Victory Boulevard is a major thoroughfare on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, measuring approximately 8.0 miles (12.87 km). It stretches from the West Shore community of Travis to the upper East Shore communities of

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and Tompkinsville. In the late 1940s, the portion of Victory Boulevard between Richmond Avenue and Forest Avenue was designated as New York State Route 439A (NY 439A). The section between Forest Avenue and Bay Street became part of NY 439 at the same time. Both designations were removed in .

Route description

The street follows a path similar to the Staten Island Expressway, an integral Staten Island traffic route. Both roadways intersect Clove Road, Slosson Avenue, Todt Hill Road, Bradley Avenue, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway, Richmond Avenue and the West Shore Expressway, as well as each other. Forest Avenue, too, is intersected by both roads; however, these two intersections are on opposite sides of the island. Victory Boulevard is the only street on Staten Island that meets three different expressways by way of interchanges. It is exit 7 for the West Shore Expressway, exit 10 for the Staten Island Expressway westbound (exit 8 eastbound), and exit 11 for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway. SI Expressway Victory

A number of prominent Staten Island sites and events are located along Victory Boulevard. Among these are the Travis Independence Day Parade, the Sylvan Grove Cemetery, the Mid-Island Little League field, and the

College of Staten Island The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York, United States. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and pro ...

(CSI, formerly the

Willowbrook State School Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City, which operated from 1947 until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, ...

). The Bulls' Head Tavern, a pub known for its Tory meetings during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, also stood on Victory Boulevard, on the corner with Richmond Avenue. East of the

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit, railroad line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropol ...

mainline, the dead end at the eastern end of Victory Boulevard contains the Lyons Pool Recreation Center.

History

Victory Boulevard was established in 1816 by the Richmond Turnpike Company as the Richmond Turnpike. The toll road was owned by Daniel D. Tompkins, a prominent Staten Islander who, a year later, became

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. The route was "promoted as the fastest...from New York to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

." Ferries from

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

would dock at the eastern end of the turnpike, at Bay Street. Horse-drawn carriages would carry passengers to Travis, known at the time as Long Neck or the New Blazing Star Ferry, whence a ferry would carry people over the

Arthur Kill The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York, and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It ...

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in northern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a regional hub of transportation and commerce for central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City, within the New ...

. From the 1860s to 1930, Travis was known as Linoleumville, the home of America's first

Linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...

factory.

After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Richmond Turnpike was renamed Victory Boulevard in honor of the allied victory. The segment of Victory Boulevard from Richmond Avenue (then- NY 440) in Bulls Head to Forest Avenue (then- NY 439) in Silver Lake was designated as NY 439A in the late 1940s. East of Forest Avenue, Victory Boulevard was designated as part of NY 439 down to Bay Street. Both designations were removed from Victory Boulevard .

Transportation

Victory Boulevard is served by the following bus routes: * The S62 and S92 LTD are the primary servers, running alone the entire road west of Bay Street. ** Additional buses running west of Bay include the Bricktown Mall-bound until Saint Paul’s Avenue, the until Jersey Street (West Shore Plaza) or Cebra Avenue (St. George Ferry), the until Forest Avenue, and the until Bradley Avenue. * The runs on two portions: between Bay Street and Highland Avenue, and between Clove Road and Jewett Avenue. * The SIM32 express bus runs west of Gannon Avenue South (Manhattan) or Willowbrook Road (Travis), along with the until Richmond Avenue, which goes to Mariners Harbor. * From Forest Avenue, the runs north to Cebra Avenue to serve Rosebank, or south to Clove Road where its Sunnyside terminal is. * The runs between Clove and Loop Roads. * The run between Slosson Avenue and either Bradley Avenue (Manhattan), or Watchogue Road (opposite termimals). The

has a station at the eastern end of the road.

Major intersections

References

External links