After a short period of this being an 'unknown', the always informative Bruce A. supplied the following: "It appears that Kensington was a "tony" development in Great Neck. The developer was one Charles E. Finlay and that his "estate" within Kensington was called "Bonnie Manse" the gardens of which are probably the subject of your second photo. My guess is your first photo is of the main gates of the development (it appears that there is a sidewalk within the gates)."Sure enough, the barely visible name on the second photo is that of C.E. Finlay.
3 comments:
Kensington's gate is still there on Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. There is a small police building (Kensington Village Police)behind it. Bonnie Manse is gone, a large apartment building sits there now.
Not quite correct. The Finlay "estate" was to the right of the gate. All that remains of it today is the carriage house which is now the Kensington Village Hall. To the left of the gate was another "estate." that of Finlay's real estate company partner, E. J. Rickert. The apartment complex is on the site of the former Rickert "estate." The photo dates from about 1912.
We lived in an English Tudor on Beverly Road during WW II. The neighbor in back of us, on Arleigh Rd., was a Japanese Diplomat. I played with his daughter every day and adored his lovely wife. The house across the street had a large Tennis Court. In 1941, I sat on the front lawn, playing with dolls, and heard the thwack thwack of tennis balls going back and forth, played by the two sons. The next year, they joined the service and the street was strangely quiet. I still have pictures of our time there. We spent our summers at the Kensington Pool and a beach at Saddle Rock.
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