Tattoo Shop in Munsey Park, NY

Munsey Park was first developed in the 1920s, on North Shore land previously owned by wealthy publisher Frank Andrew Munsey (1854-1925), as a commuter town and “model, restricted community”, taking advantage of the Long Island Rail Road’s Manhasset station, located immediately to the west of the development. The land on which the planned community now stands on was bequeathed by Munsey to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1925.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art sold the portion of the estate south of Northern Boulevard (NY 25A); that area would eventually become part of Strathmore. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum of Art retained ownership of the portion of Munsey’s estate north of Northern Boulevard, and, with help from the Hassett Realty Company, developed the planned community on the land under the leadership of museum president Robert W. DeForest.

It was developed featuring Colonial-style houses and streets named for American artists. Much of the original landscaping in the planned community was designed by the Olmsted Brothers.