Monday, February 16, 2009

Westbrook

'Westbrook' was built for William Bayard Cutting in Oakdale c. 1885 by Charles Haight. Cutting amassed more than 900 acres, with the house situated by the Connetquot River and had the Olmsted Brothers do immense landscaping throughout the estate. This is the only estate on Long Island with landscaping that dates to the time of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. In 1937, 200 acres were deeded to the State of New York at which point the property became an arboretum. Since then it has increased in size to over 600 acres. Click HERE to see 'Westbrook', now known as the Bayard Cutting Arboretum on google earth.



Click below to see 'Westbrook' in a 1954 aerial shot.

2 comments:

Andrew Cronson said...

For the record, the second photo is actually of Marjorie Post's "Hillwood" in Brookville. It is depicting the solarium as viewed from within the brick walled garden by Marian Kruger Coffin. Though it is unique because few photos exist before the two statues in the middle were smashed likely in the 50's.

Maggie Lidz said...

Thank you for posting! Iris Origo wrote about this house, owned by her grandparents, in her memoirs, Images & Shadows.