Friday, October 22, 2010

'Wheatly'

'Wheatly', the E.D. Morgan III estate designed by McKim, Mead & White between 1890 and 1900 in the Wheatley Hills (now Old Westbury). Click HERE to see the brochure from when 'Wheatly' was for sale and click HERE to see the remains on 'Wheatly' on google earth. Click HERE to see what 'Wheatly' looks like today.




21 comments:

TinaL said...

Does anyone know who lived there through the years? Did it become a school? What is it like now?

The Down East Dilettante said...

This place had such a fantastical air...pity it missed the age of mansion condo conversion, which probably would have saved it...

lil' gay boy said...

Although it surviving intact was always unlikely, individual parts do remain in separate residences on the site, including the chapel.

But oh how it must have been in its heyday; my understanding is that one could see all the way to the ocean from the site.

Security word - comytro: a Russian subway.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

If you navigate back to earlier posts on Wheatly a Katharine Bacon Perkins states her mother spent her youth at the estate and is in possession of photos. Those photos and her stories would make a great addition to oldlongisland.com. Katharine???

I would appreciate any help in identifying a property that someone has tagged at wikimapia. Cornelius Bliss Estate just north of Wheatly. Property lines are correct per Historic Map Works. SPLIA and Spinzia both state original house partly extant. Description of house differs - SPLIA says house was a sprawling shingled structure with hints of a French country chateau with a high-hipped roof - Spinzia says Georgian Revival. Architect was William Wells Bosworth I was able to find original farm complex to estate but not the remains of the house. Further there is a home that was carved out of the property listed with the name of Elizabeth Bliss Parkinson, perhaps a daughter of Bliss's. It bears a resemblance to Bosworth's own home in Matinecock Old Trees - check the mynas link for photos for comparison. After C. Bliss's death in 1949 wife married Anson Conger Goodyear and moved here - check the Washington Post link for more on the house. Does anyone have any insight into this?
Weekend trivia question - What architects "Place" has a connection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art? Further hints over the weekend.

Anonymous said...

HPHS- I grew up on the remains of this estate ( on Woodedge lane). I am impressed at your detective work. The house is still partially there. and the other house was for Bliss' daughter as a wedding present. When I get home from work today, I will attempt to write more.

ChipSF said...

LGB -
It seems possible that the ocean was visible. In 1985 or 86 I went with an elderly relative to visit Mrs. Archer Morgan (daugter-in-law of E.D. Morgan). She was living then high in the hills above Santa Cruz overlooking the Pacific Ocean and was quite elderly (or at least I thought so. As we talked about her view she mentioned that her father-in-law had a house "at the very top of Long Island and you could see for miles all around" I can't remember if she mentioned seeing the Atlantic but it seems possible in the context of the conversation.

Zach L. said...

Chip,

Absolutely, you could see the Atlantic when looking South and the Sound when looking North. This was confirmed by Cynthia Phipps to the developer of Spring Hill before she passed away a few years ago. And if this were possible at Spring Hill it was definitely possible at Wheatly as it sat on a hill that was slightly higher.

TinaL said...

This website is so enjoyable and makes me miss Long Island even more. I grew up very close to Wheatly and find this so complex so interesting I would hop in my car right now and drive by if I could! Although it makes me homesick thank you for a great site Zach!

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Anonymous October 22, 2010 4:47 PM Thanks for the reply. What ever you can add...

Weekend trivia question - What architects "Place" has a connection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Can you see
de Forest for the trees?

Anonymous said...

HPHS,
yes, the Bosworth house does look a lot like Bliss' daughter's home. The Bliss home partially stands with an entrance off of Wheatley road. Growing up there, I remember the original farmhouse's and greenhouse's and chicken coop's, all accesible off of Farmstead lane. There was a big man made pond with an island that you can still see off of Farmstead lane. Near that was the original tennis court, whuich you may still be able to see on bing. The original garages still stand and there was a huge bomb shelter buried in the woods too.
Apprently Mrs. Bliss Parkinson only died a few years back. When my parents first moved there in the early 50's, the hunt used to go thru our back yard on an old bridle path.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Not that I would want to kill a fox - thats a very cool piece of history! Is it conjecture on my part that the Parkinson place could have been a Bosworth design? It seems to coincidental to have the parents home by him and the similar design to his own home. However why would SPLIA not know or write about it? He would have been in France involved with the restoration of Versailles. Perhaps he did it as a favor to the Bliss's. Have you seen it up close to say it qualifies as a LIGC mansion?

The Down East Dilettante said...

For what it's worth, Mrs. Bliss's sister, Elsie Cobb Wilson, was one of the most fashionable decorators of her day, and it is not at all far fetched to assume that she probably had a role in the choice of architect, whomever it was, and on the design itself, as she did all of her sister's much published interiors

The Down East Dilettante said...

For what it's worth, Mrs. Bliss's sister, Elsie Cobb Wilson, was one of the most fashionable decorators of her day, and it is not at all far fetched to assume that she probably had a role in the choice of architect, whomever it was, and on the design itself, as she did all of her sister's much published interiors

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

I was able to secure a new book{April 2010} The great Lady Decorators : the women who defined interior design, 1870-1955 / Adam Lewi that has something on Wilson. Maybe some clues can be found. DED do you have posts on her? "sister's much published interiors" Are you saying the house in question has been featured in print?

Beautiful but sad looking photos of Lands End

Trivia answer

Anonymous said...

LANDS END

Not sure why people aren't more outraged about Lands End. The house was in good enough shape that Brodsky planned on living there when he purchased it. His own studies estimated cost at $2.5 millon to bring it to "modern " standards. All involved government agencies acknowledged house was historic and Register eligible. Property is surrounded by wetlands and parkland that hosts a wide variety of wildlife. Yet, we have an applicant who overpays for the property, neglects it, makes a half hearted effort to sell at an even more ridiculous price and then gets approval via the village and the DEC to destroy it because there is not a feasible and practical way of saving it. Legally wrong, morally wrong and downright disgusting. Most of us on this site express amazement at how unenlightened, regarding preservation, the North Shore used to be.
Well, here we are.

Signed,
Arghhhhhhhhhhhh

Anonymous said...

DED, all I know is that the home built for Cornelius Bliss' daughter ( which used to be located at the end of Woodedge lane and is now accessed via Farmstead lane, in Brookville ) looks a lot like Bosworth's own home. For whatever reason. HPHS, My limited architectural vocabulary would call that house a maisonette. Elegant, on the smaller side. It was sold in the early 80's with 17 acres.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Inspiration perhaps from when Bosworth was in France.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Who was Mr. Parkinson???

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

First name for Mr. Parkinson?

Watercolorgirl said...

Hi everybody..I too grew up on Farmstead lane,as my folks built their home in 1956. We had the fox hunts in our back woods, Mrs. Bliss' Bird Sanctuary in the back woods as well, and the dog kennels for all the Bliss dogs next door.My mom knew the Gardener( Mr. Mclellan) and the groomsman( Mr. Buckham) who still lived in homes on the estate when Mrs. Bliss sold it, and bequeathed them homes for life. Our house had her apple orchards on the property, and her famed japanese maple across the street...which she had picked up in Japan on her visit there...My step father lived in what were the original stables, and the (abandoned) tennis courts were just across the street. The entire estate was unbelievably beautiful, and magical. I am so blessed to have been witness to such a magnificent stomping ground!

Watercolorgirl said...

Elizabeth Bliss Parkinson Cobb