A close-up of one of the stone lions from 'Roslyn House', originally the Stanley Mortimer estate designed by James Brown Lord c. 1891 in what was then Roslyn. The estate was later owned by Francis P. Garvan and in 1924 the area became part of Old Westbury. Click HERE for more on 'Roslyn House'.
Friday, September 17, 2010
'Roslyn House' Stone Lion
A close-up of one of the stone lions from 'Roslyn House', originally the Stanley Mortimer estate designed by James Brown Lord c. 1891 in what was then Roslyn. The estate was later owned by Francis P. Garvan and in 1924 the area became part of Old Westbury. Click HERE for more on 'Roslyn House'.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I believe when this estate was broken up in the early 1970's my ex-husband pruchased two chairs at auction, which he told me were from the Garvan estate. These two chairs were in pieces and needed careful restoration which he completed, including doing a very complicated re-caning of the seats and chair backs. They are really beautiful and in the early style of a William & Mary type of chair. The two chairs do not match, and I don't know if they were period, or yery old reproductions. I still have them. They are truly beautiful.
I can remember being 8 or 10, riding in the school bus on Wheatley Rd. when Stone Arches was first developed and thinking the development was really out of place. Even back then, as a child, I had bad feeling toward development of the north shore. such is life.
If I had my "druthers", as Nana used to say, they would never have demolished Roslyn House; at least they preserved the chapel.
After seeing, over and over again, the fate that has befallen many North Shore estates, I must say the Stone Arches is one of the more successful developments. By retaining elements of the landscape architecture, large lots & a blend of architectural styles, it makes for a pleasant neighborhood to stroll through. Although I don't know if there is an HOA (or even more draconian measures) that might impose restrictions on the residents, it is, at least, a picturesque reuse of an undeniably beautiful property.
Country Estates, on the grounds of the fabulous Harbor Hill, was a less successful progenitor of the type. It is a sad, but undeniable fact that some of the great North Shore estates are simply not sustainable in the 21st century. So rather than a "scorched earth" approach taken by most developers, these developments come out on the far side as the lesser of two evils.
But still evil.
Security word –– meteri: a measure of approximately 3 feet in Rome.
You could not see the development of Stone Arches from Wheatley Road (only from Hastings, slighyly from Red Ground and off of Whitney, Garvan, Phipps)though I'm sure what you saw was equally disturbing. Country Estates was done in the early 60's when there was a post war housing boom and people (most) really didn't know any better. By the time Stone Arches was built many had become more enlightened. While it is nice that the bridge, Chapel and much garden ornament was saved they could have done much better. Look at Cherrywood(Piping Rock Rd, Locust Valley) or Whitefield (Hill Street, Southampton).
J
The gardens must have been wonderful. I attended an auction of gardens ornaments from the estate in the early 70's and was the only bidder to open the bidding on the first item, a dolphin pedestal. No one else raised my opening bid of $25.00 so I won and the rest of the auction was cancelled. My friends in Westbury remember camping with the cub scouts on the estate in the late 50's and remember the below ground level service roads. Are there any good photos of the gardens?
Post a Comment