Taking a tour of Oheka Castle in Huntington makes you
wonder if the supersizing phenomenon is really anything new. At 109,000 square feet, the French-style concrete chateau Otto Herman Kahn completed in 1919 is the second-largest private residence ever built in America, after the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. And it wasn't even Kahn's principal dwelling, but his summer home.
"It was meant to be a party place," says Nancy Murton, director of operations for Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate. "His wife, Addie, called the place 'Otto's Zoo,' because he always had a few hundred people there."
About six months ago, Oheka began offering private tours for the first time on days when no events are planned. Visitors are advised to call ahead, but if you are in the neighborhood and drive up to the gates unannounced, you may also be accommodated, Murton says.
What you'll get is a one-hour peek at the outsize country crib Kahn built for $11 million. (The name derives from the first letter of Otto, and the first two letters of HErman and KAhn). You'll be walking in the footsteps of Kahn's famous guests, who included heads of state, royals and such international stars as Charlie Chaplin and Enrico Caruso. The latter was the singing entertainment at one of Kahn's blowouts. Furthering the mansion's mystique, Oheka was featured in newsreel footage at the beginning of the 1941 film "Citizen Kane," Murton says.
Following Kahn's death of a heart attack in 1934, Oheka became a retirement home and then a military academy, before falling into disrepair in the late 1970s. Long Island developer Gary Melius took Oheka over in 1984 and began restoring it. Today Oheka is Melius' home as well as a catering facility and a lodging with 32 guest rooms and suites (stays cost $295 and up).
The tour varies depending on what's going on in the castle, which frequently hosts modern-day celebrities in the guest rooms, film crews and wedding parties. ( Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher recently filmed scenes there for "What Happens in Vegas," a romantic comedy, and Kutcher and Demi Moore celebrated their second wedding anniversary in one of the suites.) Tour stops include the grand ballroom, the formal dining room, the terrace room, the library, the Addie Kahn Room and the Chaplin Room, which is decorated with posters from the Little Tramp's films. It finishes with a snack of coffee, tea and cookies prepared by Oheka's pastry chef. For an additional fee, a "Behind the Scenes" tour takes you to the catering and pastry kitchens, pool area and other subterranean features.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Oheka contains none of the original furniture or art. But some architectural features have been restored, such as the marble staircase in the foyer, inspired by the exterior staircase of the Chateau Fountainbleu outside Paris. It includes the original wrought iron handrail. The library's walls are made of faux bois, a painted plaster Kahn preferred over wood because he was afraid of fires, Murton says. Two "Triton" statues, believed to have been part of the original estate, which were recently donated by the Friends of Oheka preservation group, stand watch over the formal gardens. The restoration is 70 percent complete and will include a new restaurant and spa, Murton says.
WHEN&WHERE: Oheka Castle & Estate guided one-hour tours. Daily by appointment or request, 631-659-1400. $25 adults, $20 seniors, $15 ages 13-17, 12 and under free. Includes video presentation and refreshments; $15 additional for behind-the-scenes tour. 135 West Gate Dr., Huntington, oheka.com.
Two more estate tours
You'll find more gilded glamour at two other historic estates that reopen for public tours in April. Starting Tuesday, guided tours will resume from noon to 3:30 p.m. daily at Coe Hall, a 1920s Tudor Revival mansion at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay. Newly added are paintings by Everett Shinn, a member of the famed Ashcan School art movement of the 19th century. Admission costs $6.50, $5 seniors, $2 ages 12 and younger. Parking costs $6 on weekends and holidays and daily beginning May 1.
The centerpiece of Old Westbury Gardens is Westbury House, the Charles II-style mansion built in 1906 for John S. Phipps and his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps. It reopens April 24 for house and garden tours daily (except Tuesdays) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10, $8 ages 62-older, $5 ages 7-12. For more information, call 516-333-0048 or visit
oldwestburygardens.org.
