Friday, October 28, 2011

'Pembroke'

'Pembroke', the Joseph R. DeLamar estate designed by C.P.H. Gilbert c. 1916 in Glen Cove. Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Pembroke'. Photo from Examples of Work by Lewis & Valentine, 1916.

53 comments:

magnus said...

Following Captain Delamar's death, Pembroke was purchased by theatre magnate Marcus Loew (Always pronounced "Lowie" by Glen Cove locals, for some reason). The house was inherited by Marcus' son Arthur who lived in the house until the late 1950's when he moved to a small boat house by the water's edge and turned off the water and electricity in the main house (his third wife, Jacqueline, told me that it was in the midst of a bitter divorce from his second wife who had refused to vacate the premises). He never moved back and eventually bricked up the windows before tearing it down in the late 1960's. He built himself a very modest ranch style house close to the water which was saved from utter banality by some of the remnants from the "big" house, including an outdoor porch whose roof was the Tiffany glass ceiling of the former breakfast room. He had also moved most of the garden statuary closer to his new house. I worked there as a gardener one summer during high school and well remember the marble urn shown in this view in the middle of the garden, parallel to the fountain which was moved next to the garage of the new house. One of the best parts of that summer was exploring the property and discovering the weed and vine entangled remains of these amazing gardens, including the pool of the garden shown here. Despite all of this, I will go out on a limb and say that I think the original house was hideous- blocky, graceless and overscaled. Sorry.

The Devoted Classicist said...

I would have been happy with just the penthouse element.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorites!!! Pretentious and over the top, absolutely! The few interior photos I have seen are fantastic. Another home where your eye could never rest as it surveyed the jam packed interior architectural details. I think the architecture and surrounding gardens and conservatory all some up the amazing rags to riches story of the owner perfectly. A showplace for sure. Also unforgiveable that the developer of the estate took down the entrance gates and replaced them with underscaled, underwhelming, contemporary replacements. While in need of repairs, the original gates and the overhanging arched ironwork where beautiful up till the end. Would have loved to have walked the estate in its heyday

The Down East Dilettante said...

The Vanderbilts did this sort of thing better...

I'm no fonder of Gilbert's town houses---the same stiffness, business and 'off' proportions.

Still, it would undeniably have been fun to see---the palm court especially.

I still remember Alice de Lamar's big ocean front house in Palm Beach when she was in residence, just North of Estee Lauder's. The place had a slightly neglected, shuttered air...

It was she who sponsored the monograph of Addison Mizner's work, even having a truck equipped with a ladder to properly photograph the buildings. What I remember most though, is a news story sometime in the late sixties or early seventies, in which it was discovered that she was the owner of some forgotten stock, worth something like seven million. That was a lot of money to just forget one owned...

The Ancient said...

http://alicedelamar.wordpress.com/

Dilettante --

So you can feel young again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7HXbpI9M_Q

The second part contains footage of Pembroke's grounds in the 1970s at the 4:00 mark.

(It's a hokey bit of rubbish, but pictures are pictures.)

The Down East Dilettante said...

Okay, so it turns out it was only 3.5 million...

Ancient, you've outdone yourself with these links---I was fascinated to see the material on the Alice deLamar blog (is there now a blog devoted to every forgotten heiress, one wonders?). I was fascinated to see the Jane Peterson painting of Alice deLamar's garden---Peterson was an acquaintance of my great grandparents, and I owned one of her flowers in a vase watercolors, until Peterson's work became hot in the 80's, at which point I sold it. One of her husband's, James McCarthy, was the Claus von Bulow of his day---but I digress, back to Alice.

You weren't kidding about the History Channel piece, hokey in the extreme, and full of minor factual boo-boos (don't they understand the difference between West Palm and Palm, or a Madison Avenue townhouse, not apartment? Nuance isn't their strong suit).

The Down East Dilettante said...

PS. Magnus: I presume that the grounds of Pembroke in the video are as you remember from your youthful wanderings? What fun.

chipon1 said...

did they ever find alice ?

Lora said...

I'm trying to find out more about Alice but there doesn't seem to be much about her on the internet. Does anyone here know a link?

By the way, I find this fascinating and, despite what some of you think of this quaint abode, I think it is lovely!

Lora

The Ancient said...

TDC --

Did you see what the linked article said about that "sun parlor"?

http://www.oldlongisland.com/2009/07/pembroke-american-architect.html

Can anyone remember a similar structure atop what's essentially a 19th century house?

chipon1, Lora --

http://alicedelamar.wordpress.com/

The Ancient said...

P.S. chipon1 -- A woman with an aversion to being photographed is certainly not going to be filmed having tea with Mr Spock.

P.P.S. Does anyone know what Marcus Loew paid her for the house?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Ancient---yes, I can think of another house with similar structure, and a tale to go with it. The McCall cottage at Long Branch, later rented by Woodrow Wilson as the Summer White House. It was later purchased by Herbert Parson, president of Woolworth. It caught fire and burned, and Parson had Trumbauer build a small version of Versailles on the site. The story goes, as recounted in Maher, that Mrs. Parson, late in the construction, had a sentimental moment about the rooftop conservatories, and the house had to be rebuilt to accommodate her, at vast expense on the eve of the Depression, thus ruining her husband. I don't have time right now to search out links, but know you'll find pictures.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Oh, okay, I did look up a link. Here is the original Shadow Lawn:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo4gh8MHNO1qkxuw5o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1319912241&Signature=FJoQ0IGzQcqdUWN3UNiHe7pjyaE%3D

Lora said...

