Archive for the ‘Sea Creatures’ Category

On August 13, 1897, a 13-year old boy named Willie Grogan was swimming in the East River off East 84th Street when he saw what he thought was a seven-foot sea serpent opposite East River Park (present-day Carl Schurz Park).

The sea serpent turned out to be one of the three sea lions that had escaped from Starin’s Glen Island resort on the Long Island Sound one day before.

Ever since the first Christmas tree went up in 1931, and the outdoor skating rink opened in 1936, Rockefeller Center has been associated with ice skaters and the winter holiday season. But what many people may not know is that the Prometheus Fountain in the sunken plaza at Rockefeller Center has also been home to a few sea lions and penguins during the off season.