficult to find the fire’s source. "The smoke ran through the entire building," he said. Grove Hotel manager Ramón Peña-Sierra further described the scene. "The north end of the hotel is completely burned down," he said.

The hotel was scheduled to close for the season next week. Owners vow to rebuild in time for summer 2010.

(Via - Edge Boston)

A Day On Fire Island

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 Pines, greeted some very friendly deer, then had lunch in Cherry Grove followed by a visit to the Ice Palace for a very raucous drag show. Then we endured a stinging sandstorm on the beach for the trek back to the Pines for low and high tea at the Blue Whale and the Pavilion (where a very grizzled Sheepy made an appearance.)

Along the way we ran into a porn star or two, a reality show star, and a cable porn pioneer. Just your average day at the gay beach. The most memorable moment came when we accidentally crashed a giant house party with a Liz Taylor theme, where many of the guests were covered with silver body glitter. That's where Father Tony was wrongly accused of cutting into the bathroom line by a man who screamed, "I've had a lot of Botox and you can't tell, but this is my ANGRY face!" OK, then.