Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Mary Harriman Rumsey Estate

The Mary Harriman Rumsey estate designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White c. 1929 in Sands Point. After the death of her husband C.C. Rumsey in 1922, Mary moved out of their F. Burrall Hoffman designed house in Brookville for this house. Click HERE for more on the first Rumsey residence. This house, along with 5+ acres and 325+ feet of waterfront is currently for sale for $9,900,000, click HERE to see the listing via Daniel Gale / Sotheby's. Click HERE to see the Mary H. Rumsey estate on google earth. Listing photo from Daniel Gale / Sotheby's.





11 comments:

magnus said...

Great house- wish there were more photos.

And for you history buffs- look at the brokers. And yes they are- Grandchildren of.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Damn. No photos of the interior. How mean of the brokers. Interesting house.

One assumes that the columned area was once an open loggia before the ugly but probably necessary addition of the screens.

I have never happened to have a mortgage, so needless to say, I'm contemplating the 47,000 a month mortgage payments with a certain sucking of breath...

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

And no mention on the Mizner designe tennis house -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8644586&lon=-73.7254715&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/4081476/Addison-Mizner-Designed-Tennis-House

OR the McKim, Mead & White garage(???) -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8644586&lon=-73.7254715&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/4080252/McKim-Mead-White-Designed-Garage

Kellsboro Jack said...

The property interestingly has much in common with her father's estate "Arden House". It too is now on the market, although the buyers largely need to be a non-for profit organization:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409210070176040.html

An interesting woman who was far different then her debutant peers of the era. My wife is a member of The Junior League (co-founded by Mrs. Rumsey) and the organization continues to do far more good then most people give them credit for.

Her property 'Grasslands' in Middleburg, Virginia was recently marketed (and sold) but the listing still can bee seen here:

http://www.middleburgcountryproperties.com/properties/grasslands/index.html

It was while at that property that she took a severe spill during a fox hunt which led to (aside from broken bones) infection and pneumonia. She died about one month after the fall.

Interesting side note is that she bid for the Washington Post with Averell and Vincent Astor, but they under bid to Eugene Meyer and the rest is history.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


+++++++++SPOILER ALERT+++++++++++++



Tidbits from the first review on HBO's production of Mildred Pierce staring Winfield Hall.



Director has gone back to the novel, which doesn't include the pivotal murder that sends original film into a sustained flashback. This Mildred Pierce takes its time establishing the particulars of a period{The Depression} and place{middle-class suburb of LA}, so that the viewer better understands what makes Mildred tick. You feel the economic crunch that propels Mildred into her own business, and the desperately unrequited love for daughter Veda. One thing that hasn't changed - the word to described Veda - remorseless. Issues of class snobbery and status anxiety are front and center. It is also more eroticized. When it comes to her career, she is a lusty pragmatist when it comes to the bedroom. No mention of WH but goes goes on to say for all the voluptuousness of its period detail{yeah}, this is in many ways a grittier version than the Crawford film.

Kellsboro Jack said...

HPHS, I'm sure you've already seen it but a 1994 video of Winfield Hall (3 parts; all on youtube):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xgJHbOEZS4

The Ancient said...

LI property taxes are demented.

Taxes: 145000.00

(Hmmm. Maybe some brave soul will set up a Facebook page to rally public demonstrations against the spending habits of the county governments. What fun it would be to see county executives forced to flee and seek asylum somewhere else -- like New Jersey.)

P.S. Mary Rumsey was a very impressive woman:

http://www.anglicanexaminer.com/Rumsey.html

Anonymous said...

Believe me, I used to work for Nassau County and you wouldn't believe the waste....we could be living much better if not for all the bull that goes on!

Anonymous said...

Kellsboro Jack, I though the same thing about this house. It reminds me of Edward Harriman's place in the Hudson Highlands. My grandparents lived at Arden and my father was born there- not in the big house of course. Dad always spoke glowingly of Mary Harriman. Aactually he spoke glowingly of all the Harrimans, with the exception of Pamela Harriman, who he referred to as "that spider."

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Kellsboro Jack - I uploaded the first two videos after getting permission from the widow of Bob Ghent via the Glen Cove Library. The 3rd I put to together using all readily available photos.

In case you missed this one. Fashion shoot filmed at Winfield Hall -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah8Fk3nfzeQ

Ray Spinzia said...

In response to Magnus re real estate brokers . . .

Arthur Brisbane had two residences on Long Island that I am aware of. His East Meadow house, located at Newbridge Road and Hempstead Turnpike, was demolished in 1946 for a housing development. His Montauk residence on De Forest Road, designed by McKim, Mead, and White in 1883, still exists.