Summer is winding down. The unofficial end of summer came over Labor Day weekend and September 21 marks the end of the season of beaches and backyard barbecues on the calendar. As we wave goodbye to what has been one of the strangest summers on Long Island having to navigate COVID-19 restrictions and cancellations, we take a moment to look back at summer seasons of yesteryear.

 

See below for some of our favorite historical posts about summer and summertime places.

 

Photo: Surf Club, Atlantic Beach, Long Island, New York. Beach scene III Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress). No known restrictions.

 

HISTORY: Photos of Atlantic Beach in 1947 - These old pics show Long Islanders enjoying the beautiful sandy shores in August 1947. Click here to see all of the photos.

 

Photo: Visitors to the Montauk Lighthouse in the 1920s. This image is not possible to duplicate today, because the land from which this photo was taken has eroded away over the years. A project begun in 1970 and lasting nearly 30 years successfully halted the onslaught of the erosion and is to be reconstructed starting in the spring of 2020.

 

History: Old Time Photos of Montauk - We asked the Montauk Historical Society to dig into the archives to find us some old-timey photos that showed the way things used to be. Click here to see all of the photos.

 

Photo: Cropped image of historical photo.

 

HISTORY: Bathers on an East Hampton Beach - Click here for the full photo.

 

Photo: Anthony Quintano [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

 

Crazy Facts About the Jones Beach Water Tower - Learn more about this iconic structure on Long Island. Click here for all the crazy facts and history.

 

Photo: Created / Published - New York ; London ; Toronto-Canada ; Ottawa-Kansas : Underwood & Underwood, Publishers, [1904]. No known restrictions. Library of Congress.

 

HISTORY: 1904 East Hampton Beach Pic - Click here for the full photo.

 

Photo: Courtesy of the Westhampton Beach Historical Society.

 

History: Old Time Photos of Westhampton Beach - We asked the Westhampton Beach Historical Society to dig into the archives to find us some old-timey photos that showed the way things used to be. Click here for all the pics.

 

Photo: Photo: Library of Congress. No known copyright restriction.

 

History: Montauk Lighthouse Keeper and His Family - Charles Schumacher tended the lighthouse from 1954 until 1959. Click here for the full photo and story.

 

Photo: Photo: Library of Congress. No known copyright restriction.

 

History: Photo of Schoolboy at His Fire Island Lighthouse Home - A 1952 photo shows Richard Mahler who stayed at the lighthouse with his family. Click here for the full photo and story.