The End is Nigh...

As the year comes to an end the time has come to look back on what Long Island lost this past year.  Most notably was 'Inisfada', the 1919 Nicholas F. Brady estate demolished earlier this month in North Hills (above and below).  In the six years I've been writing this blog Long Island has seen the razing of numerous estate houses including 'Lands End', the F. Skiddy Von Stade residence (which was beyond salvage), 'Groombridge', 'Les Bois', and a number of smaller, less notable places.  Let's hope 2014 will be a better year.  Happy New Year!

Photos courtesy of Kyle Peterson.

Inisfada's Demolition

As we learned today the demolition of 'Inisfada' has begun (and possibly concluded).  Click HERE for the Newsday article on the issue and HERE for more on the estate.

'Bonnie Blink'

'Bonnie Blink', the Henry Phipps estate designed by Horace Trumbauer c. 1916 in Lake Success.  Click HERE for more on 'Bonnie Blink'.  Photo from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Gardens.

'Inisfada'

'Inisfada', the Nicholas Frederic Brady estate designed by John Torrey Windrim c. 1919 in North Hills. Click HERE for more on 'Inisfada' which was recently put up for sale and possibly headed for demolition.  Click HERE to see 'Inisfada' on bing.  Photo from the Aiglon Archive.  Okay...have at it.

'Tullaroan'

'Tullaroan', the Joseph P. Grace estate designed by James O'Connor c. 1910 in North Hills.  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Tullaroan'.  Photo from the Aiglon Archives.

'Bonnie Blink'

'Bonnie Blink', the Henry Phipps estate designed by Horace Trumbauer c. 1916 in Lake Success.  Phipps was a partner and co-founder of Carnegie Steel, a noted philanthropist and patriarch of the Phipps family.  All his children resided in the Old Westbury vicinity; Jay at 'Westbury House', Hal at 'Spring Hill', Howard at 'Erchless', Amy at 'Templeton' and Helen at 'Knole'.  Today the residence is the administration building for the Great Neck School District.  Click HERE to see 'Bonnie Blink' on google earth and HERE on bing.  Photo from the Aiglon Archives.

'Tullaroan' Farm Group

The farm group to 'Tullaroan', the Joseph Peter Grace estate designed by James O'Connor c. 1910 in North Hills.  Click HERE for more on 'Tullaroan'.  Click HERE to see the estate on google earth and HERE on bing.

Photos from Architectural Review, 1920.

'Inisfada' For Sale

 A Massey Knakal sales brochure for 'Inisfada', the Nicholas F. Brady estate designed by John Torrey Windrim c. 1919 in North Hills, currently listed for $49,000,000.  Click HERE for more on 'Inisfada'.  It will be very interesting to see how this develops.

'Cassleigh'

'Cassleigh', the Augustus Cass Canfield estate designed by McKim, Mead & White c. 1902 in North Hills.  Canfield was the son of Capt. Canfield of the United States Topographical Engineers and on his mother's side was grandson of Gen. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War under Andrew Jackson.  He was a designer of schooners and was a prominent club and yachtsman.  Canfield died in 1904 before the house was completed.  His wife went on to remarry in 1907 and lived on the estate until 1915.  'Cassleigh' was later purchased by John Dennis Ryan who renamed the estate 'Derrymore'.  Ryan was chairman and president of Anaconda Copper Mining Co. and president of the Montana Power Co. among numerous other positions.  The residence was demolished c. 1940 and part of the property now makes up Christopher Morley Park, click HERE to see the location on google earth.

Photos from Scientific American, 1905.

'Kiluna Farm'

'Kiluna Farm', the Ralph Pulitzer estate designed by Walker & Gillette c. 1910 in North Hills.  Pulitzer was the son of Joseph Pulitzer and publisher of the New York World.  The estate is pictured here in 1942 under the ownership of William S. Paley (before his 1947 marriage to Barbara Cushing Mortimer, better known as Babe Paley).  Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Kiluna Farm' which was demolished c. 1990 after an arson fire destroyed much of the building.

Photos from the Library of Congress.

