Bertam Wilson Scholes (1889 - 1974) was born, raised and lived in Manhattan most of his life but had deep ties to Sea Cliff, New York. The Scholes family spent many summers in Sea Cliff. His family’s summer home located at 362 Sea Cliff Avenue (formerly Summit Avenue) was in the possession of his family from the moment it was built in 1875 until Bert died in 1974. As a young man, Bert spent his summers serving as the captain of the Life Saving Service of the City of New York, Sea Cliff Division.
Later in life, Bert was an avid photographer who photographed and filmed events and locations around Sea Cliff during the 1950s through the 1970s. He captured homes around Sea Cliff, businesses, and events that show the daily life of Sea Cliff residents. Bert also captured several locations on Long Island as well as iconic neighborhoods and events around Manhattan and Queens. Most notably, he captured the 1964 New York World's Fair grounds under construction, the original Pennsylvania Station before demolition, and circus parades through the city. Bert was most likely able to photograph places such as the fairgrounds under construction because, according to the 1950 U.S. Federal Census, he was a construction engineer for a building company.
Scope of Collection
This collection consists of images of Sea Cliff, various locations on Long Island, Manhattan, and Queens that date from the 1950s through the 1970s. These images were sourced from glass slides with a dimension of 2.75” x 2.75”
This collection was donated to the Sea Cliff Village Museum in 2003 and was completely digitized in 2025. Select images were uploaded to New York Heritage through the Sea Cliff Village Museum’s partnership with LILRC’s Accessing Archives Program in 2025.
