West End Cottages
West End Cottages
It was a fabulous architectural representation of Long Branch at the apex of its Glided Age glory — the West End Cottages.
Situated on the southeast corner of Ocean and Brighton Avenues — the magnificent wooden structure was opened in Spring 1881. John Thompson of Staten Island built the hotel that could accommodate up to 200 guests. In the late 1870s, developer David Morgan Hildreth acquired the 5-acre West End property for $50,000. Sometimes credited with coming up with the “West End” area designation, Hildreth was also the first West End postmaster, appointed in 1831.
The complex was an annex of the nearby West End Hotel — a splendid wooden structure in its own right — which opened in 1867. Considered one the finest in the country, it hosted American presidents. Each of the seven cottages had 15 rooms for rent. For some 30 years the complex was run by father and son Walter and Morgan Hildreth. The family sold all of its interest in March 1905 for $150,000.
The new owners (Myron Oppenheim, Harry Content, and P. Sanford Ross) invested another $200,000 in upgrades. It continued to operate and was “regraded as one of the most commanding hotel sites on the north Jersey coast.” By December 1913, it was all gone in “one of most spectacular fires” in city history, according to the Long Branch Daily Record. The West End Hotel burned in 1906 and the Takanassee Hotel was built on the site the following year.
More:
• Long Branch Hotels: Great Views — HERE
West End Cottages, 1910. Nearby stables could accommodate 400 horses.
Glory Days — West End Cottages (l) and West End Hotel (r) at Brighton and Ocean Avenues, 1905.
West End Cottages, 1922 postcard.
The West End Cottages (1881-1912) across from the Takanassee Hotel (1907-1934) on Brighton Avenue (looking west), 1900.
Spectacular Long Branch Imagery — the West End Cottages, 1910s.
West End Cottages, 1908.
West End Cottages — busy summer days, 1883.
West End Cottages (l) and West End Hotel (r), 1882.
West End Cottages, 1910.
West End Cottages, 1890.
Plenty of Action — West End Cottages (l) and Phil Daly’s Pennsylvania Club (r), 1905.
West End Cottages (l) and West End Hotel (r), 1906.
West End Cottages (l) and West End Hotel (r), 1883.
West End Cottages, 1910.
Brighton Avenue in West End looking east to Ocean Avenue, 1910. At left is the Takanassee Hotel and to the right are the West End Cottages.
West End Cottages (l) at Brighton and Ocean Avenues, early 1900s.
West End Cottages, 1903.
West End Cottages, late 1880s.
West End Hotel (r) and West End Cottages (l) ad, 1893.
West End Cottages, 1920s.
West End Hotel and West End Cottages ad, Harper’s Handbook, 1881.
Photo taken by Mrs. Lucretia Garfield at Long Branch a few days before her husband was shot, June 1881. The West End Hotel (l) and the West End Cottages (r).
Stetson House hotel, 1868. Built in 1832, it was renamed the West End Hotel in 1870 by David Hildreth. Later on the “West End” designated was applied to whole the area.
Takanassee Hotel was built on the site of the West End Hotel, 1920s.
All gone — Brighton Avenue looking west, 1930s.