'Northcourt'

'Northcourt', the Lawrence Hobart Shearman estate designed by James O'Connor c. 1918 in North Hills.  Click HERE for more and HERE to see the brochure from when 'Northcourt' was for sale.  Photo from American Country Homes of Today, 1928.

The William Seward Webb Jr. Estate

 The William Seward Webb Jr. estate designed by Cross & Cross c. 1916 in North Hills.  Webb was the son of William Seward and Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb and the younger brother of J. Watson Webb of 'Woodbury House'.  Their sister Frederica was married to Ralph Pulitzer of 'Kiluna Farm' and Webb's house abutted their property.  He was a founder and partner in the real estate firm of Webb & Knapp and was partner in the stock brokerage firm of Greer, Crane & Webb.  The residence has since been demolished.

Photos from Architecture, 1917.

'Kiluna Farm' Indoor Tennis Court

The James O'Connor designed indoor tennis court at 'Kiluna Farm', the Ralph Pulitzer estate designed by Walker & Gillette c. 1910 in North Hills. Click HERE for more on 'Kiluna Farm'. The estate has since been demolished (after it burned down) but click HERE to see where it stood on google earth. Photo from Selections From the Work of James O'Connor.

'Brookwood'

'Brookwood', the Henry Miller Minton estate designed by Thomas H. Ellet c. 1929 in North Hills. Minton was chairman and president of Church & Dwight Co., the company behind Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. The house is no longer extant.

'Tullaroan'

'Tullaroan', the Joseph Peter Grace Sr. estate designed by James O'Connor c. 1910 in North Hills (I do not know why it is listed as Glen Cove in the pictures). J.P. Grace was president and chairman of the board of W.R. Grace & Co. The estate had Olmsted landscaping and alterations by Horace Trumbauer in 1917. Grace was married to Janet Macdonald, daughter of Charles B. Macdonald who resided at 'Ballyshear' in Southampton. In 1954 the estate became the Deepdale Golf Course with the main residence becoming the clubhouse. Click HERE to see 'Tullaroan' on google earth and HERE on bing.

Pictures from American Architect & Architecture, 1913.

'Groombridge'

'Groombridge', the John George Milburn Sr. estate built c. 1924 in North Hills. Milburn, a founding partner of the law firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, was the father of Devereaux Milburn who resided at 'Sunridge Hall' in Old Westbury. He was also the chairman of the board of trustees at Barnard College. Milburn was the president of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo when President McKinley was shot, and it was Milburn's home that McKinley was brought to and eventually died in. Milburn himself died in 1930 at the age of 79. The house was recently demolished, it still appears in one angle on Bing which can be seen HERE. Click HERE to see where 'Groombridge' stood on google earth.

Click below to see 'Groombridge' intact in a 1966 aerial shot. Brochure courtesy of SPLIA.

'Inisfada'

'Inisfada', the Nicholas Frederic Brady estate designed by John Torrey Windrim c. 1919 in North Hills with landscaping by the Olmsted Brothers, Samuel Parsons and Ferruccio Vitale. Brady was chairman of the board of New York Edison Company, a director at roughly 50 other companies and a leading Catholic layman in the country (enough so that the Pope, a close personal friend, sent him a message while Brady was on his deathbed in 1930). Following his father's death in 1913 Brady also became the head of Edison Electrical Illuminating Company of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. Brady's wife, formerly Genevieve F. Garvan, was chairman of the board of the Girl Scouts of America. In 1937, Brady's widow donated the house to the Roman Catholic Church and 'Inisfada' is now known as the St. Ignatius Retreat House and is operated by the Jesuit Order. Click HERE to see 'Inisfada' on google earth and HERE for bing.  'Inisfada' was demolished in December 2013.

Click below to see 'Inisfada' in a 1966 aerial shot before the surrounding area was developed. Pictures from American Architect & Architecture, 1922.

'Northcourt'

'Northcourt', the Lawrence Hobart Shearman estate designed by James O'Connor c. 1918 in North Hills. Shearman was vice-president of W.R. Grace & Co.. Click HERE to see the brochure from when 'Northcourt' was for sale. Today the house is part of the Buckley Country Day School. Click HERE to see 'Northcourt' on google earth.

Pictures from American Architect & Architecture, 1921.