The Bold Plan to Save an 8-million Pound Hotel From the Ocean

In ‘This Week in History,’ six train engines, 112 railcars, 24 railroad tracks, and a team of determined Americans work to save a grand hotel.

Brighton Beach Hotel, between 1900 and 1910. Library of Congress. Public Domain

The owners of Brighton Beach Hotel had two options: move the hotel or lose it. The threat did not come from extortionists, competitors, or even the government. The threat came from the ocean.

Certainly, the owners preferred to maintain their hotel, but in order to do that they had to choose the option to move the 8-million pound structure. The lingering question was “How exactly does one move a hotel?” To add to the problem, the owners couldn’t allow the question to linger for much longer. If the hotel was to be moved, it would take a Herculean effort, and the effort would need to be coordinated soon.

Creating Brighton Beach

The very existence of the Brighton Beach Hotel, built in 1878, had taken a Herculean effort. William A. Engeman had a vision for this particular section of Coney Island known as Middle Division, but first he needed to purchase the land, and in order to do that, he needed to find out who owned it. That’s where the initial Herculean effort came into play.