Thursday, May 26, 2011

'Spring Hill' Stable in Spring

The stable to 'Spring Hill', originally the William L. Stow estate and later the Henry Carnegie Phipps estate in Old Westbury. Click HERE for more on 'Spring Hill'.

12 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

Lovely

Anonymous said...

Does anybody know what are the plans for the stables. I think they have been recently purchased as part of a site in the new Spring Hill development.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Of course just as I was stating under ‘Maple Knoll’ that Zach didn’t post anything new today … Zach posts something new today.

I also think the stables are well done – I like the contrast they offer to the formal manor house they once supported … which makes me regret (again) that ‘Spring Hill’ was demolished … it’s one of my favorites. Here are the stables on Bing: http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qsz72q8vyqpg&lvl=19.554399639732096&dir=351.74477764398733&sty=b&where1=Old%20Westbury%2C%20NY&q=Old%20Westbury%2C%20NY&form=LMLTCC

Because William L. Stow, a stockbroker built this house around 1905 I Googled him & this July 4, 1886, NYT article came up: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20616FE3B5410738DDDAD0894DF405B8684F0D3 Access to the article appears to be free & Stow is discussed in the second half. Stow reportedly rose from office boy to ‘one of the really popular young men on Wall-Street” & retired early in life to enjoy retirement. “Stow had good principals, he had no loud tastes, neither women nor wine were temptations to him” – at least he was tempted to build a country estate like ‘Spring Hill.’

Zach L. said...

The stables are currently owned by a family who keeps their horses there. They are safe from any kind of development.

DFP...Stow did not enjoy retirement...his firm went belly up in the panic of 1906 and he declared bankruptcy in 1908 (if memory serves me right)...which I assume is what led him to sell 'Spring Hill' only a few years after it was completed.

The Devoted Classicist said...

What an estate it was! Did J.R. Pope design the stables, too?

Zach L. said...

Devoted...

This article (link below) from 1908 makes mention to the fact there was a "fully equipped stable" and three greenhouses also on the property (still owned by Stow at this point)...and next to these stables are three greenhouses. So it is evident that the stables are original to the estate but there is nothing that says definitively that Pope designed them. This is a question I have been interested in answering for quite some time.

http://www.oldlongisland.com/2010/04/some-long-island-country-estates.html

James said...

Similarly, Church of The Advent by Pope in Westbury has a rector's house behind it. Was that designed by Pope also?

Zach L. said...

DFP... I'm not even sure Stow spent much time at 'Spring Hill' at all. Hal Phipps purchased the estate in July 1908 and took possession of it in March 1909 as it had at the time been leased to R. Livingston Beeckman. It had also previously been leased to Mortimer L. Schiff (perhaps while 'Northwood' in Oyster Bay was being finished). Seems like Stow spent maybe a year or two at most on the estate.

Anonymous said...

"Spring Hill"...along with "Beacon Towers", "Harbor Hill", "Peacock Point", "The Elms","Pembroke","Burrwood","Knollwood", "Meudon", and "Ferguson Castle" are among Long Island's greatest losses...

Anonymous said...

Lets see if the Big G deletes this...

Quaker hold out. I'll make the assumption that Stowe wanted this property to complete his estate. And Spring Hill Development!

HPHS

Laura from RI said...

Hi Zach,

quick question~is there an outline on SH of the training track before "development" began ? Wheatley Stables....home of Bold Ruler...

Zach L. said...

Laura,

This was not 'Wheatley Stable', merely the Phipps' personal stables for the estate. WS was located in Kentucky:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatley_Stable