Friday, September 2, 2011

The William P.T. Preston Sr. Estate

The William Payne Thompson Preston estate designed by Peabody, Wilson & Brown c. 1924 in Jericho. Preston was a partner in the brokerage firm of G.M.P. Murphy & Co. and at some point owned 'Longfields' in Old Westbury. The house no longer appears extant but would have sat roughly HERE on google earth.

Photos from the Library of Congress.

15 comments:

The Devoted Classicist said...

It is interesting to see the tight and controlled interior design in comparison to the very free interpretation of the architecture of the exterior of the house. Too bad the latter did not have more influence on the former.

The Ancient said...

From "Longfields" to this is quite a fall.

But was it enough to radicalize the kids?

The Ancient said...

Trivia Watch: The brochure for "Longfields" has a notation indicating that the property was sold to Ambrose Clark, who once owned a horse that seems to be of interest to at least one of our fellow posters.

Zach L. said...

Indeed, Clark was responsible for the demolition of the house and incorporation of the property into Broad Hollow House's acreage.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Ancient, do you really think civil liberty & open access to our government is radical? If so, you’re not as ancient as I thought because our founding fathers thought they were of paramount importance to the new government being created. To me the radicals are the ones who seek to take these freedoms & rights away.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Well, this place is the very definition of WASP-y quiet good taste, isn't it?

Really rather lovely. And DC, I find the dining room restrained and well proportioned rather than tight.

One presumes that the arched stair window lights one of Peabody Wilson & Brown's usual graceful curved staircases

The Down East Dilettante said...

PS, Doug & Ancient, I call your attention to this delightful line near the end of Thompson Jr.'s obituary: "son of high society radicals..."

The Down East Dilettante said...

I misquoted---'son of high society ACTIVISTS...', rather.

The Ancient said...

DFP --

My only point was that Jr. lived an interesting life that was not obviously consistent with great privilege. Perhaps his childhood contributed to that. (Of course, it might also have been his war experience. I have no idea.)

The Down East Dilettante said...

The same War, WWII, did indeed radicalize my father. While many of his contemporaries came back and joined the American Legion, and railed against 'communists' in the fifties, hippies in the sixties and Clinton in the 90's, my father never used a gun again, rarely mentioned the war, and became something of a pacifist.

Speaking of railing against things, personal history aside, here is an article in which we have Mr. Cravath, he of the many Veratons, railing against the incursion of the motor car (prescient was he), which indeed did eventually lead to the destruction of the North Shore. But for a time, he had won a battle...

An Aesthete's Lament said...

Quite a dull interior. One hopes the colors made up for the dull furnishings ... though the base of the dining table fairly swaggers.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Will the real "Longfields" please step forward... Spinzia has the Watriss estate as "Longfields" when brother of William Preston, Lewis, lived there. SPLIA has todays Peabody design as "Longfields" and Spinzia/SPLIA has "Longfields" for the Carrere & Hastings property.

The three major properties shown at the below link - from bottom to top - "Jericho House" for George Edward Kent Sr.{attorney} married to Lilias Grace with Olmsted landscaping. Property in the middle is the Peabody "Longfields" with landscaping by Ellen Biddle Shipman and the estate at the top is "Ivy Hall" for William's father Ralph Julius Preston.


http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=4E-06&lat=40.8022201284557&lon=-73.5312752692342&year=1966

Anonymous said...

Tragic about "Longfields"....a fine house indeed, though I always felt oddly zoned, a great loss all the same.

And I agree, the motor car and aviation destroyed the island....(Along with Moses....that irrepressible demon!!..don't get me started on him!!!)

The Ancient said...

An Aesthete's Lament --

As you say, the colors will matter.

But what's that behind the glass above the sideboard?

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Ghostly aberration?