Ancient - Thank you.

Lora

chipon1 said...

ancient,
thank you, my view in option on my mac eventually blurred both articles beyond my aging eyes ability to read. however i will work to get the articles readable in another fashion.
DED the last link denies me/my computer access, is it due to past poor behaviour finally catching up with me?
thank you for your patience

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

More remnants went here -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8114057&lon=-73.4602118&z=15&l=0&m=b&show=/19058348/Ben-Robyn-Farm

They did find Alice. There are three separate videos to watch. She died in 1983.


Scroll down, look for a color photo at age five with two dogs{Whippets?} -


http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/304524

Numerous links to dig further -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.2798285&lon=-74.0047109&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/7661491/Shadow-Lawn

The Down East Dilettante said...

And: www.monmouth.edu/wilson_hall/WilsonHall_SelfGuidedTour.pdf

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

The story I remember on De Lamar -given his name from the sailors who pulled him from the sea. de la mar = of the sea. He had no background up til then. How could anyone claim ancestry. If unclaimed what would 3mil{1970s} be worth today?

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Where Alice can be found -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8900932&lon=-73.8731003&z=16&l=0&m=b&show=/14212075/De-Lamar

The Down East Dilettante said...

Chip, try this: http://sharonhazardauthor.com/post/7454969231/the-summer-white-house-in-long-branch-new-jersey

HPHS, I thought Alice was buried in Florida, not with her father? I get this from Alex Fatio's account of Miss Delamar's last days. the article in New York Social Diary, just referenced

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

I don't always read... never mind.

The Ancient said...

Alice's own planting field:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=DeLamar&GSfn=Alice&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=34905471&df=all&

wooded bliss said...

Magnus, did your Mr. Loew have a daughter? I seem to remember a girl, growing up in the seventies, that went to Greenvale and that I went to North Shore day School with, when I was a wee one..I remember hearing she was from that family, but cant remember her name. I remember she was cute and really nice..she would be about 50 today.
BTW, be on the look out for the new Aetna insurance commercial on TV..tagged " lets talk" , it briefly shows Planting Fields' tea house in the background and a front lawn shot that is disguised as something else and also a nice beach shot of either Oyster bay or Cold Spring harbor.

Anonymous said...

I always feel like an outcast when I post here because I know I'm not as knowledgeable about architecture as the rest of you, and I always seem to have opposing viewpoints....but Pembroke is one of my all time favorite's of the estates shown on this site. I just get this deep feeling of longing, and a kind of happy feeling looking at photos of this estate. My opinion is that it's a work of art.


I feel I can now also say the same about the original Shadow Lawn....magnificent!!

charles said...

I agree with Anonymous 9:02 regarding the feeling of longing when looking at Pembroke. I live in Glen Cove and have always regretted not having had this passion for these great estates while they were still standing and somewhat explorable. I guess all of the readers of this blog share this longing when gazing at the wonderful pictures posted on this great site. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and inside information!

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Anonymous October 28, 2011 9:53 AM
Pembroke's gates still stand -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8725699&lon=-73.6476284&z=19&l=0&m=b&show=/2302813/Pembroke-Gate

Was there a 2nd gate?

The indoor pool and palm court - FABULOUS!

CPH Gilbert deserves his own retrospective book.

ChipSF said...

C.P.H. Gilbert's work is uneven but some of it is quite good. The Knox house on Delaware Ave. in Buffalo is a very accomplished exercise and even has a hint of Trumbauer's best work too. Here is a link:

http://buffaloah.com/h/million/mr.html

Richard D said...

HPHS,

A few months ago I actually suggested to Acanthus Press that they do a book on CPH Gilbert. The gentleman who responded said that Gilbert rated one but that there wouldn't be much interest in it today. Sadly, probably true. Love his grandiouse designs, even if they aren't particularly graceful.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Hey, while I'm one of those curmudgeons who doesn't find this a very architecturally appealing work, I nevertheless do find it appealing for all it represents about human aspiration and fantasy---and a fantasy it is.

The Knox house makes me think more of McKim Mead & White in their classical mode--Florham, Hyde Park, etc.

magnus said...

Wooded Bliss: Arthur Loew was substantially older than my parents, although his third wife, Jackie, was a contemporary of theirs. I don't remember if he had a daughter, but he did have a son, by his first marriage (and I think it was a "Hollywood Royalty" type of thing where he married another movie mogul's child). in any event, the son was married to Tyrone Power's widow or ex-wife and had adopted Tyrone's son, who called himself Tyrone Loew. I was summoned over for playmates when Tyrone visited and could never understand all the interest directed at him by the adults ("he's the spitting image of his father" sort of thing) as I didn't have the first clue who Tyrone Powers was.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

If Trumbauer can merit a reprint Gilbert deserves at least a chapter in someones book. In my crude appreciation of architecture I think their in the same league.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

It is reported the boat scene from Sabrina{1954} showed the waterfront at Pembroke. OFLI?

