Thursday, January 12, 2012

Some Von Stade Estate Interiors

A few interiors of the F. Skiddy Von Stade estate designed by Cross & Cross c. 1914 with extensive alterations by Peabody, Wilson & Brown c. 1930 in Old Westbury. Click HERE to see the Von Stade estate as it looks today and HERE and HERE to see how it looked when it was inhabited. Pictures of outbuildings to follow.





14 comments:

Kellsboro Jack said...

It certainly looks rather stripped bare with anything of value carted off. As someone else remarked yesterday it surprisingly is devoid of graffiti and the like inside.

Have any interior pieces been listed at architectural salvage businesses (like Lands End) with claims of being from this estate?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Think about it---Zach risked certain danger in a rotting falling building to bring us these photos---no price is too great for one's readers!

Big, unpretentious, and gracious, pleasantly designed, but of almost no real architectural significance---the interiors could be in any house anywhere---it's sad, but not an irreplaceable loss (like Dark Hollow, just to name one example).

A building has to be neglected for more than just a few years to arrive at this state. Did the Entenmens ever occupy the house, or did they just use the stables? Or were they. Maintaining an older wooden building of that size requires selling an awful lot of sawdust coffee cakes.

I've been trying to find a comment, that I thought I read on OLI recently, from a reader who had spoken to a contractor about a new trend in thinking that anything over 25 years old ought to be torn down, etc. I wanted to pass it on to a friend, and now it eludes me. Any help?

Zach L. said...

KJ -

From my experience there was nothing left to be salvaged. The house has an incredible amount of water damage...the ceilings that haven't collapsed on the first floor felt extremely bloated...and they were definitely sagging. It does seem like anything of value has long since been removed. The photos are from last March and we had set a record in February for snow.

And to DED's point, the house was certainly dangerous. The floor in the kitchen was actively collapsing. And there were certain portions (including the entire second floor) that were just too sketchy to explore.

Charles said...

I was taken on a tour of this house about 27 years ago. At that time I don't think anyone was still living there, but it had been rented out. I think it was rented to several different people. The round horse facility was definitly already built at that time. I remember being so surprised to see it built so close to the house. The house was already being left uncared for at that time. I highly doubt that Enteman ever lived there.

archibuff said...

Oh no DED, why relate a quote from an obvious unqualified hack who just happens to call himself a contractor? If you follow that uninformed logic than we should clear out the termite ridden hulks on the Battery in Charleston and plow under the decaying piles of brick in Boston's Back Bay so new construction can get underway. Some people just should not be allowed to operate a business without a brain. What's equally disturbing is yesterdays post that the owners of Underhill Farm received a quote from a contractor of 7 figures to install ductwork for a new HVAC system. I cant think of too many other legitimate businesses where one usually anticiaptes being fleeced, taken advantage of or simply robbed blind by so called professionals, more so than the contracting field. While it can cost more to renovate sometimes than build new on a cleared site, the advantages had always been that you are getting craftsmanship and qualities in your renovated home that cannot be duplicated today for any price. Now the tables have turned and people are being convinced (by contractors, developers and brokers) that they need new. Preservation has been dealt a hard punch to the gut.

The Down East Dilettante said...

LOL, Archibuff all good and well, but you're preaching to the choir, and that doesn't answer my question which was where can the comment be found?

And my interpretation of the comment was not that the person quoted actually felt that way, but that he was elucidating the current horrifying thinking---another reason I'd like to find it.

Kellsboro Jack said...

Zach, you did risk life, limb and likely would've required a tetanus shot had you stepped on a rusty nail! My thanks for capturing the decay even if it ensured no argument could be been made in 2011 to restore the manor.

All that water in the walls certainly would've created mold in amongst the horsehair plaster. Somewhere along the line the assumptive brass knobs on doors, carved mantels and the like were picked off.

I concur with 'Charles' in that the location chosen for the covered-round exercise barn (c. 1980's) being so close and awkwardly next to the manor indicated then it wasn't going to be the manor of old.

TDED, I suspect the paddocks and existing stabling was the Entenmann's main interest for acquisition with the manor just part of the package. While the estate (frankly any estate, too) was costly to maintain it's not like the family was just barely getting by.

Per the obit of Martha Entenmann (d. 1986) the family sold the company to Warner-Lambert, the pharmaceutical company, for $233 million in 1978. That's a lot of coffee cakes! Plus the sons stayed on as executives for a decade more.

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/30/nyregion/martha-entenmann-matriarch-of-the-baked-goods-family-89.html

Anonymous said...

"..looks rather stripped bare with anything of value carted off.."

I see something left behind, I'd sure LOVE to have the louvered half-moon over the door here:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W1Hh6fBz7Qo/Tw1-VT4yP5I/AAAAAAAAKrE/_gbKOrAOIHI/s1600/VS%2BDoor.jpg

JohnM said...

Can someone explain, re Underhill (mentioned today and yesterday), why the photos conflict: It appears today to be built of brick, and before to be white clapboard?

Anonymous said...

When you see the Underhill Farm front entrance elevation in white shingles you will note a wing is not built yet to the right of the front door. When the home is encased in brick, the new wing is visible from the entrance elevation. I presume when the brick was added, major interior renovations also took place.

Anonymous said...

The original expanded Underhill farmhouse had fire damage and the mansion was expanded by Harrie Lindeberg and the brick was added. The interiors contain a number of beautiful rooms including the library.

wooded bliss said...

Not a huge loss?? well, it is to O.L.I'ers..who knew this house and loved the Von Stade family. The house, as the family, understated and un- pretentious. It hurts on a personal level. To see that property developed will def. give a lump in my throat.I used to live in a special place.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Wooded Bliss---I was referring only to the place of the house in the story of architecture. As to the house as a home and as a landmark, that is something else again, and as you point out, for those who knew the house, its owners, enjoyed its hospitality, the loss is incalculable, as is the loss of open space. Too well I know how you feel, and agree.

Anonymous said...

I was in that home in the early 90's...it was infested with rodents and wildlife but still had incredible woodworking and fixtures...