The journey from Manhattan to Fire Island, New York’s queer haven for almost a century, is part of the magic of any summer getaway there. From the frantic bustle of Midtown to a Long Island Railroad commuter train packed with excited gays lugging bags full of clothes they likely won’t wear. All you really need to pack for a weekend in the Grove or the Pines is a speedo and a smile. My shoulders start to drop as I arrive in the quaint Long Island town of Sayville and hop onto the $6 minibus to the ferry dock. I treat myself to a late morning can of chilled Montauk from the bar as I wait for departure. The vacation has already begun.
The anticipation heightens and the relaxation starts to fully kick when I take my seat out in the fresh air atop the ferry, with a frayed US flag flapping in the wind as we pick up speed. It’s only a 20-minute voyage across Great South Bay, but as the mainland shrinks from view I feel like I’m traveling a thousand miles away from the city. At peak season, even the ferry ride itself is a blissfully queer-dominated space that allows the rare luxury of letting your guard down in public. Before long, the largest progress Pride flag I’ve ever seen comes into view at Cherry Grove harbor, and another unmissable sight appears on the horizon, the white palatial spires, terraces and ornate domes of a building that seems to have been teleported from a far off land. An enchanting and enigmatic sight from any angle, the Belvedere Guest House for Men has been a Fire Island fantasy come to life for almost 70 years. It is thought to be oldest continuing gay resort in North America.
“Don’t Be Afraid To Come Inside”, has recently become the guesthouse’s playfully suggestive motto, emblazoned on the tshirts, hoodies and hats sold at its front desk. A fitting banner that beckons those unfamiliar with its charms to experience what lies behind the mystery of its teal wrought iron gated entrance, guarded by a pair of seated lions (a relic from the Rodman Wannamaker estate), past the consecrated baroque chapel, and beyond its imposing Victorian Gothic double-doored entrance.
As we take in the view from the property’s expansive bayside deck, I ask the Belvedere’s current owner, Julian Dorcelien Eberhardt, how he sums up the place for folks who’ve never encountered it. “Liberace’s bathhouse” is his response. “That’s the best description I’ve ever heard. It’s kind of offensive, but it fits because it’s camp and it’s kitsch. It’s beautiful too, but you can’t take it too seriously. It was built this way because being on the bay reminded John of being in Venice and it has that certain feel. It’s built in the style of the old Venetian palazzos and 1950s camp. Belvedere means beautiful view in Italian, so that’s how John came up with the name. It’s true, the sunsets are pretty spectacular from here and sometimes you see dolphins or sharks swimming by. It can be breathtaking.”
The John he is referring to, Belvedere’s visionary architect and creator, John Eberhardt—who died aged 92 in 2014—was Julian’s stepfather and father-in-law. In 1989, decades before marriage equality became the law of the land, Julian’s late husband Craig—who passed away in 2018—was adopted by his then romantic partner John as way to protect their union legally. “That was the only way they were able to get around there being no same-sex marriage back then. Not only does the Belvedere have history in its architecture and in the building itself, but the history of the gay movement is part of its story too,” reflects Julian.
After more than a decade, the relationship between John and Craig—who had worked together running and expanding the Belvedere during their time as a couple—eventually led to an acrimonious separation in the mid-90s that Julian recalls was sensationalized by the media. “They had the first big gay divorce. It was on Court TV and in The National Enquirer. The tabloids framed it as Daddy Warbucks versus this twink who was trying to steal his money. It was a big scandal back then.” They would eventually reconcile, but the dynamics of the relationship shifted, with Craig caring for John in his later years as a son.
A scenic artist and set designer who worked for opera companies, Broadway productions, ABC and CBS, as well as producing high-end window displays for New York City department stores with his company On Display, John Eberhardt first visited Cherry Grove in 1949 and was immediately smitten. He quickly built himself the far more modest original Belvedere as a summer home. A self-taught architect and carpenter, he went on to build and sell over 50 properties in Cherry Grove.
In 1957, he began constructing the Belevdere on its current site with the intention of it being his own personal residence on the island, laboring with no electricity to power tools and the help of only three others, including his then partner Joe Fiorentino. The building was erected over the course of the summer, with a reported budget of $6,000. Over the years, John would go on to channel his creativity and artistry into the building, embellishing almost every surface with extravagant detail, painting columns and furniture, and elaborate murals on walls and ceilings.
