The story
Read it all →How Great Neck Plaza came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Great Neck Plaza.
The Village of Great Neck Plaza was incorporated on May 3, 1930.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Great Neck Plaza
Great Neck Plaza dates to 1930, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #723 of 758 in New York. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1940.
1930founded
2on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Great Neck Plaza began
When was Great Neck Plaza founded?
1930
Great Neck Plaza dates its founding to 1930 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.
First census: 2,031 in 19402020 census: 7,48296 years
How historic is Great Neck Plaza?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Great Neck Plaza’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Great Neck Plaza is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #723 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Great Neck Plaza’s overall grade.
Founding era1930, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194014.7% of homes (±4.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 5%
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Great Neck Plaza’s 4.0 sits below most of its state (31% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1930.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Great Neck Plaza’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Great Neck Plaza’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Great Neck Plaza’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Great Neck Plaza on the map, 1897 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Great Neck Plaza. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Oyster Bay sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Great Neck Plaza.
By decade
Great Neck Plaza, decade by decade
Date unknown2 to date
Date?
Date?Today6 recent
2024
2022
2022
2022
2022
2021Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewGreat Neck - Pt. Washington - Kesington - Sea Cliff - Plandome, Etc
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Great Neck Plaza’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 historic places in Great Neck Plaza
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Great Neck Plaza, census by census
Grew from 2,031 people in 1940 to 7,482 in 2020, 3 times over.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Great Neck Plaza’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Great Neck Plaza
Nobody well known was born in Great Neck Plaza itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Great Neck Plaza’s history
What year was Great Neck Plaza founded?
In 1930, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Great Neck Plaza’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1940 counted 2,031 people here.
How does Great Neck Plaza rank for history?
Great Neck Plaza is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #723 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Great Neck Plaza?
15% of Great Neck Plaza’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1960.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.