Town Focus: Day 5 in Port Washington

Just as sand mining, speedboat racing and seaplanes have left Port Washington, my time on the peninsula is coming to an end.

On my final day in Port Washington for Newsday’s “Town Focus” series, we will travel back in time to explore some defining aspects of Port’s past. Click here to view a collection of historical photos of Port Washington provided by the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society. You may be surprised by how much the community has changed and how much it has remained the same during the past century.

Although Port Washington’s Main Street has evolved over the years, it remains a place where small businesses can thrive despite competition from big-box stores, malls and online retailers.

Among the sights depicted in the history gallery is the Main Street School, which now houses Landmark on Main Street. (Chris Mann, a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice,” will be performing here tonight.) One local described Landmark as “the gem” of Port Washington, but the building was nearly torn down and turned into a parking garage. We’ll have a story on Port Washington's history later today.

Although my week in Port Washington is ending, there are some great events happening later this month in the community, including a 4-mile bike tour on May 5 to benefit the Lauri Strauss Leukemia Foundation; and PortFest, a community arts festival that will take place on May 11. My colleague, Brittany Wait, will have more on this event and how the organization sponsoring it has been promoting arts education in the Port Washington schools.

I had the opportunity to explore the scenic Sands Point Preserve Thursday night and attend a program that featured a falcon, an opossum and an American oystercatcher. Look for the photos, and find out what brought these animals together.

I also spent Thursday afternoon touring “East Egg” and “West Egg” aboard one of Matt Meyran’s water taxis. I will now have a new appreciation for the Gold Coast when the latest and much-anticipated film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” hits theaters next week.

It seems only appropriate that I should bid adieu to the fine people of Port with these famous words, written by Fitzgerald: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."