According to John himself—writing in a 1960s newspaper article archived by the Fire Island Pines Historical Society—it was “a house built for one reason – pleasure.” He goes on to describe the Belvedere as “the campiest house on the island. It’s certainly the most unusual; perhaps too much so for some people. But we entertain like mad, and it’s perfect for that. I find the style much better than modern; it’s free, relaxed, expansive, elegant in its own way, but mad. It’s a kick to live in – here a few leaks, there a bust from God knows where. Actually, it’s put together with bits and pieces, walls and doors, chandeliers and statues from all over. A lot of the things we picked up from the old pleasure palaces in Newport, like the John Jacob Astor home. If Belvedere does have a model, it’s very definitely the classic Palladian country house.”
When the Belvedere was first erected Fire Islanders were bemused. “They were saying how crazy this person was to build such a huge place because at that time people didn’t build big houses out here”, Julian notes. “They were all two or perhaps three-room summer cottages. Later, they did start to build bigger properties, but no one was back then so this was the largest thing out here. They thought John was an old kook and they made up stories about him and how he used to collect all this junk from everywhere and bring it over here.”
“Part of that is true though”, continues Julian. “In the 50s, all the old mansions in Northport on the North Shore over on Long Island were being demolished and John had the wherewithal and the knowledge to go through and salvage what was being discarded. A lot of the things you see here are relics from all those estates. Some things he bought, but he also did a lot of dumpster diving. Some of the doors we still have are eight or nine foot high solid mahogany from the old Harry Sinclair estate. Sinclair was something like 7 foot tall and so the door handles are up high. Our front doors came from another Northport estate where they were being thrown out, as do some of the columns. Some of those columns are being replaced right now because the salt air isn’t good for them, but for the most part they’ve lasted this long. There are also mirrors from Mae West’s Manhattan townhouse. We have a lot of good relics here.”
In a 2017 interview with Apartmento magazine, Craig offered a colourful analogy for the Belvedere’s heightened style. “Think of it this way, most drag queens don’t seriously try to look like a real woman. They take liberties to create a woman who is way over the top. The Belvedere is an oversized beach house in Palazzo drag.”
With the Grove’s only hotel, along with many private residences, destroyed by fire in 1956, John soon opened the doors of his palatial home and it evolved into a guesthouse. “There was no place for anyone to stay out here”, Craig explained in the same 2017 interview, “so he rearranged the building plans and made several of the guest rooms open out onto the front porch so that he could rent them out. That fire turned the Belvedere into a guesthouse and it all started with just six guest rooms.”
From 1979, Craig and John added three wings, expanding the property from nine rooms to over thirty, giving each guest room a style of its own. “Every room is unique”, explains Julian. “Each has its own theme, from a basic room like the Blue Room to a luxury one like the Oak Room, made with hand-carved linen fold oak panels brought over from an estate that had burnt down in England. You can still see the char marks on the oak and on really humid days you can actually smell the smoke in it. We have the Sunrise and Sunset rooms with gorgeous bay views. The Eagle Room on the second floor is an economy room but it’s one of my favorites because it has such incredible views of the bay too. The Rotunda Room is pretty spectacular. It has a big dome above the bed. It’s special because you feel like you’re waking up in a chapel or some foreign country. All the rooms transport you somewhere, that was John’s vision.”
As for his favorite spot in the building, Julian says its his bedroom. “I can close my door and hopefully not let the rest of in.”
Eventually, Julian and Craig took over the running of the Belvedere as a couple in 2005, but they initially found it in a state of severe disrepair. “When I first came to Belvedere, it was after Craig had been away from it for 10 years, and this beautiful place was kind of like Grey Gardens. Walking the decks, especially on the bayside, was like riding a rollercoaster. The statues would wave at you and when you tried to open a window the glass would fall out. It was really bad. The lights would go out in the middle of the weekend. All of a sudden, you’d get a short someplace and you’d have to go find it. Craig and I rebuilt the place from the inside out and I continue to the same now.”
