Bald Hill (Farmingville, New York)
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Bald Hill, located in the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of
Farmingville, New York Farmingville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Suffolk County town of Brookhaven, New York, United States. The population was 15,481 at the 2010 census. History The first settlement in what is now called Farmingville occurr ...
, part of the Town of Brookhaven, is one of the highest areas of elevation on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. The highest elevation in the Bald Hill area is . Though local residents often claim it to be the highest point on Long Island, ("Mr. Venezio insists that the Bald Hill Ski Bowl is situated on the highest spot on Long Island, although there is some dispute about this from people who live in Southampton.") that honor actually belongs to
Jayne's Hill Jayne's Hill (also known as High Hill, West Hills, Oakley's Hill, and Janes Hill) is the highest point on Long Island, New York, with an elevation of between and above sea level. It is situated on the Harbor Hill moraine, a terminal moraine tha ...
in the Town of Huntington at . Also, nearby
Telescope Hill Telescope Hill, at , is the highest point of elevation in the Town of Brookhaven, on Long Island, New York, United States. The hill is located at the end of Tower Hill Ave., on the border of the ZIP codes of the hamlets of Selden and Farmingv ...
, about WSW, is slightly higher at . Bald Hill in Brookhaven should also not be confused with Bald Hill in Riverhead.


History

The Bald Hill area is part of the
Ronkonkoma Moraine The Ronkonkoma Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the southern of two ridges along Long Island's "backbone." Description The Ronkonkoma Moraine, a terminal moraine, predates the Harbor Hill Moraine (which reached Long Island during ...
, which runs east to west along the center of the Town of Brookhaven, and marks where the glacier which formed Long Island stopped its advance. When first settled in the late 18th century, the area was called "Bald Hills." While the elevation and views are impressive for Long Island,
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
found the hills to be merely "trifling" when he passed through in April 1790. In 1897, the cross-Island
Bicycle Path Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...
was opened and passed through the Bald Hill area. In 1970-71, Patchogue-Mt. Sinai Road (County Route 83) was built through the Bald Hill area. Two overlooks were constructed in a widened median area with automobile access, and stone markers were placed for "Danger Hill" and "Breakneck Hill", the names given to the two hills by early settlers. A Vietnam Veterans memorial was opened on the southern lookout side in 1991 (elevation 321 feet).Bald Hill, Seldenhistory.org
/ref>Spinzia, Raymond Edward et al. ''Long Island: A Guide to New York's Suffolk and Nassau Counties'', Hippocrene Books, 3rd Ed. 2008, p. 24. The Brookhaven Town Hall and Sachem East High School are on the east side of the hill. The Glacier Ridge Preserve to the north of the structures has a network of of cross country bicycle trails.


Bald Hill Ski Bowl

From 1965-1980, Bald Hill was the site of a Town-owned skiing area known as the Bald Hill Ski Bowl. The seeds for this project were planted in 1964, when Suffolk County builder Henry Taca approached the Town with plans to build houses on his in the area, including the hilly Bald Hill tract. He turned over of the Bald Hill property to the Town free of charge in 1965, and in return, he received Town approval for a " cluster housing" project known as Hawthorne Estates. Under the approval, he was allowed to build more houses on his remaining acreage than would otherwise be permitted. The Bald Hill Ski Bowl officially opened on January 21, 1965, with a tow rope in operation on a wide main slope, which featured an run and vertical drop. At its opening, it was hoped that with the use of snow machines, the slopes and trails would be usable for an average of 70 days each winter. Initial prices were $3 for an all-day ticket, $2 for a half-day ticket after 1 P.M., and 25 cents for a single ski-tow trip. By January 1967, an T-bar lift had been installed to supplement three tow ropes ranging from 150 to in length, and there were five ski trails on three slopes. A Swiss-chalet style lodge with a fireplace was also added. In 1975, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that the ski area was drawing 5,000 visitors each week. The facility was described as covering and featuring a run for advanced skiers, a slope for "novices", and a "bunny run" for beginners. The cost for an all-day ticket was $2.25. All was not rosy, however. New "quiet" snow machines were in the process of being installed to quell complaints about noise from neighboring residents, and some members of the Town Board were complaining that the facility was costing too much and should perhaps be closed. Operating costs were reported to be $500,000 annually, with revenue of between $100,000 to $200,000, depending on the amount of snowfall. Fortunes turned briefly for the better in the winter of 1976-1977, when generous snowfall (over in Suffolk County) gave the Ski Bowl its first profitable year. But the warmer winter of 1979-80 proved to be a death blow. As of late January 1980, the ski bowl had only been open eight days for the season. Only 6,500 skiers showed up that winter, only of snow fell, and revenues fell to $18,000. As the next winter approached, the Town searched for a private operator willing to take over the facility, an unlikely prospect in light of Long Island's weather and the site's historical unprofitability. With the facility's budget slashed by over 70%, and a vague plan to open only if natural snowfall was sufficient, Bald Hill's days as Long Island's largest public skiing facility were at an end. The ski bowl site is now home of the
Brookhaven Amphitheater The Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater (previously the Brookhaven Amphitheater, and Pennysaver Amphitheater at Bald Hill), located at Bald Hill, is an outdoor concert venue owned by the Town of Brookhaven, and located in Farmingville, N ...
. The ski lodge building remains as an art gallery, and sits to the right of the audience as they face the stage.


Attractions

* Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. A Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 11, 1991, and includes a high obelisk-shaped monument painted red, white, and blue. The planning for the $1.5 million project began in 1986, when the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission was formed. A design contest received over 1,300 entries, and the winning design was submitted by Bob Fox, a Vietnam veteran from Massachusetts.Silverman, Francine. ''Long Island Alive!'', Hunter Publishing (NJ), 2002, p. 201-02 * Overlooks. Accessible via Patchogue-Mt. Sinai Road (County Route 83), also the site of the Vietnam memorial. On a clear day, you can see to
Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long ...
in the south and
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
to the north. *
Pennysaver Amphitheater The Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater (previously the Brookhaven Amphitheater, and Pennysaver Amphitheater at Bald Hill), located at Bald Hill, is an outdoor concert venue owned by the Town of Brookhaven, and located in Farmingville, N ...
. An outdoor performing venue with a capacity of over 18,000, part of the Bald Hill Cultural Center.


References

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External links


Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, Suffolk County New York websiteBald Hill Ski Bowl (Farmingville Historical Society)
Tourist attractions on Long Island Landforms of Suffolk County, New York Brookhaven, New York Hills of New York (state)