Tuesday, May 3, 2011

'Deepdale'

'Deepdale', the William K. Vanderbilt Jr. estate designed by Horace Trumbauer c. 1902 in Great Neck. These pictures show the house before the Carrere & Hastings alterations which can be seen in the sale brochure HERE. Click HERE for more on 'Deepdale'. Click HERE to see 'Deepdale' on google earth and HERE on bing.




Pictures from American Homes & Gardens, 1906.

29 comments:

magnus said...

What an odd and un-Trumbaueresque house. It's hard to believe that it was all conceived and built in one go. Even the gardens seem out of scale and out of character with the almost Colonial main block of the house. And where did those wings and "glazed corridor" at the entrance front come from? They look to me like an awkward attempt to solve for something, which clearly would not be the case if Trumbauer was designing "from scratch". Much improved by the Carrere and Hastings alterations, to my mind at least.

Anonymous said...

Is Deepdale a private residence once again?

magnus said...

Anon: No, it's the clubhouse for a very swish private golf club of the same name. There was a big "to do" several years ago when the town fathers threatened to condemn it for use as a municipal course. There was a justifiable outcry against the attempted use of the government's right of emminent domain for such a purpose, and plans were dropped.

Doug Floor Plan said...

I agree with Magnus about this not looking like Trumbauer’s work at all; it makes you wonder what Virginia [Graham Fair] & William K. Vanderbilt Jr. told Trumbauer they wanted in 1902 … & what they actually wanted. Zach, how long it was until Carrere & Hastings were brought in to enlarge the house (which, of course, was then reduced in size in 1931) & make it not look like, as Magnus said, “an awkward attempt to solve for something”?

Magnus, I’m sure you’re correct but looking at the Bing view it’s difficult to see how this house is the clubhouse for a golf club – I assume you mean the nearby Lake Success Golf Club? I wish I belonged to the Lake Success Golf Club … I’m sure nothing bad ever happens to any of its members.

magnus said...

DFP- I thought that it was the clubhouse for the Deepdale golf club-

magnus said...

The more I look at these photos, the more I wonder: There was a huge Colonial Revival movement in the early years of the last century. When WK, Jr. bought Deepdale, was there a Colonial Farmhouse on the property? And was Trumbauer given the unenviable task of building around the relatively modest structure to incorporate the ballrooms, billiard rooms, guest rooms servants' rooms and labyrinth of service rooms that a Vanderbilt of that era would have required?

Zach: Do you know?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Oh, I think Trumbauer had plenty of bad days---some of his earlier stuff is just awkward and heavy----the real design sleekness coincides almost exactly with Julian Abele joining the firm---which makes sense---Abele's Beaux arts training and first hand knowledge helped give Trumbauer's natural instincts form and editing.

And yes indeedy, Deepdale is an odd place----those glazed corridors put this reader to mind of a sanitarium.

The Down East Dilettante said...

I remember, somewhere, years ago, seeing a photo of a Deepdale interior when the WKVs Junior were early in occupancy. It was pure Elsie de Wolfe style French, its relative opulence at complete odds with the exterior, also with ceilings too low.

Doug Floor Plan said...

I was comparing the “When ‘Deepdale’ Was For Sale” brochure to the Bing views & realized the entrance & back sides of this house have been flipped. If I’m looking at this correctly the original front door faced Lake Success & had the Palladian window over it (which is now on the back side of the house) while the garden side was given the columned portico in the Carrere & Hastings remodel & now appears to be the entrance side. It probably doesn’t matter much to the function of the house & I suspect was a by-product of subdividing the property & losing the lake view. At least the house still stands.

Zach L. said...

Some interiors will come tomorrow. Magnus...I'm not entirely sure...will check when I get home.

Anonymous said...

Deepdale Golf's current clubhouse was W.R Grace's house. Original Deepdale Club is now Lake Success Club.

NSP

lil' gay boy said...

As I recall, the Vanderbilt complex known as Deepdale resembled the layout of Wheatley somewhat, with its galleries & enclosed courtyard. At the time of construction, it apparently had an enviable vista of Lake Success, too.

I'm searching my photo database for my next endeavor (both period & modern architecture, FLLW a particular weakness). Any suggestions/requests? This unemployed lil' gay boy needs to keep busy...