Over the years, the Belvedere has been battered by extreme weather, with 1985’s Hurricane Gloria toppling the onion-domed tower. Given its location, even its everyday upkeep is a perpetual task. “We’re always painting, always renovating”, shares Julian. “There’s always something to do. It’s just about being motivated to do it and knowing where to start sometimes. You have water all around you, 360 degrees; from the ground, to the air, to each side of you.” When it comes to improvements Julian always has the building’s heritage in mind. “It’s about keeping things the same because we want to honor its history. We want to modernize things where we can while keeping the same type of camp and kitsch feeling. If you try to take it seriously, you’re not going to enjoy yourself here. But if you take it for what it is, with the Trompe-l’œil and the frescos, and the fact that this was what the gays back in the 50s were doing, then there is definitely a lot to relish and have fun with here. I’m so blessed to be part of it. I feel very fortunate.”
One of the most beautiful spaces in the building, that also celebrates that camp and kitsch aesthetic, lives up to its name, the Grand Salon. It is a vast room that apparently inspired part of the interior of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion attraction. “If you walk in from the pool area and come in sideways to the Grand Salon you see the bust and the mirror behind it. On the Haunted Mansion you see the ghosts flying around the chandeliers, the piano playing in the corner, and antique furniture including a semi-circular couch and similar dimension windows. The decor and layout is strikingly similar. It’s all in there and John has had the room arranged that way since 1957 and the Haunted Mansion opened in 1969. We believe that one of the architects who worked for Disney stayed here in the 60s, saw the room and copied it.”
It was during the early onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis, back when it was being referred to as Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID), that the Belvedere became men-only, as Julian explains. “When there was no real knowledge about transmission, some women staying here were concerned about sleeping in a room that a person who was positive had just been in or having to share a bathroom with somebody who might be positive. There were no private bathrooms back then. So John and Craig made the decision to make it men only and it’s stayed that way for over forty years now.”
“Anyone who self-identifies as a man is welcome here”, shares Julian. “Trans men are always welcome and if trans women feel comfortable staying here, they should come too. We’ve always had trans women stay here and now we see a lot more trans men staying with us.” There is also a trans-inclusive, women-only guesthouse in Cherry Grove, Wisteria, which lies directly opposite the Belvedere on Bayview Walk.
Julian admits that he has encountered a lot of preconceptions about Fire Island from people who have never visited or don’t know it well. “It’s an amazing place. If you come here with the right attitude, the right vibe, then the island is open to you. You can come here and make it what you want to make it. You have the gamut open to you. It can be a debaucherous place if you want it to be, or it can be the most zen, peaceful, amazingly spiritual experience that you want. The Meat Rack—the wooded dunes that run between the Grove and the Pines—is a spiritual place, literally, because there are a lot of spirits there. A lot of people in the 80s had their ashes scattered there. At the Belvedere chapel we have about half a dozen boys who asked John and Craig to put their ashes there and we continue to have people make that request.”
People also make assumptions about the Belvedere itself, but Julian says it’s up to visitors to choose their boys’ own adventure. “It’s men only and clothing optional so folks have their own ideas about the place and I let them think that way, but it’s just a guesthouse. What boys do in their spare time is up to them.” The building provides plenty of spaces for fellow guests to meet, including a small but well-equipped outdoor gym, hot tub, pool, upper deck with loungers, a tree-lined courtyard, and a TV and games room in the turret with spectacular sunset views.
Continuing its creator’s tradition of hosting legendary parties, during peak season there are casual cheese and wine gatherings for guests to mingle either in the Grand Salon or poolside. In June, the Bear Ass Tea Pool Party takes place during Fire Island Bear Weekend, while September sees the guesthouse host both the annual Spartacus and Mr Nude Belvedere Pageant, organized by Daniel Nardicio, and the all-gender inclusive trans event, T4T Takeover.
As for the future of the Belvedere, it has been for sale since 2025. “It is on the market and that’s all it is”, Julian explains. “I think it’s good to keep my options open. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where I don’t need to sell, so I don’t need to take any low balls or take the wrong person. I’m very blessed to be in that position, but I’m also smart enough to know that there is going to be a time when I’m not going to be able to take good care of this place. For that reason, I would love to see it go to the right person. I wouldn’t have any say on what they do with it, but I would hope that they would understand the significance that this establishment has played in so many people’s lives over all these years.”
By James Kleinmann
Photography by Steven Mendendez, channeling the classic Venetian style that inspired John Eberhardt in creating Belvedere, featuring model and personal fitness coach Matty Pattison.
For current rates and to book a stay at Belvedere visit belvederefireisland.com.
