Monday, February 13, 2023 – WHERE THE RICH AND FAMOUS CAME TO PLAY

By admin

FROM THE ARCHIVES

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023


ISSUE  912

LOST MANSIONS

OF

LONG ISLAND’S GOLD COAST

Untapped New York

The Beacon Towers, also known as the Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont estate, was constructed in Sands Point, along the coastline of the north shore. Built in 1917 to 1918 for Alva Belmont, the ex-wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt and widow of Oliver Belmont, the estate was replica of an Irish castle. It was eventually acquired by William Randolph Hearst, who went on to sell the property in 1942. Three years later, the estate was demolished to make way for a new development.Although now in ruins, during its heyday, the mansion appeared to be a wondrous Irish castle on the sand. Today, only some fencing and other various small components of the structure remain since its demolition.

King Zog’s mansion can be found in Brookville, Long Island at the Muttontown Preserve. The last monarch of Albania, King Zog fled his home country after the 1939 Italian invasion. In 1951, he paid $100,000 for the Knollwood Estate at Muttontown. However, King Zog never actually moved into the mansion, choosing instead to live in Europe and Africa.

He sold the property in 1955, but rumors about hidden treasures within the mansion have sparked vandals’ curiosity, and the mansion was quickly looted, leading to the new owners selling it in 1959. Today, the mansion is in ruins, and forgotten is the refuge and sign of hope for King Zog and his family.

If Lands End looks at all familiar to you, you might recognize it as the inspiration for Daisy’s Buchanan’s “East Egg” mansion in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The Stanford White-designed mansion laid in debris and remnants before it was officially demolished in 2011 to make way for the construction of 5 $10 million custom homes. Developers attempted to sell the 25-room mansion for $30 million, but with no bids, they were forced to tear it down.

Famous names known to attend parties at Lands End include Winston Churchill, Ethel Barrymore, The Marx Brothers, and F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. 

The now-demolished Harbor Hill, Clarence MacKay estate was once home to a mansion and expanse of stables. It was constructed from 1899-1902 in Roslyn, and was designed by prominent American architecture firm, McKim, Mead, and White, with Stanford White as the supervisor of the project.

All that remains of the estate in the stone drive entry and an original statue of a house and rider that now stands in front of Roslyn High School, which has since taken the mansion’s place. The estate is also now occupied by the Roslyn A.N.G. Station, a housing development, and the town pool.

JOIN US IN PERSON
AT THE R.I. BRANCH NYPL
IN PERSON

Tuesday, March 7th  6:30 pm. 
“The Challenges of Building the LIRR Grand Central Madison Terminal – The East Side Access” 
Nasri Munfah

Nasri Munfah is a Professional Engineer and a Principal of Gall Zeidler Consultants, a global specialty tunneling and underground engineering firm. He is responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s long term strategic growth plan, he oversees the firm’s tunneling and underground projects, and provides leadership in project delivery and the development of innovative solutions.  With over 40 years of experience in tunneling and underground engineering, he was responsible for the successful delivery of multi-billion-dollar projects in the US and internationally. Among his notable projects are: The East Side Access in New York, the Gateway Program in NY/NJ, The Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle, The Central Subway in San Francisco, and the Istanbul Strait Crossing in Turkey.
Mr. Munfah is a member of the International Tunneling Association (ITA), The Underground Construction Association of the US, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and The Moles Organization. He is the Animateur (Chair) of ITA Working Group 19 “Conventional Tunneling”, and an associate professor at Columbia University.  He has published numerous papers and technical articles and he is the recipient of several awards.

 PHOTO OF THE DAY

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NEW LOBBY OF ONE VANDERBILT

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated

TEXT COURTESY OF UNTAPPED NEW YORK

THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

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