Monday, June 21, 2010
'Orchard Hill'
'Orchard Hill', the Peggie Phipps Boegner residence in Old Westbury. The home is an enlarged 19th century farmhouse. Mrs. Boegner, daughter of John S. Phipps, is responsible for the creation of Old Westbury Gardens and 'Orchard Hill' was her private residence until Nassau County purchased it in 2007 following her death and gave it to Old Westbury Gardens to be included in their property. It is currently used for private events. Click HERE to see where 'Orchard Hill' stands on google earth.
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6 comments:
While true architectural buffs will, I'm sure, cringe, I think that Orchard Hill has enormous charm. The interior is a confusing warren of rooms and the whole has the effect of a good builder under Mrs. Boegner's direction (pronounced "Bergner", by the way), adding on a room here and there as she needed it, as opposed to a good architect rethinking the whole thing. Nevertheless, in its own way, it is WASP country house perfection. And we can't forget that it was Mrs. Boegner's forsight that saved Old Westbury gardens. She is owed a debt of gratitude by every resident of New York State. And the North Shore Land Alliance which is doing so much to protect endangered properties in Nassau County that spearheaded the acquisition of Orchard Hill.
Hey, I'm a true architecture buff, and I find the whole affair completely charming. One so rarely sees an pleasant old house remodeled with as gentle a hand anymore, in this age that everyone needs a great room and granite countertop
And DED- as usual, you've hit on it precicely: A pleasant old house. I can't think of a nicer- or more apt description.
A house doesn't have to be completely "designed" by an architect to be beautiful and this is an excellent example of that. Not to mention who wouldn't love to grown up at Westbury House and then move off to your own beautiful abode just across the garden and through the trees!
It is a pleasant old house. And it is not just residents of New York state that owe her a debt of gratitude- we all do; from all over!
we need a hundred more just like her to preserve whats left. even as an anti - neocol, i find this to be a comfortable rendition. i like add on houses that grew as needed - more organic. she also seems to have had the same addiction as my grandmother - vines. we have a pic of my place taken in the 40's and the entire house is almost engulfed in some kind of vine. this place is a good example of "as needed" architecture. when my grandparents started having kids, they sawed off the roof, jacked it up and built another story in. what was a charming cape is now an overbearing federal - oh well - yankee craftsmanship (?) at its best.
great pix btw zach. kudos as usual
security word def - "ledauci" - old sicilian word referring to the viewing of the woman with the swan - pronounced leda - you - see
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