This is a visual tour of what Long Island's North Shore looked like at the turn-of-the-century through the 1930s. After World War II, the age of grand estates was over. Unlike other places on Earth, many of the homes were demolished. Nowadays, people think of Long Island as a cesspool of tract homes, overpopulation, overdevelopment, overtaxation, commercialism, corruption and a dangerous lack of conservation. Enjoy a peek at the past.
1899 Emmet Queen estate stables
Adelaide Brevoort Hutton estate (oldest daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post) 1928
"Abler House" built 1900
"Applegarth" for Charles Whitman Wetmore 1892, located on Centre Island
Bayberry Downs gates
Beacon Towers built by Alva Vanderbilt Belmont in 1917
Blythwood built in 1913
Braes Estate (and 3 images below)
"Broadhollow"
"Broadlawns"
Burrwood built in 1899
Burrwood was owned by the Director & Secretary of Standard Oil (owned by Rockefeller)
All that's left of Burrwood
Castlegould built in 1909 by Howard Gould
Castlegould stable
Cathedral of the Incarnation, built by Mrs. Alexander Stewart in Garden City in remembrance of her husband, who bought/planned the town. *To learn about Garden City, please use this link:
Stables of the Caumsett estate built in 1920 by Marshall Field III.
"Chateau Ivor" 1908, built for Charles Gould by John Russell Pope
The moat surrounding Benjamin Moore's estate, Chelsea
"Clayton" home to Childs Frick (son of Henry Clay Frick), now the Nassau County Museum
Deer Range Farm, 1884 on 400 acres
Deramore's driveway still from 1933
Dunstable 1903, owned by Winslow Pierce
Elmcroft
Erchless 1935 by Howard Phipps
Farleigh 1914
Falaise built in 1923 for Harry Guggenheim (and below)
Farnsworth interior
"Fort Hill House" built by short-lived firm McKim, Mead & Bigelow in 1878
Germelwyn built in 1896 for Leonard Busby
Harbor Hill 1899 by McKim, Mead & White (and below)
Hillwood estate, 1921 for Mary Merriweather Post
Hillwood stables & barn
Hoffstot Estate 1910
William Kissam Vanderbilt's Idle Hour Estate stable 1899
Indian Neck Hall 1897 (and its pipe organ, below)
Inisfada mansion
Recently, Inisfada was demolished by developers for tract homes, and none of the craftsmanship was salvaged!
built 1900
"Jericho Farm" built in 1906 for Middleton Burrill by John Russell Pope (and below)
Killenworth estate 1913 for George du Pont Pratt
Ruins from Knollwood estate
La Selva interiors (here and below)
Lauderdale built in 1900
Laurelton Hill owned by Louis Tiffany (and below)
What a lovely fantasy-world: indoor fountain, water views, gardens, enclosed bridges to other parts of the mansion...
And of course, stained glass windows!
What a lovely home and entertaining space, Laurelton was!
Linden Hill
Loewmoor interior 1896
"Longfields" built in 1910 for William Payne Thomas
"Manor House"
"Martin Hall" built in 1900
J.P Morgan's yacht, Corsair, leaving his estate (2 below), Matinecock (built 1913)
Mayhasit 1918
Meudon estate built in 1900 for William D. Gutherie (below)
Ruins of Meudon, after the house was demolished.
Mrs. W K Vanderbilt Jr.'s estate, "Jericho"
Muedon is seen on the right side of this aerial view of Lattingtown.
"Nirvana" built in 1900 for William Gould Brokaw
Oak Knoll 1916, which is currently for sale $12million
"Oak Point" circa 1926
Oheka Castle built by Otto Kahn in 1915
The last of 3 gatehouses leading to the mansion.
"Old Acres" designed in 1907 by John Russell Pope
Ormstron estate built in 1913 for John Aldred (and below)
Peacock Point 1914
Ruins from Pembroke Estate
Like Gatsby's dock, Pembroke's still points into the water
Pictures of Pembroke during its glory (above & below)
Pembroke was grand, indeed!
Planting Fields Arboretum (formerly Coe Hall) built in 1919 for William Coe
Coe Hall interior
Planting Fields stables & barn are grand, too.
Rosemary Farm built in 1907 with Olmsted Brothers' landscaping skills
Roslyn House
"Round Bush" estate given to JP Morgan's children
"Rumsey" designed by McKim, Mead & White in the 1920s
Rynwood built in 1927 for Sir Samuel Agar Salvage (& below)
Rynwood gatehouse (now used by Banfi Vineyards)
The dock at "Shadowlane" built in 1900 for Charles Proctor
Shoremond on Centre Island, built for Ormand Smith
"Spring Hill" interior circa 1903
Spring Hill in 1932 (notice the mansion behind it)
What remains of Spring Hill: its driveway and some ruins...
"Spring Hill" stables & barn, built 1903, still stand
St. Paul's Boys School (built in memory of Alexander Stewart, who built Garden City) is endangered due to development!
"Stonehouse" built in 1868 for Jacob Mould
"Templeton" built in 1916 for Alicia duPont (and 3 below)
"The Braes" estate is now the Webb Institute, but initially...
it stood alone, built 1912 for Herbert Pratt (and below)
The Chimneys
"Veraton" built in 1905 for Paul Cravath
"Waldene" designed for W.G. Oakman
"Haut Bois" for Walter Maynard
"West Neck Farms" built in 1912
"Westbrook" circa 1885 in its heyday
"Westbury House" (now called Old Westbury Gardens) built in 1905 for John Phipps' family.
These pictures show its many gates, entrances & gardens. What a magical place to explore! A former coworker of mine used to sneak onto the grounds and eventually got unofficial lessons from the tennis Pro that worked for Mr. Phipps.
Wheatley estate built in 1895 built by McKim, Mead & White for E.D. Morgan III.
Wheatley barn & clocktower, and postcard below
Winfield Hall, built in 1916 for Frank Winfield Woolworth
Winfield Hall as it is today (above & below)
Above is the Winfield estate.
Below is what Long Island has become, instead...
Click this link to see some more LI estates
So many pictures! Few comments/questions:
ReplyDelete1. I loved the comparison of black and white to the updated color, especially of the one where guests are in the dining table. You see how vibrant the fabrics are!
2. Does the color pictures of the homes mean they still exist or… :( ?
3. Are mostly all of these really gone? Are any of them still standing that can be repaired? It's such a shame.
Love your questions!
Delete1. Thanks for the appreciation. Haha, I didn't take the pictures, but I sought them out/selected them.
2. Most of the color pix are of existing homes, except for Inisfada, which was recently demolished :(
3. Yes, most are gone. It IS a shame, since they could've been reclaimed for other use/enjoyment. And they keep disappearing--as if Long Island really needs MORE tract housing.
such a pity.
ReplyDeletegatsby would have felt right at home in many of those properties.
Thanks Daniel! Yes, he would've. In fact, F. Scott used an amalgamation of estates (that he really did socialize at) to inspire Gatsby's home: Oheka and Beacon Towers (which the recent movie mimics perfectly).
DeleteI really liked your pictures of Vernon Lake! So majestic: perfect for camping! :)
We really need to save these historic structures. We need to band together and stop the destruction before it's too late. Please everybody help in any way you can. Thank you.
ReplyDelete