The buildings are set in an 83-acre (34 ha) park along the Kill Van Kull in New Brighton, on the North Shore of Staten Island.

Snug Harbor opened in 1833 as a sailors' retirement home located within what is now Building C, and additional structures were built on the grounds in later years.

The grounds and buildings are operated by Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, a nonprofit, Smithsonian-affiliated organization.

Sailors' Snug Harbor includes 26 Greek Revival, Beaux Arts, Italianate and Victorian style buildings.

The corporation was ironically legally represented by Thomas Addis Emmet, a former member of the Society of United Irishmen, an organization inspired by the success of the American Revolution to fight the British in Ireland.

Future President Martin Van Buren also served on the defense team, and Daniel Webster provided counsel to the plaintiffs.

Snug Harbor's trustees (appointed by Randall's will, they included the mayor of New York City, the president and vice president of the Marine Society, senior ministers of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, and the chancellor of the State) decided to maximize the profits on the Manhattan property.

They changed the proposed site of the institution to another piece of land bequeathed by Randall: a 130-acre plot on Staten Island overlooking the Kill Van Kull.

[12] In 1890, Captain Gustavus Trask, the governor of Snug Harbor, built a Renaissance Revival church, the Randall Memorial Chapel and, next to it, a music hall, both designed by Robert W.

[3][14] The trustees sold the Staten Island site to the New York City government in two separate transactions in 1972 and 1974, totaling $9.7 million.

[19] The Sailors' Snug Harbor Archives are preserved at the Stephen B. Luce Library at the State University of New York's Maritime College in the Bronx.

The main entrance contains a set of steps underneath a stone portico, consisting of six columns supporting a classic pediment.

The main entrance contains a set of steps underneath a stone portico, consisting of eight columns supporting a classic pediment.

The portico entrance leads to a main hall that is 2+1⁄2 stories high, with a vaulted ceiling containing a dome in the center, as well as ash floors.

Nine doorways lead from the main hall to other rooms on the first floor, while the three passageways to the other buildings are at the center of the eastern, western, and southern walls.

[7]: 2  A staircase on the left (east) side of the main hall, with iron railings and wooden wainscoted walls, connects the first and second floors.

The main entrance contains a set of steps underneath a stone portico, consisting of six columns supporting a classic pediment.

[39]: 3 When built, the main entrance was through a central round arch at the front, which was topped by a pediment surrounded by Doric pilasters.

A round-arched window and lintel flanked either side of the main entrance, while a full height pilaster was located at each corner.

The New York Times described the statue as sitting "in the middle, astride a shell held aloft by sea monsters, his trident raised.

About 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) of the fence on the northern edge of the property, built in the mid-19th century in the Greek Revival style, is designated as a city landmark.

[45]: 1 The northern gatehouse on Richmond Terrace is directly in front of building C and set back 15 feet (4.6 m) behind the iron fence.

Unused marble and sandstone from the construction of the original structures was used to create the quoins surrounding the archway and window openings.

The cemetery portion (surrounded by a red brick wall) is still owned by the Snug Harbor Center, while the remaining land was sold in 1975 to the city and turned into a public park with hiking trails.

[46] The majority of the over 7,000 bodies (including those of military sailors) now lay in unmarked graves because their headstones were removed in the 1980s and put into storage for preservation after the cemetery became inactive.

Its primary purpose is "to operate, manage and develop the premises known as Sailors Snug Harbor as a cultural and educational center and park."

It is a home on the water and an artist's lair all in one, complete with wooden surfaces, portholes, an engineer's bed, a drawing table, and printmaking and etching implements.

[66] Additionally, the Sailors' Snug Harbor station was served by the Staten Island Railway's now-defunct North Shore Branch.

In 2004, local performing arts company Sundog Theatre commissioned an original play by Damon DiMarco and Jeffrey Harper about the sailors' life at Snug Harbor.

In January 2013, an episode of Ghost Adventures was filmed at and focused on Sailors' Snug Harbor and the spirits haunting the area.