'Little Ipswich'

'Little Ipswich', the Chalmers Wood Jr. estate designed by Delano & Aldrich c. 1927 in Woodbury.  Wood was a founding partner of the firm Johnson, Wood & Rogers.  His first marriage ended in 1924 and the same year he remarried the interior designer Ruby Ross Wood.  'Little Ipswich' was demolished in the 1990s.  Click HERE to see where 'Little Ipswich' stood on google earth.  Photo from the Ryerson & Burnham Archives at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Click HERE to see 'Little Ipswich' intact in a 1966 aerial.

 

The Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt Estate

The Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt estate designed by John Russell Pope c. 1911 in Brookville.  She built this house following her separation from William K. Vanderbilt Jr. and kept the estate until moving to 'Fairmont' in Manhasset in 1927.  While the couple was together they resided at 'Deepdale' in Great Neck.  The residence has since been demolished, click HERE to see where it stood on google earth.  Photo from the Ryerson & Burnham Archives at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Playhouse at 'Greentree'

 The T. Markoe Robertson designed playhouse to 'Greentree', the Payne Whitney estate designed by d'Hauteville & Cooper c. 1903 in Manhasset.  It was on this indoor court in 1927 that Whitney was stricken ill and soon died from "acute indigestion" leaving behind the largest ever estate recorded up to that time at $180,000,000.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Greentree'.  Click HERE to see the estate on google earth and HERE on bing.  Click HERE to see video of people playing on the Greentree court in 1997 via youtube.

Photos from Architecture, 1914.

Old Long Island Turns 5!

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the creation of Old Long Island.  Today also marks the 1,500th post and up to now there have been over 415 estates featured, thousands of photos uploaded, over 325,000 visitors and over two million pageviews.  On this day I usually remark that I hope I have enough material to keep Old Long Island going for another five years.  While I'm not entirely sure another five years of material even exists out there I do pledge to continue posting photos and history for as long as I have something new.  Thanks as always to anyone who has ever sent me an email, left a comment or shared some photos or a story.  That's the gasoline that keeps this car running.  Above, a Christmas and New Years card from 'Wheatly', the E.D. Morgan III estate designed by McKim, Mead & White between 1890-1900 in Old Westbury.  Photo from the Elizabeth Morgan Jay Etnier Hollins archives.  Happy Holidays!

'Lands End'

A 1955 aerial of 'Lands End', the Harvey Dow Gibson estate altered by Walker & Gillette c. 1926 in Lattingtown.  The house was originally built c. 1850 and sat on part of the George Galt Bourne estate.  Bourne and his wife Helen C. Whitney divorced in 1924 and in 1926 she remarried Gibson, altering this house to fit their needs.  Click HERE to see 'Lands End' on google earth and HERE on bing.  Photo courtesy of John Martin.

'Tallwood'

A 1929 advertisement for 'Tallwood', the Richard Townley Haines Halsey estate built c. 1924 in Cold Spring Harbor.  Halsey was a partner in the brokerage firm of Tefft, Halsey & Co., trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and co-author with his wife of The Homes of Our Ancestors: As Shown in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925.  The home is now part of the West Hills Day Camp.  Click HERE to see 'Tallwood' on google earth and HERE on bing.

'Wheatly'

The courtyard at 'Wheatly', the E.D. Morgan III estate designed by McKim, Mead & White between 1890-1900 in Old Westbury.  Click HERE for more on 'Wheatly' (be sure to scroll past today's post).  Photo from A Monograph of the Work of McKim, Mead & White.

Follow Me on Instagram!

I realize I should have done this a long time ago but I'm always late to the technology party.  Click HERE to visit my recently created Instagram page with photos of historic scenes from around New York City and Long Island taken mostly from my phone.

'East Woods'

'East Woods', the Henry Rogers Winthrop estate designed by d'Hauteville & Cooper c. 1910 in Woodbury with landscaping by Guy Lowell.  Winthrop was a partner in the brokerage firm of Harris, Winthrop & Co. and later Winthrop, Mitchell & Co. and Winthrop, Whitehouse & Co.  In 1910 he was elected the first president of the Piping Rock Club, a post which he held for 40 years.  He was also a former president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.  He retired to Sarasota, Florida in the late 1940s and died at the age of 82 in 1958.  'East Woods' has since been demolished.  Click HERE to see his Manhattan residence at 120 East 78th Street which he sold in 1947.  Photo from the Ryerson & Burnham Archives at the Art Institute of Chicago.

