Hotel Victoria
by Christopher Bain
Long before Starbucks commanded one of the busiest corners in town, and long before Commuter's Stationery occupied the exact same corner, the Victoria Hotel served for several decades at the corner of Main Street and Haven Avenue. This view, taken from across Main Street, shows the corner with Main Street heading off to the right (where this couple is walking) and Haven Avenue heads up to the left (where you can see carriage tracks having made the turn). You can even faintly see the trolley tracks on Main Street.
​
The Victoria Hotel was built in 1905 by local builder Walter Mullon, just a few years after the Long Island Rail Road came to Port Washington, ushering in the swift development of Port Washington as a commuting town. At the time, Main
Street was still named Flower Hill Avenue (renamed to Main Street in 1912) and Port Washington's largest hotel boasted a bowling alley, a pool table and "Electric Illumination!". It was torn down in 1928
To give you a better sense of where the Hotel Victoria stood until 1929, you can see the LIRR station on the left and the hotel through the trees, where Starbucks is today.