North Shore (Long Island)

TheNorth Shore of Long Islandis the area along the northern coast ofNew York'sLong IslandborderingLong Island Sound.Known for its extreme wealth and lavish estates, the North Shore exploded into affluence at the turn of the 20th century, earning it the nickname theGold Coast.Historically, this term refers to the affluent coastline neighborhoods of the towns ofNorth Hempstead(such asGreat NeckandPort Washington) andOyster BayinNassau CountyandHuntingtoninSuffolk County.Some definitions may also include the parts ofSmithtownthat face the Sound. The region is also largely coextensive with theGold Coastregion of Long Island, though this region excludes Smithtown, as the easternmost Gold Coast mansion is the Geissler Estate, located just west of Indian Hills Country Club in theFort Salongasection of Huntington.

Being a remnant of theHarbor Hill Morainethe North Shore is somewhat hilly, and its beaches are more rocky than those on the flat, sandyoutwashplain of theSouth Shorealong the Atlantic Ocean. Large boulders known asglacial erraticsare scattered across the area.

History

Colonial Era

The North Shore was first settled by Europeans in the mid-1600s. Much of the area was initially controlled by the Dutch colony ofNew Netherland.Towns in the eastern part of the North Shore were settled by the English under the jurisdiction of theNew Haven ColonyandConnecticut Colony.This arrangement ended in 1664 with the English takeover of New Netherland, when all of Long Island was transferred into the newProvince of New York.

In its early days the North Shore was largely agricultural. Whaling was also a component of the early economy, as is commemorated inCold Spring Harbor'sWhaling Museum & Education Center.

Gilded Era

Oheka Castle,former estate of financierOtto Hermann Kahn

Old Westbury Gardens,the former estate ofU.S. SteelheirJohn Shaffer Phippsand now amuseum home

During theSecond Industrial Revolution,great fortunes were made in steel, transportation and other industries. Beginning in the early 1890s, lavish private estates were erected on what became known as the "Gold Coast" of Long Island. In all, over 500 mansions were built during this spree, concentrated in 70 square miles (180 km²).

Among those were expansive faux chateaux and castles belonging to theVanderbilts,Astors,Whitneys,Charles Pratt,J. P. Morgan,F. W. Woolworth,and others.Otto Kahn'sOheka Castlewas reputed to be thesecond largest private homein the United States, second only to theBiltmore EstateinAsheville, North Carolina.Alternatively, some eschewed formal mansions and erected largeshingle-styleand clapboard "cottages", such as Theodore Roosevelt'sSagamore Hill.

The greatest architects, landscapers, decorators and firms were employed, includingStanford White,John Russell Pope,Guy Lowell,andCarrère and Hastings.Architectural styles includedEnglish Tudor,French Chateau, Georgian, Gothic, Mediterranean, Norman, Roman, Spanish, and combinations of these. Rooms, outdoor structures, and entire buildings were dismantled in Europe and reassembled on the North Shore. Complementing the great houses were formal gardens, gazebos, greenhouses, stables, guest houses, gate houses, swimming pools, reflecting pools, ponds, children's playhouses, pleasure palaces, golf courses, and tennis courts. Activities such as horse riding, hunting, fishing, fox hunting, polo, yachting, golf, swimming, tennis, skeet shooting and winter sports, were held at the estates or exclusive clubs nearby such as the Beaver Dam Club, theSeawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club(1871),Meadow Brook Club(1881), Manhasset Bay Yacht Club (1892),Piping Rock Club(1912), and Creek Club (1923). Privacy was maintained with the huge land holdings, hedges and trees, fences, gates and gate houses, private roads, and lack of maps showing the location of the estates.

Post-War era

Following World War II many Gold Coast mansions were demolished and their estates subdivided intosuburban-styledevelopments. Only about 200 of the original 500 survive.As fortunes faded some of the largest or most prominent Gilded Era showpieces, such asDaniel Guggenheim'sGould-Guggenheim Estate,Theodore Roosevelt'sSagamore Hill,William Vanderbilt II'sEagle's Nest,theAlexander P. de SeverskyMansion, Otto Kahn'sOheka Castle,andJohn Shaffer Phipps'Westbury Housewere turned intomuseum homes,conference centers, and resorts. Others repurposed for non-residential uses includeHerbert L. Pratt'sGlen Covecountry home, "The Braes", turned into theWebb Institute,Walter Chrysler'sKings Pointestate, "Forker House", turned into theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy,andU.S. SteelheirChilds Frick's "Clayton" theNassau County Museum of Art.

