Friday, January 30, 2015

The Aftermath at 'Winfield Hall'

Things look fairly grim for the western portion of 'Winfield Hall', the Frank W. Woolworth estate designed by C.P.H. Gilbert c. 1916 in Glen Cove, which partially burned on Wednesday afternoon.  There is extensive interior damage, numerous broken windows and skylights and we're due for more snow on Monday.  Let's hope they can at least get all of the openings covered up by then.  Click HERE for all previous posts on 'Winfield Hall'.

20 comments:

lil' gay boy said...

Isn't this the east wing, not west?

Sadly & extensively damaged, but doesn't appear to be in danger of imminent collapse; how will it's landmark status come into play? If there had been irreparable structural damage, would the wrecking ball move in?

And on the verge of being silly, does it not have a sort of crass consumer historical interest? My understanding is that when the Reynolds family were in residence they used the garage as a lab building and developed Reynolds Wrap there...

Historic!

;-)

Anonymous said...

A great thanks is owed to the incredible fire dept response from numerous surrounding districts with 100 plus fire fighters who did save the building and the coincidence of spotting the fire early before it did even more damage by the part time caretaker.

This masonry structure like most of the era is built like a bomb shelter, it could easily last hundreds of years with proper maintenance. What is irreplaceable are the interiors and it seems that the billiard room and a number of 2nd floor ornately decorated bedrooms have been destroyed and doubtful they can ever be restored, especially under the current ownership.

The insurance money will surely make the east wing, (correct east, it is in fact probably more south-east in orientation), at least water tight with new windows and roofing, something the current owner has failed to do in numerous decades. That's a huge plus. Also the curtains seen hanging in the dining room window is a good sign that maybe only smoke and soot entered that room, however again, I cant imagine what is covered and what is not under the Carey's insurance policy. As Magnus stated local landmark status will hinder any demolition plans and truthfully those rumors are unfounded especially since the fire damaged the east wing interiors but the masonry structure appears little touched by the fire. No I would be more concerned about demolition by neglect from the owner, something he seems to have specialized in since acquiring the estate. Almost drove past Winfield today but was too disappointed to want to see it in this condition. Archibuff

Magnuspetrie said...

LGB- I, too, have heard that rumor about the Reynolds and Reynolds Wrap. My sense is that the Reynolds company, with huge laboratories at its disposal didn't resort to its founder's garage, as grand as it may have been. I'm all ears though if anyone knows better.

Anonymous said...

thnx for the photo update. I agree these buildings like Winfield Hall and Oheka are rock solid and "fire proof" in terms that even an intensive fire will only gut the structure but they will remain standing. Oheka suffered numerous attempts to set it on fire and miraculously survived. Please continue to post updates on the progress of securing the building, realizing restoration or rebuilding is a long way off.

Estateman said...

The newspaper headline should read :
"The Carey Family Strikes Again - "NEGLECT To Demolition:"
That should be under the Carey
family crest beside that little four letter word g-r-e-e-d.
How sickening our world today is.
They now have "Seaview Terrace" in Newort (Ocean Front} BogHeid, LI (Waterfront", And Winfield Hall,- that should be a Gold Coast Museum.

Our history is being lost one example at a time one by one slowly vanishing to the sick developers and their short-sited greed.

Anyone heard about "Rosecliff" in Newport RI being sold? They have gutted Astors "Beechwood". Nothing is truly safe.

lil' gay boy said...

Magnuspetrie,

I found a reference to Reynolds Wrap being "invented" in the garage in a NYT book review here.

However, since the author is Monica Randall, I must take it with a grain of salt; she's a lovely woman with a wealth of knowledge about the Gold Coast and its romance, but anyone who has met her would not be surprised if they discovered she was a frequent flyer on flights of fancy...

;-)

Anonymous said...

Larry Ellison owner of Beechwood is spending millions to restore the original designs of Richard Morris Hunt's renovation for the Astor's. The house probably needs structural and utility repairs something Carey never touched. Beechwood is supposed to reopen as a museum. I could only pray for an owner like that for the Woolworth estate.

Magnuspetrie said...

LGB- as you point out, the authoress in question has a tendency to scribble down local lore and legend as if they were undisputed fact. I think we need another source with good footnotes before we accept this particular story.

Kellsboro Jack said...

re: Newport

Ellison has completely gutted Beechwood, absolutely to the studs at that place which wasn't in poor condition and had not suffered from years of layered architectural changes.

That said he's not looking to plow as much money as he has already just to end up with an osprey. Likely it will have wonderful plumbing, electrical, etc with the paneling and flooring returned.

A photo of the place I took this summer that will show you just how tremendous the work has been:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27332539@N07/14987800727/sizes/o/

Old (Former) Long Islander said...

My mother worked as Mr. Reynolds' secretary, first in NYC and later, during WWII at Glen Cove (much better commute).

Yes, the garage complex was converted to laboratories during that period. I got the impression that the lab was more involved in Defence work, which would make sense, given the large number of aircraft manufacturere / defense contractors on LI at that time. I don't recall anything being mentioned about the invention of Reynolds Wrap. Also, it was my understanding that given the possibility of an enemy attack on New York City, they preferred to have the labs in a more remote, yet convenient (to both city and contractors), location.

