Tuesday, January 24, 2012

'Moorelands'

'Moorelands', the John Chandler Moore estate designed by Charles I. Berg c. 1915 in Oyster Bay Cove. Moore was the chairman of the board, president and treasurer of Tiffany & Co. Moore's father was a founder of Tiffany & Co. and Moore himself had been involved with the company from 1880 until his death at age 82 in 1946. 'Moorelands' has since undergone alterations. The home was later owned by Oleg Cassini. Click HERE to see the estate on google earth and HERE on bing.



Photos from Architecture, 1918.

10 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

comme ci, comme ca.

The Down East Dilettante said...

oops. Hadn't looked at Bing yet. Actually better without all the ungainly porches. What a lovely bit of land it sits in. One supposes it's just a matter of time until the cul-de sacs and the randomly sited McMansions move in. If there's one thing this blog has taught us, it's that the future is not always bright on Long Island.

archibuff said...

I actually like the 2 story columns, but the house also looks good without them. I believe this was the Oleg Cassini property for many many years. Still a well maintained property.

Anonymous said...

I liked the columns also, but agree it does not look bad without.

Kellsboro Jack said...

Perhaps it just the b&w images (vs. the Bing birdseye) but it comes off a tad heavy handed that strays a bit into being almost institutional. What saves it are hints of charm to be found in the details.

Oleg Cassini by all accounts adored living there. Vanity Fair did an interesting feature on him that wasn't entirely flattering but does make several mentions of the Oyster Bay home:

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2010/09/oleg-cassini-201009

I wasn't familiar with the architecture of Charles I. Berg as he seems to have faded over time like so many others of the era who could earn such prominent commissions yet 20 years later seemingly be so out of fashion.

Another example of his work is a 2012 'Mansion in May' showcase house for the Morristown (NJ) Medical Center. It's quite a wow house and shows that Berg when given the budget (George Marshall Allen was the owner) could really kick it up a notch like his peers of the day:

http://www.wammc.org/Mansion-in-May/Introducing-Glynallyn.aspx

(Sad to read that Elizabethan stone estate on a dwindling 7.5 acres is unoccupied.)

Anonymous said...

Still owned by Cassini family. Oyster Bay Cove has a fairly advanced mindset compared to some of its brethren (Old Westbury anyone)for preservation and conservation s I think a subdivision might not be inevitable. Also, while I love this blog I sometimes chuckle at the posts-enlightened, articulate and interesting as they are. Any one of these houses, even the much maligned CHP, are so wonderful when you have the opportunity to actually visit them. The details and even the scent of time are unmatched by anything built today.

NSP

lil' gay boy said...

I daresay the elimination of the porches & portico gave the home a more timeless quality; one of the few designs that benefited from latter day editing.

I love Oyster Bay Cove, particularly this area; a drive through it on the holidays, especially when there is snow on the ground at twilight, is magical.

Doug Floor Plan said...

I agree with those who think this house looks better without the columns & other adornments – probably safe to say it was over-accessorized. It leaves me to wonder who made the bold decision to strip it down & when?

The floor plan is pretty good on the ground floor except a couple of places where the symmetry you might expect is not there. In the photo of the hall the door to the right of the fireplace is to the service hall & under the stairs is a half bath – probably not as discretely placed as you might hope since the door opens into the center of the room. The door to the left of the half bath, with the mirror on it, is to a small closet.

The second floor is a little awkward; looking at the photo of the back of the house & the floor plan:
• That recessed middle section looks squeezed.
• On the left in the photo, directly above the dining room, there is a bathroom directly above the dining room fireplace so neither bedroom over the dining room has its own fireplace & from the outside there is that small, awkward bathroom window right next to the chimney.
• On the right in the photo, those four small windows are grouped too close together & for no apparent reason; each of the two bedrooms they represent could easily have had just one larger window more centrally placed & it would have fit in better with the look of the house (my opinion).

I am grateful this house still stands with such an appreciable amount of acreage around it.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Anonymous, I actually have had the opportunity to visit many (and their brethren in other locales from Bar Harbor to Palm Beach) in the course of my social and professional rambles, and I agree about the impressive and timeless qualities you mention---but as far as design quality goes, they are not all equal.

Anonymous said...

DED Agreed, they are not all equal. However99.9% are wonderful.

NSP