31 Cliff Road
Built 1886; razed 1972
The Sea Cliff Inn, designed by architect Robert H. Slade and built by Charles H. Robinson, towered over the cliff on North Street (changed to Cliff Road after the inn was built) during the heyday of Nantucket’s grand hotels. Described by Clay Lancaster as “an irregular pile in the Queen Anne style,” the Sea Cliff Inn represented the first use of the style in an island hostelry. A pavilion was added in 1892, and the inn’s two adjoining buildings were connected by an enclosed skyway. The well-situated inn was just minutes from the pleasure of sea bathing at the Jetties and Cliff Shore beaches.
P10015
P21338