Security word - gahsphs: the German audiences' initial response to the premier of Lohengrin.

Anonymous said...

LGB- do you write a blog? If not, you should!

Anonymous said...

LGB....do you have Lynnewood Hall in your database?

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Heres the story on how the golf course acquired the Grace estate and moved across the frwy -

http://www.deepdalegolfclub.com/history.htm

Unless your a member you don't get much from the Lake Success site -

http://www.villageoflakesuccess.com/golf/old/index_old.html

What I have found is Vanderbilt's original private clubhouse has been incorporated into a new community building. -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7657499&lon=-73.7085119&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/19748410/Lake-Success-Community-Building

New photo links for "Deepdale"

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7657499&lon=-73.7085119&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/13380412/Deepdale

Marked for deletion from wikimapia -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.765754&lon=-73.7085199&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/15879093/Deepdale-Guest-Lodge-site

Story about Vanderbilt selling property -

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0913FF3E5E11738DDDA80994DC405B878DF1D3

Vanderbilt had built a Naval Reserve Training center that now houses Police and a village park -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7675254&lon=-73.707726&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/19748373/Vanderbilt-Field-Village-Park

Also marked for deletion Vanderbilt's parkway bridge -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7599844&lon=-73.7081659&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/15879205/LIMP-Long-Island-Motor-Parkway-Bridge-former

Inspiration for estate owners in coming up with a name for home -

http://www.archive.org/stream/bookofinscriptio00matsrich#page/n7/mode/2up

Anonymous said...

Zach...nothing to do with OLD LONG ISLAND...but with your NEW YORK site...do you know what mansion this could be from the movie "Godspell"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTyBmSwpE64&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Sorry go to 4:40...that'll take you to the mansion I'm talking about.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Anon 10:44pm – the mansion used for the ‘Godspell’ clip you linked to is the Andrew Carnegie mansion at 2 East 91st street in NYC. The building is now the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; see http://www.cooperhewitt.org/; it is open for tours.

The Down East Dilettante said...

My name isn't Zach, but since I happen to recognize it, I'll raise my hand. It's the Andrew Carnegie mansion, now the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, on E. 91st & Fifth.

Turner Pack Rats said...

well, DED, if that's a sanitorium, commit me. I like those long snaky wings - plenty of room to roam around in unlike now where that poor place is so hemmed in if somebody sneezes, 300 people say Gesundheit. this is one of those houses that i'm glad it survived but they should have put it somewhere else or sold two less house lots around it.

another example of architects doing their best work after they were long dead i.e. one of HPHS writeups say the "mansion was converted in 1954 by Horace Trumbauer". Maybe there is life after death at least for famous architects.

security word def - "obilogr" - wan kenobe's brother who worked in the North woods with Paul Bunyan.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

"mansion was converted in 1954 by Horace Trumbauer". That can't be right. Which one?

Zach L. said...

HPHS where is that quote from? SPLIA and Spinzia both credit the original Deepdale to Trumbauer c. 1902.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

The quote was from TPR. "another example of architects doing their best work after they were long dead i.e. one of HPHS writeups say the "mansion was converted in 1954 by Horace Trumbauer". Maybe there is life after death at least for famous architects." My question was which tag/property? He wasn't referring to Deepdale.

Anonymous said...

Thank you DFP and DED.

Anonymous said...

I remember reading an article written when William K. Vanderbilt was in the beginning stages of building Deepdale-the estate. The house that became the mansion was originally built to house his grounds manager. Willie K. was undecided where to place his mansion, when he realized the best location was already occupied. The original house was then expanded upon rather than razed, probably because it was recently built and Willie K. seemed to be having cash flow problems. I'll try to find the article again.

Anonymous said...

Deepdale is now in private hands. Was purchased some years ago.

Anonymous said...

Yes .... the actual main house without the former wings is and has been a residence for some time.
I have had the priveledge to be a guest of the former owners many times over the years.

Anonymous said...

The original main house is a residence on West Cliff Dr.
It remains only but a small portion of what was the original Deepdale Estate.
W.R. Grace's house is the home that is the now the club house for Deepdale, that is referenced above.

Anonymous said...

Can you repost map links to the location of the main house? I'd love to see in Google Maps. I live in the area on Deepdale Avenue and knew about the meaning of the street name.