Visit mansions and estates on Long Island
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Today's McMansions have nothing on the grand estates that flourished on Long Island in the 1910s and '20s. Here are a handful of spectacular houses from our Gilded Age that are open to the public.
ExploreTV: Gold Coast mansion tours
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Today's McMansions have nothing on the grand estates that flourished on Long Island in the 1910s and '20s. But most of those North Shore grandams have not aged gracefully. Some burned, some were razed, still others survive only in fragments - a carriage house here, an entry gate there.
Here are a handful of spectacular houses from our Gilded Age that are open to the public.
Coe Hall At Planting Fields Arboretum: 1395 Planting Fields Rd., Oyster Bay, 516-922-9200, plantingfields.org
Admission: $6.50 tours, $6 parking
Otherwise known as "the mansion at Planting Fields," this limestone Tudor is the erstwhile home to the oil-rich Coe family. The surrounding gardens are evidence of patriarch William Coe's passion for horticulture. And the imposing Carshalton Gates that flank the main drive, created in 1712 for an English estate, speak to the ubiquitous Gold Coast imperative to import a sense of grandeur and timelessness, whatever the cost.
Westbury House Old Westbury Gardens: 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury, 516-333-0048, oldwestburygardens.org
Admission: $10
Arguably, this Old Westbury estate is the crown jewel of Long Island's surviving Gold Coast properties. Formerly home to the John S. Phipps family, which made its money in steel, the Charles II-style mansion is surrounded by 160 acres of gardens, woodlands and ponds. Inside, the classically inspired rooms, from the red ballroom to the white drawing room, are filled with centuries-old English antiques.
Hempstead House and Falaise Sands Point Preserve: 127 Middleneck Rd., Port Washington, 516-571-7900, sandspointpreserve.org
Admission: $6, $5 seniors
Built by Jay Gould at the turn of the last century, the castlelike Hempstead House was later acquired by Daniel Guggenheim. After his death, the building was used by the Navy as a training center, and some of its interior detail was lost. Today, the house remains unfurnished, making it a welcome canvas for visitors' imagination.
Nearby Falaise was built in 1923 for Daniel's son (and Newsday founder) Harry, its design inspired by a 13th century Norman manor house, from the round tower to the enclosed cobblestone courtyard.
Vanderbilt Museum: 180 Little Neck Rd., Centerport, 631-854-5555, vanderbiltmuseum.org
Admission: $7 ($3 extra for house tour)
As a family, the Vanderbilts erected their fair share of opulent digs, from the Breakers in Newport, R.I., to the gi-normous Biltmore in Ashville, N.C. Young William K. Vanderbilt II broke out of the English- and French-inspired aesthetic when he commissioned this Spanish-Mediterranean aerie. Initially built in 1910 as a bachelor retreat, the bungalow on Northport Harbor soon expanded when Vanderbilt acquired his father's estate and married. Still furnished with much of Vanderbilt's original furniture and objets d'art, the estate also reflects his obsession with racing, both cars and sailboats.
Former mansions and their modern identities:
Other than museumhood, another survival mechanism for these impossibly grandiose estates was conversion into a public or private building. Here are some former mansions and their modern identities:
Oheka Castle: 135 West Gate Dr., Huntington, 631-659-1400 ohekacastle.com
Tours: By appointment
A composite of the first letters of its financier-owner's name - Otto Hermann Kahn - this chateau-style mansion is the second-largest private residence built in the country. Sitting on the highest point on Long Island, it is now a luxury hotel and wedding venue.
Herbert L. Pratt estate: Glen Cove, webb-institute.edu
Tours: By appointment
This Jacobean style mansion, built in 1912 and named Braes (Scottish for "hillside"), is now home to the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture.
Robert L. Dodge estate: Frost Mill Road, Mill Neck Manor, 631-264-0662
Tours: None
Now utilized as the Mill Neck School for the Deaf, this mansion is open to the pubic once a year during the school's annual apple festival.
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