Acquiring the land from the patentees of the village of Gravesend who owned it by suborning crooked town supervisor John McKane, Corbin was able to seize much of the undeveloped Manhattan for a pittance. Corbin quickly reneged on a promise to John McKane to hire his construction company and began building a resort and a railroad that lead right to it.

By building a single gauge railroad straight to the resort, Corbin believed he could make it an accessible and popular destination (as well as make money from the train tickets.)

The resort was named Manhattan Beach (a blatant attempt to secure the business of Manhattanites.) and the hotel followed in suit. The Manhattan Beach Hotel was a luxurious spot, designed by J Pickering Putnam it was four stories, with fine dining, bars, suites, and private bathrooms in each room. A bandstand greeted guests and bathing pavilions were set up to attend to all their needs. The beach itself was provisioned with lifeguards and lifelines, even lights for those who wished to bath at night.

Completed in 1877, the Manhattan Beach Hotel quickly became a hit with wealthy Wall Streeters and gilded age Robber Barons. Its grand opening om July 4th was overseen by former President Ulysses S. Grant. Soon it was all the rage to take the railroad Corbin had built out for quick weekend jaunts. But Corbin was not content with stopping with just one hotel, he began planning another one and came up with a creatively despicable marketing strategy.

Corbin, a rabid antisemite, announced the Oriental Hotel in the same press statement to a New York Daily Herald reporter in which he banned Jews from the resort in a bigoted diatribe. While the statement kicked up a fervor, it also made Corbin the talk of the town. Soon, everyone knew about his plans to open an even more expensive hotel in Manhattan Beach.

The Oriental Hotel (opening in 1880) was the height of modernity and opulence. With even more elegant rooms, higher cuisine, and amenities, The Oriental became the getaway of the very rich ( the Manhattan Beach Hotel being relegated to the vacation spot of the merely rich.) Prestigious social clubs would even have suites at The Oriental Hotel for their members to relax in.

The establishment of the Coney Island Jockey Club by New York's elite further bolstered the attendance of the Manhattan Beach Hotels. The area was becoming, as Corbin had imagined it would, fashionable, but more importantly, it was profitable.

Nor was Corbin going to wait for others to create entertainment. With bicycles become ever more popular, Corbin built a bicycle race track, garnering large crowds to both watch races and use the track.

Furthermore, Corbin hired virtuosos conductors like Sousa and Conterno, as well as showmen to stage elaborate shows. Even if Manhattan Beach could never drag the rich eternally from their estates in Newport or Saratoga, Corbin could keep the midclass crowds coming.

In 1896, Corbin, a consummate railroad man, met his end in a carriage accident. His resort still enormously successful at the time, Corbin hadn't lived to see it eclipsed by the opening of the amusement parks at Coney Island that would eventually drive Manhattan Beach from the social scene.

By the 1920s, both hotels had been demolished and Manhattan Beach's time as the vacation spot of note was over.