Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The J. Lewis Luckenbach Estate

 The J. Lewis Luckenbach estate designed by William Lawrence Bottomley c. 1928 in Glen Cove.  Click HERE for more on the Luckenbach estate which is still for sale for $15,500,000, click HERE to see the listing.  Click HERE to see the residence on bing.







Listing photos from MLSLI.

13 comments:

Magnuspetrie said...

A bit of local history: The pond in front of the Luckenbach house used to be known as Fresh Pond,and the street on which the house stands was origionally called Fresh Pond Lane (subsequently changed to Crescent Beach Road). The current house sits on the south side of the pond on an east-west axis, facing the Long Island Sound. It replaced the residence of Robert Shaw which sat on the East side of the pond, facing west. The Shaw house, in turn had replaced the Jackson Farm, a summer resort much favored by Brooklyn and New York residents in the mid-late 19th century. The Jackson Farm hotel building had burned in the 1880's and the entire property of several hundred acres was purchased by a syndicate which built one of the very early golf courses in the United States on the site (the Queens County Golf Club). In the 1890's, the Queens County Golf Club was renamed the Nassau Country Club and relocated to its present location, and the syndicate divided the old property into building lots, creating North Country Colony, one of the early planned communities targeting the rich.

Here endeth the lesson.

Doug Floor Plan said...

It is impressive what LI folks know -- I wonder who would win a game of LI Trivial Pursuit?

I'm sure the owners would like to sell; but at least no one has tried to tart the place up - like replace Fresh Pond with an infinity pool complete with water slide, plus cram a fountain in the forecourt (for you, DED). No, they wait patiently for someone with money AND good taste to take over stewardship.

Kyle Peterson said...

I always loved this house. Plus you've got the Braes and Welwyn right next door

The Down East Dilettante said...

it is an amazing property. How beautifully 'they'---the architects, landscape designers, etc.---used to think these properties through to full resolution. No more, alas. It has been a horrible shock to my system to realize that the rich don't necessarily want what I think they should want. Makes want to retire to my bed with the vapours.

PS @ Douglas: Maybe this one? http://www.gardecor.com/p-sc-concrete-tiered-fountain-q Sadly, in one's heart of hearts, statistically speaking, we know it is the future.

The Down East Dilettante said...

PPS @ Magnus: I remain in awe at your command of neighborhood history.

Anonymous said...

This is was featured in Valerie Kellogg's segment last night (Tuesday) on News12 Long Island on her segment of Rich Cribs. I found it for her to feature.

Anonymous said...

A truly magnificent property kept in pristine condition. Hopefully it finds the right buyer, but having the Braes and Welwyn next door and the Country Day School up the street and a public beach access at the end of Crescent Beach Road may all add up to one big deterrent to prospective buyers. That's a lot of public facilities and access surrounding your supposedly private enclave. Still it's one of the most strikingly beautiful estates left on Long Island. Archibuff

wooded bliss said...

Magnus, my family were members of Nassau C.C.for many, many years.. And I thought I knew the Club history. A prior life and location as Queens Golf Club has got me scratching my head. I had never heard that history. I believe, just never knew..thanks. I spent my earliest years at North Shore day and camp and dear family friends (Robert Fromm) lived in a very special lovely home around that very locale..such a special area.

Magnuspetrie said...

Wooded: I live in North Country Colony right next to the old Fromm house which has been featured in OLI (during its ownership by Henry C. Martin). I too knew the Fromm family who lived there when we first moved to the area in 1967. We used to cause all sorts of trouble in the neighborhood with their children.

Anonymous said...

Actually, the listing is held by Douglas Elliman now, having shifted away from Sotheby's in mid-May: a new marketing strategy? If you mosey over to their site, the pictures are better and the description of the estate more detailed.

Doug Floor Plan said...

Since Zach left this house up for the weekend I'll ask a question: What is a ballpark cost to maintain those beautiful grounds?

Anon 5:38PM, thanks for the Realtor update; those pictures confirm that [in classic French style] the front door is on the level below the main rooms. I calculate the kitchen stove is directly above the front door -- which I like.

I've detected only two, small alterations to the original house:
1)The three plate glass windows on the bedroom floor were probably originally a sleeping porch & have been enclosed into a huge bedroom -see pic 20 on Sotheby's site.
2) Pic 9 on Sotheby's site -- that patio was once covered. On the brick wall there is the trace of a pitched roof.

Beautiful house -- inside & out.

Anonymous said...

"If you have to ask you can't afford it" the proven wisdom of JP Morgan

It is a beauty all right but what is the zoning, assuming someone retains the estate as a private residence and it doesn't go institutional which would seem to be allowed by the prior conversions in the immeduate neighborhood?

Anonymous said...

Thanks, DougFloorPlan. I am glad you figured out the floor plans better with the Elliman photos I referenced. The kitchen above the entry is a clever touch by Bottomley.

One other change I have noticed: If you look at the Half Pudding/Half Sauce blogpost on this house, you will see, in a comparison of new and old photos, the addition of set of French doors and balcony above the central doors on the terrace overlooking the lake. Some days I like it, some days I like it less.

As others have seen, the house has been on the market for over six years with only modest price chops (it started in the high 17s). Perhaps it has something to do with the closure of the beach in front of the house since 2009. The owner of Cobble Court has been repeatedly fingered in the press for being responsible for sewage seeping into the Sound from his property - though, admittedly, all of the houses around it are on septic systems as well.