Patricia said...

That same year, a Lauren Bacall movie called "Woman's World" had some scenes filmed at Sefton Manor/Mill Neck Manor.

I remember my father used to tell a story about one of the gardeners, an old Italian man named Dominic, who had stayed on after the estate was sold to the school, and who was paid $20 cash by the film makers as an extra. All he had to do was walk across a road, carrying a rake -- something like that.

Dominic had his day as a film star, thinking this was the easiest money he ever made, and came to my father the next day asking if the film makers needed him again for a second day. Unfortunately, it was only a one-day gig.

Haven't seen "Woman's World" in years, and I checked and Netflix doesn't have it. But the more recent (relatively so) "Trading Places" with Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy has some great interior shots of the manor house, including the stained glass windows depicting scenes from Shakespeare.

wooded bliss said...

Library of Congress
tagged : Arthur M. Loew , 1953
" Business on Red Spring Road, Glen Cove".

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/gsc/5a21000/5a21700/5a21768r.jpg

wooded bliss said...

Try this, sorry.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/gsc/5a21000/5a21700/5a21768r.jpg

wooded bliss said...

Nope, don't know how to link it...if someone could google "Loew Glen Cove", and scroll down to "Arthur M. Loew, business on Red Spring Road"..and if you could post that link for me, please and thanks.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

As Magnus has noted before - the nondescript indoor court at Pembroke -

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?q=Fairchild&fi=names&co=gsc

Business?

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

In the background of the exterior photo is/was "Ellencourt" - between the court and water tower -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8752653&lon=-73.6522579&z=15&l=0&m=b&show=/16518105/Ellencourt

Anonymous said...

HPHS Oct 28th 9:53 Clarification on the Pembroke Gates. While the masonry pillars remain, the original wrought iron gates and surrounding metalwork, including the beautifully scrolled, curved sections that flanked the entry drive were all intact prior to the development of the property. Everything was removed and contemporary versions were installed. I presume the originals were scrapped considering that they looked as if they would need restoration and also have some new pieces fabricated where details had fallen off. I dont think teh developed was that sympathetic. See Zachs February 28, 2008 post on Pembroke to see what was installed after the developer removed the elaborate original gates.

Anonymous said...

A CPH Gilbert book? One would be sadly long overdue. Covering Winfield Hall, Muedon, Northwood, Pembroke and the Plant townhouse at 5th & 51st, the Delamar townhouse at Madison & 37th, the Warburg townhouse at 5th & 92nd, the Sinclair townhouse at 5th & 79th and Otto Kahn's beautiful townhouse at 5th & 91st??? Plus many others. A collection of some of the most grand city homes still surviving in NYC and some of the most amazing country estates ever built. Yet still no book on his work? An oversight for sure.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Re: CPH Gilbert and the Kahn House---the Kahn House owes much of its design to the English architect J. Armstrong Stenhouse, who actually designed it. Gilbert was merely the American licensed supervising architect, not the chief designer. (yeah, yeah, I know, I seem to have it in for Gilbert, and undeniably he isn't one of my faves, but in this case, credit must go where it is due)

Lora said...

The Delamar Townhouse at Madison and 37th - is that the one that is actually on 37th off Madison? It's white - if I remember.
It has been twenty years since I moved from the metropolitan area.

Anonymous said...

Yes, On the northeast corner of Madison and 37th Street, overlooking the JP Morgan Library complex. It's currently occupied by the Polish Consulate. Its a vertical architectural masterpiece IMO and still retains the lavishly decorated reception rooms. The consulate has a nice website that features the history of the building.

Lora said...

That's the one, Anonymous! I do remember that it was the Polish Consulate. I will check out their website.

Thanks. I always wondered about the history of the place when I used to walk by.

Martin de la Mar said...

If you would like to find more information about Alice or Joseph Delamar? See pics of Pembroke ten/now and inside the mansion?

http://translate.google.nl/translate?sl=nl&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdelamar.bntours.nl%2F%21joseph.html

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Excellent! Thank you.

HalfPuddingHalfSauce said...

Martin de la Mar - if you watched the 1970s "In Search Of" from the above YouTube link the question remains - did the unclaimed bond get claimed???

The Down East Dilettante said...

Zowie! The video of Pembroke is full of wonderful images. The original McMansion--everything money could buy

Anonymous said...

The videos are fantastic. What an incredible property and complex of buildings and gardens. Only wish I could have seen the place for myself.

chipon1 said...

i am doing something wrong, the link from Martin de la Mar gets me to a dutch video. what did i do wrong?

Poe Dettrow said...

Wow. So over the top, yet I still wish I could have seen it, particularly the pool area and the grotto. Just amazing. Thank you, Martin de la Mar!

Anonymous said...

http://www.litchfieldcountyauctions.com/Archive/2003/February/MLB.htm

Anonymous said...

In 1924 Alice sold Pembroke for one million