'The Orchard'

'The Orchard', the James L. Breese estate designed by McKim, Mead & White between 1898 and 1907 in Southampton.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'The Orchard'.

The Carriage House at 'Farnsworth'

 The carriage house and garage to 'Farnsworth', the C.K.G. Billings estate designed by Guy Lowell c. 1914 in Matinecock.  Today the two buildings have been converted into a private residence.  Click HERE for more on the carriage house and HERE for more on 'Farnsworth'.  Photos courtesy of James Hogarty.

The Outbuildings of 'Farnsworth'

 The farm group at 'Farnsworth', the C.K.G. Billings estate designed by Guy Lowell c. 1914 in Matinecock.  Click HERE for more on 'Farnsworth'.  The carriage house and garage are extant, click HERE to see them on google earth and HERE on bing.

Photos from The Brickbuilder, 1916.

'Farnsworth'

 'Farnsworth', the C.K.G. Billings estate designed by Guy Lowell c. 1914 in Matinecock.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Farnsworth' which has since been demolished.

Photos from The Brickbuilder, 1916.

'Dunstable'

'Dunstable', the Winslow Shelby Pierce estate designed by Babb, Cook & Willard c. 1903 in Bayville.  Pierce was an attorney and railroad reorganizer and was counsel for Jay Gould among many of his positions.  Click HERE for more on 'Dunstable'.  Photo from The Brickbuilder, 1903.

'Thatch Meadow Farm'

 'Thatch Meadow Farm', the George Bacon estate enlarged by Peabody, Wilson & Brown c. 1914 in St. James.  Click HERE to see the brochure from when 'Thatch Meadow Farm' was for sale, likely sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s.  Click HERE for more on the estate.  Click HERE to see 'Thatch Meadow Farm' on google earth and HERE on bing.

Photos from Architecture, 1914.

The Sunrise Trail

The Sunrise Trail over the Shinnecock Hills in Southampton.  Today this section of road is the Montauk Highway and part of it ran along Shinnecock Bay.

'Villa Mille Fiori'

'Villa Mille Fiori', the Albert Barnes Boardman estate designed by Hill & Stout c. 1910 in Southampton.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Villa Mille Fiori'.

'Matinecock Point' Aerial

'Matinecock Point', the J.P. Morgan Jr. estate designed by Christopher Grant LaFarge c. 1913 on East Island in Glen Cove.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Matinecock Point'.

Really?

The headline on Yahoo is 'The fanciest McDonald's in the U.S.' and it links to an article on the McDonald's that exists inside the 18th century Denton House residence in New Hyde Park.  I suppose old Long Island possessing the fanciest McDonald's is a far better claim than having the ugliest, though it still sounds weird.  Click HERE to see Denton House on google street view.

'Land of Clover' Outbuildings

 The gardener's cottage, racing stable and trainers houses at 'Land of Clover', the Lathrop Brown estate designed by Peabody, Wilson & Brown c. 1912 in Smithtown.  Click HERE for more on 'Land of Clover'.  Click HERE to see the buildings on bing.

Photos from Architecture, 1914.

'Land of Clover'

 'Land of Clover', the Lathrop Brown estate designed by Peabody, Wilson & Brown between 1912-1917 in Smithtown.  Brown, a U.S. Representative from New York and college roommate of Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Harvard, was the brother of Archibald Brown, partner in the firm that designed his house.  Click HERE to see a brochure from when 'Land of Clover' was for sale.  The estate currently functions as the Knox School.  Click HERE to see 'Land of Clover' on google earth and HERE on bing.

Photos from Architectural Forum, 1920.

'East Farm'

 'East Farm', originally a Smith family homestead built c. 1710 and later the Archibald M. Brown estate enlarged by himself c. 1914 in St. James.  Brown was a partner in the architecture firm of Peabody, Wilson & Brown.  His brother Lathrop Brown resided at 'Land of Clover' in St. James, also by Peabody, Wilson & Brown.  'East Farm' was substantially altered and partially demolished c. 1999 after it sold to a new owner.  Click HERE for a 1999 NYTimes article on the planned changes to the house (which was on the National Register) and HERE to see what the site looks like today on bing.  Click HERE to see 'East Farm' intact in a 1954 aerial.