Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The J. Randolph Robinson Estate

The J. Randolph Robinson estate designed by John Russell Pope c. 1917 in the Wheatley Hills (now the cusp of Old Westbury and Brookville). The home is now part of LIU's C.W. Post campus. Click HERE for more on the Robinson estate.


5 comments:

Kellsboro Jack said...

While I can understand the need for institutional buildings to be more practical and utilitarian in nature this is a simply a drab, lifeless structure today.

I'm sure JRS has been spinning in his grave seeing it so devoid of character today. Dare I ask if the clapboard has been replaced with vinyl siding?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Oh dear. It is a constant source of bewilderment to me that colleges are such poor stewards of historic buildings. It is not as if there isn't plenty of good precedent to follow or talent to hire to do it right....this is too bad...and Hillwood yesterday was looking none too good either...

lil' gay boy said...

As much as I agree with the sentiments of both Jack and D.E.D., I have to approach the topic with the "glass half full"; i.e. bad stewardship is better than none at all, and holds out the slim hope that in the distant future a complete & faithful restoration can be accomplished, should the stars so align.

Hillwood has seen far worse days, but despite budgetary restraints and lack of initiative, it still has an evocative quality time & neglect cannot fully erase ––– not to mention the undeniable charm of Dina Merrill's doll house.

I also want to point out that, despite the furor with regards to the columns, their simplicity & scale lend the façade an almost Mount Vernon-esque honesty to the composition; they strike me as wholly appropriate here, with none of the negative "Tara" associations one could easily draw.

Security word - traclo: a subterranean hippodrome.

Liman said...

I took classes in that building in around 1980. It had been reconfigured to classrooms, but still had hints of the Gold Coast. The basement was a photography lab. It was cool to come to school (at night) and drive to the back of that fantastic campus to this building with very few students around.

Turner Pack Rats said...

and, as usual, i love what they've done with the landscaping. green and lush is soo prosaic. i think the dead and lifeless look must be making a comeback. maybe they could add some of the biker clubs animal skulls.- perhaps a few tumbleweeds.
and that institutional wing on the right adds that certain nothing. for DED's sake, i sure hope those are plastic shutters.

security word def - "stshe" - LIU's parochial school for girls