Tuesday, December 13, 2011
'Killenworth' II
'Killenworth' II, the second incarnation of the George duPont Pratt estate, this one designed by Trowbridge & Ackerman c. 1913 in Glen Cove on the site of 'Killenworth' I, designed by William B. Tubby c. 1897 which can be seen HERE. Click HERE for more on 'Killenworth' and HERE to see the brochure from when the estate was for sale. Click HERE to see 'Killenworth' on google earth and HERE on bing. Interiors tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
'Architectural Review' 1914 provides some angles of this house I hadn't seen before. There are first & second floor floor plans under the "When 'Killenworth' Was For Sale" link & you can see from the photographs that the first floor is top of a full ground floor (wonder what was down there?) & in the servants' wing there are two floors under the first floor. I know I'm stating the obvious, but -- this place is huge.
I'm curious about the room called "Boys Room" on the first floor -- it has a great corner location & as often as not any boys were allocated a room up in the attic space somewhere. I also notice it is next to the servants' rooms & separated from the main house by a loggia -- I guess so their "garage band" could play as loud as they wanted (joke).
I hope the Russians are treating this place kindly.
Always liked this asymmetrical layout with the lower level entry requiring one to walk up to the main level reception rooms of the home. Surrounding terraced gardens, stairs and walls ground the large structure to it's site. Very similar concept to Ormston House and the Eberstadt home at Target Rock. Also created a very "urban" townhouse stacking effect of floor levels and keeps an entire service level out of sight.
An interesting article from Science Magazine, September 1982, "Evading the Soviet Ear at Glen Cove"
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/217/4563/910.full.pdf
It is indeed a magnificent estate. One of my favourites on Long Island.
http://www.oldlongisland.com/2011/08/bronson-winthrop-estate.html
Current owner has left comment.
HPHS - thanks for noting the owner's posting. A bit awkward to read as don't think he was terribly enamored with the remarks made. Still he sounds like he can appreciate, and supports, keeping a property 'correct'.
So hard to believe it was priced "asking 75,000" - I'm not sure of the exact year of the sale but it must have been in the late 1950's. I grew up in Locust Valley and remember the allegations of spying here in Glen Cove - my uncle was a Glen Cove policeman and was on a motorcycle for them for several years. I believe they sometimes received word of visiting dignitaries to Killenworth and provided traffic escorts. I find the design to be stunning and the approach to the estate, like so many on the north shore, wonderfully planned and laid out.
This picture of Khrushchev standing in the front driveway of Killenworth in 1963 has always amazed me:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OlaVeajrP30/SaKb7sVs4LI/AAAAAAAACuE/pTqm5FWoTsk/s1600-h/Nikita+Krushchev+Killenworth.jpg
Spent some time here in my youth wandering the great woods of this place, in the fall blackbirds screaming above head. Always loved the gazebo on the jetty.
Re: The post about having an uncle motorcycle cop in Glen Cove. Was your uncle Timmy O'Neil? I was a classmate of his son, Jay, and recall all of the stories of Timmy. He was supposed to have learned Russian, and would sit at the gates to the estate to hand out tickets to the Russians who would speed through town. The tickets meant nothing as they had diplomatic immunity.
I also, as a kid walking home from school by their auto compound in the rear of the village, slipped while trying to see Molotov changing cars. He heard the rocks and dirt sliding down and yelled in Russian at me. I was sure he yelled: "Get him! Send him to Siberia". Years later, when """"I learned Russian""""", I think he really said: "Be careful". So, I did survive the Cold War with Russia.
Post a Comment