The Hatching Cat of Gotham

The New Dorp Beach Hotel property was owned by Edward Hett, inventor of the multicolor printing press. The original three-story hotel, built around 1897, was destroyed in a fire in 1902. Hett built a new concrete hotel, which was sold to A. Munger in 1913, just two years before Hett’s death. The property also included a steamboat pier, an acre of dancing pavilions, field dining rooms, bowling alleys, and another large frame hotel on Cedar Grove Avenue. NYPL Collections.