Old (former) Long Islander

Kirk said...

I drove by last Saturday and looked at the damage from afar and was surprised by all the broken windows in the back of the house. The atrium is all boarded up as are most of the windows on the second floor. The Limestone in the front of the fire was badly damaged and gone in some spots. So sad to see the property in such terrible shape.

Anonymous said...

Winfield is sheathed in marble panels not limestone, which are not as durable as other stone finishes especially under very high heat which is why they caution you in using it for kitchen counters.

So disheartening to hear about this fire and the dim prospects that the east wing will be repaired or restored to anything close to the original.

Kellsboro Jack said...

With the discounting of the Reynolds Wrap story I suppose someone is now going to discredit the "rumored" adult movie having been filmed there, per Ms. M.R. ;>

The Down East Dilettante said...

There are a lot of Winfield stories that need to be discredited. It seems to attract flights of fancy on the part of its fans, against all proven fact or logic. As one sifts through all of this, it seems that perhaps this house was doomed from the day it was built.

The Down East Dilettante said...

I just want to clarify---I'm not taking knocks at Winfield in the above comment. My target is the unbelievable body of 'facts' and legend that have sprung up around this often unhappy place---they both cloud scholarly, fact-based, treatment of its important place in social, cultural, and architectural history, and rob the story of credibility. Such an unhappy place.

The Down East Dilettante said...

This comprehensive history of Reynolds Wrap pretty much discredits any possibility that it was 'invented' at Winfield Hall:

The Reynolds Metals Company was founded in 1919 as the U.S. Foil Company in Louisville, Kentucky by Richard S. Reynolds, Sr., a nephew of tobacco king R. J. Reynolds. Initially, the new company supplied lead and tin foil wrappers to cigarette and candy companies. In 1924, the U.S. Foil purchased the manufacturer of Eskimo Pies, which were wrapped in foil. In 1928, Reynolds purchased Robertshaw Thermostat, Fulton Sylphon, and part of Beechnut Foil, adding them to U.S. Foil to create Reynolds Metals. In 1931 the company headquarters was moved to New York City and in 1938 the headquarters was moved again to Richmond, Virginia.
The company began producing aluminum foil for packaging in 1926. Reynolds Metals created the first high-speed, gravure-printed foil, aluminum bottle labels, heat-sealed foil bags for foods and foil-laminated building insulation paper. In 1940 Reynolds Metals began mining bauxite (aluminum ore) in Arkansas and opened its first aluminum plant near Sheffield, Alabama, the following year. In 1947, the company came up with its most famous creation, Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil. Meanwhile, Reynolds Metals pioneered the development of aluminum siding in 1945, and Richard S. Reynolds began predicting a growing demand for additional aluminum during peacetime. He knew it would not be long before new aluminum-producing facilities would need to be built to meet demand. Reynolds Metals Company leased, and later bought, six government defense plants that were up for disposal. Reynolds later expanded into non aluminum products such as plastics and precious metals, introducing Reynolds Plastic Wrap in 1982.

Kellsboro Jack said...

TDED, I have to agree that there is a line (and it really isn't that fine) between whimsical stories associated with mansions and outright suggested facts. So many Gold Coast homes on LI appear to be so tainted. Once published it's certainly hard to shake.

I'm reminded of a mansion in Upstate NY owned by the Gerry family (Elbridge) which was sold and the subsequent ownership group auctioned the 2,000 acre estate in the early 1990's.

The glossy and beautiful brochure was chocked with a broad array of claims - many of which were picked up by newspapers. I have the resulting long laundry list that Elbridge ('Ebby') Gerry wrote up to counter so many of the fabrications, errors, mistakes, and puffery.

Anonymous said...

Most of the stories about this mansion are the fabrication of one flighty, high strung authoress who creates fact from hearsay and the masses eat it up and buy her books. Imagine a bolt of lightning striking Winfield Hall and creating the crack in the main halls marble fireplace that runs right through the carved image of Woolworth's beloved daughter who committed suicide over a marriage gone bad. Pure utter rubbish. Haunted rooms that contain strange sounds and are freezing cold, ghostly images walking in the gardens at night. Laughable dime store novel trash yet it all sells books. Can't see how anyone could get confused over such shear nonsense and Kellsboro you are correct there are many such stories here and elsewhere. It makes storytelling amusing. I love this place nonetheless, shear extravagance and the last of its kind.

Ultimately I believe most people are smart enough to know when their leg is being pulled even when published. Wish the best for Winfield Hall's future, the ghosts, goblins and evil spirits all. NYarch

Charles said...

When I was attending the 100th anniversary of the John Teele Pratt mansion in Glen Cove a few years ago, I was viewing Edna Woolworths dress that was on display there when a woman and her son struck up a conversation with me. They told me that when they were working for Pall Corp at the Woolworth mansion, they both had seen a ghostly woman in blue in the the garden. Of course, they may have been fabricating this story, but...

Anonymous said...

Lol, the ghost stories are really ridiculous. If you need proof, any self respecting ghost or spirit or entity haunting or hanging out in the Woolworth mansion would have chased off the Carey family decades ago. Since they are still there, it's proof positive there are no ghosts. Period.