Fireplace Remodeling in Turtle Bay, NY

Turtle Bay, a cove of the East River, was between what is now 45th and 48th Streets and was fed by a stream that ran from the present-day intersection of Second Avenue and 48th Street. It was probably named after the turtles found in the area. Historical records from the 17th century described an abundance of turtles nearby, with local residents partaking in a “turtle feast”.

The Turtle Bay neighborhood was originally a 40-acre (16 ha) land grant given to two Englishmen by the Dutch colonial governor of New Amsterdam in 1639 and named “Turtle Bay Farm”. The farm extended roughly from what is now 40th to 49th Streets and from Third Avenue to the river. By 1712, “Turtle Bay” was frequently used in property documents for the area.

On a knoll overlooking the cove, near 41st Street, the farmhouse was purchased as a summer retreat by Francis Bayard, and in the early 19th century remained the summer villa of Francis Bayard Winthrop. Turtle Creek, or DeVoor’s Mill Creek as it was known, emptied into the cove at what is now 47th Street. To the south lay Kip’s Bay farm; to the north, on a bluff, stood James Beekman’s “Mount Pleasant”, the first of a series of houses and villas with water views stretching away up the shoreline. After the street grid system was initiated in Manhattan, the hilly landscape of the Turtle Bay Farm was graded to create cross-streets and the land was subdivided for residential development.