Monday, January 3, 2011

The A. Conger Goodyear Estate

The A. Conger Goodyear estate designed by Edward Durrell Stone c. 1938 in Old Westbury. Goodyear was a founder and first president of the Museum of Modern Art and had been chairman of the original organizing committee founded to establish the museum. Goodyear was also an avid collector of books, letters and eventually modern art. During WWI he became a colonel and during WWII he was named a Major General and was commander of the Second Brigade of New York. Later during WWII he was a military observer stationed on Okinawa. A war correspondent quoted in his obituary called him "probably the oldest American on Okinawa" and that "he is also having the best time". Conger was 67 at the time. Goodyear died at his home in Old Westbury at the age of 86 in 1964. Click HERE to see the A. Conger Goodyear estate on google earth and HERE on bing. The house is currently for sale for $4,900,000, click HERE to see the listing on Daniel Gale / Sotheby's.





Listing photos from Daniel Gale / Sotheby's.

14 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

At least here's one that got saved. A few years ago, when it looked certain this place was going to be demolished, I kept thinking that if even one of the most iconic modernist houses is going to get demolished, at the height of the craze for retro modern, then what hope is there for any?

Have loved this place from childhood.

Anonymous said...

D.E.D. you are right,it is good to see one that deserves to survive, indeed survive. however before we celebrate this lucky victory the "bing" view shows just how close the tidal wave of banality came to washing away this beauty, we were lucky

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

The wikimapia tag has a link to the story of the house and its rescue and renovation. What a BOLD build in 1938!

The Down East Dilettante said...

The Museum of Modern Art puplished this house in a book which I can't find at the moment to give better information. The floor plans and site plans are real works of beauty.

An Aesthete's Lament said...

A friend of mine was trying desperately to buy that house when it was last on the market. Am very glad it was purchased by someone who understood its aesthetic value and didn't level it and build a McMansion. It is an amazingly high-quality of elegant modernism, the sort of house being saved today by the British National Trust. Would that more houses of its ilk were being saved on this side of the Atlantic.

Anonymous said...

There is information on his family as well as pictures of his father's house in Buffalo NY
http://www.buffaloah.com/a/del/888/hist/ella.html

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

An Aesthete's Lament - All links on the fate of "Villa Trianon" point to your older posts that no longer are available. Can you give any current insight into its status?

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=48.818604&lon=2.1174216&z=19&l=0&m=b&show=/18484335/Villa-Trianon

Speaking of British Modern with another twist of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=51.3966687&lon=-0.6476891&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/16464452/Charters

The Down East Dilettante said...

Aesthete's comment about the British saving and opening their modernist houses is a good one. We are such a hopeless country about some things...

The Down East Dilettante said...

You'd think I'd learn to post only once, after I've thought of everything, wouldn't ya? Turns out SPLIA has the vintage photos and plans of the Goodyear house on their website as well as a photo before restoration--wow:

http://www.splia.org/newsletter/fall2001/goodyearhouse.htm

lil' gay boy said...

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever..."

Anonymous said...

I don't care for this. The fact that this survives over the likes of Pembroke,Spring Hill, Harbor Hill, Beacon Towers, Burrwood, Knollwood, Peacock Point,...ect...This is one we could do without.

Turner Pack Rats said...

as much as i like the old monster houses, i am also a fan of FLW and more modernist stuff too and am really glad ms Zalenski got her degree at age 51. you go, girl! while its great that this was saved, it's beyond shocking to slide to the left on the google map to French House and compare the beauty of the google map to the sand pit of the bing map. i know i've posed the unanswerable question before but How could they destroy such incredible beauty - How? It's the part of this site I hate and sometimes makes me wish I'd never heard of it but then things like the conger house revive me a little.

security word def - "tratindo" -(archaic) little known Italian painting technique in which hummingbirds are dipped in gold paint and allowed to fly around the room until the walls are decorated

Anonymous said...

TPR...sorry, I can't find the sand pit your talking about....to the left?

Anonymous said...

I respect modernistic architecture, but it's not my taste. Too cold and uninviting, I want warmth, wood, paint colors, and plush furniture with a fire to cozy up to. This place stands out like a sore thumb, but then you can only imagine what people said about the first Victorian style homes as they filled in neighborhoods of Federal and Greek Revival homes! I'm glad this house was saved, it would have been a huge loss. I also like wikimapia, but I have no idea how to use it!!!! Went several rounds with the site before I went in the back door with the links posted.