Geography

Delineated perceptually by the Queens-Nassau border, the North Shore is marked by a series of necks (peninsulas) and populated harbors. North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Huntington comprise the land of this area, which is noted for its preservation of Gilded Age Estates. Beyond here, the towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven feature a similar trend of peninsulas and sheltered harbors are the sites of often similarly affluent areas such as Stony Brook, Port Jefferson, Wading River, etc., though the inclusion of these areas in the North Shore region is varied.

Once the island splits into two forks at its east end, the hills largely flatten out (and enter the town of Riverhead) to an out-wash plain and becomes largely rural (and enters the Town of Southold), with an economic stronghold on agriculture, particularly in the shape of wineries and vineyards. This recent trend, beginning in the 1980s with the conversion of potato farms, has given the North Fork the distinction of being the most productive agricultural area in New York State. Despite this, theNorth Fork,contrasts starkly with the more populated and more well-knownSouth Fork'sHamptons.The North Fork terminates at Orient Point, where the Cross Sound Ferry Company has a terminal for ferries bound for New London, CT. and Block Island, RI. The North Fork is almost never considered part of the North Shore, but is rather a separate, more rural geographic area.

Greenport, a village in Southold midway between Orient and Riverhead, is a major economic center for the North Fork and as such, is the eastern terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. The North Fork is also geographically tied toShelter Island,an island town in the Peconic Bay accessible via ferry that leaves from Greenport, adjacent to the railroad station. The island also has a ferry on its south side that connects with North Haven on the South Fork.

In popular culture

The demolishedBeacon Towersestate, along withOheka Castle,has been identified as an influence for the novelThe Great Gatsby

• In 1925, the North Shore is the setting ofF. Scott Fitzgerald's novelThe Great Gatsby,which centers on the area's wealth and the aspiration of the title character to be accepted into its high society. The novel's "West Egg" and "East Egg" were fictionalized versions of the real North Shore villages ofKings PointandSands Point,respectively.

• In 1990, the novelGold CoastbyNelson DeMilleis set on the North Shore.

• The distinctiveupper classspeech pattern known as "Locust Valley lockjaw"takes its name from the North Shore'sLocust Valleyarea. The aristocratic cachet persists despitesuburban infillconverting much of the North Shore into commuter towns.

Extant Gold Coast estates

• Caumsett,formerly the Marshall Field III Estate
• Coindre Hall
• Delamater-Bevin Mansion
• Greentree
• Harry E. Donnell House
• Hempstead House
• John E. Aldred Estate
• Killenworth
• Nassau County Museum of Art,formerly The Clayton Estate
• Oheka Castle
• Old Westbury Gardens
• Planting Fieldssite of Coe Hall, home of Williams Robertson Coe andMary (Mai) Huttleston Rogers Coe
• United States Merchant Marine Academy,formerly Forker House
• Vanderbilt Museum
• Webb Institute,formerly The Braes
• Welwyn Preserve,formerly the Welwyn Estate

Demolished mansions

Some mansions burned down, others that were abandoned were vandalized or overtaken by vegetation. Many were torn down to make room for developments, as theGreat Depression,poor financial decisions, increasing requirements for upkeep, and increasing income taxes depleted family fortunes. Some of the notable mansions that are now gone are included in the table below with some of their features.

Mansion	Construction	Rooms	Acres	Architects	Status	Location
Beacon Towers	1917–1918	60	18	Hunt & Hunt	demolished 1945	40°51′53″N73°43′40″W
Burrwood	1898–1899	40+	1,000	Carrère and Hastings	demolished 1995	40°53′1″N73°28′12″W
Farnsworth	c. 1914		50	Guy Lowell	demolished 1966	40°51′50″N73°33′58″W(stable and garage)
Ferguson Castle	1908	40		Allen W. Jackson	demolished 1970	40°53′39″N73°25′6″W(gate house)
Garvan	1891	60	101		demolished mid-1970s	40°47′59″N73°36′4″W
Harbor Hill	1900–1902		688	Stanford White	demolished Spring 1947	40°47′57″N73°38′1″W
Inisfada	1920	87	225	John Torrey Windrim	demolished December 2013	40°47′07″N73°39′59.2″W
Laurelton Hall	1902–1906	65	600	Louis Comfort Tiffany	burned down 1957	40°52′22″N73°29′1″W
Matinecock Point	1913	41	257	Christopher Grant La Farge	demolished 1980/1981	40°53′59″N73°37′53″W
Meudon	c. 1900	80	300	Charles P. H. Gilbert	demolished 1955	40°53′51″N73°36′15″W
Pembroke	1914–1916?	82	62	Charles P. H. Gilbert	demolished 1968	40°52′21″N73°39′11″W
Rosemary Farm	1907		159	William Eyre	burned down 1991 or 1992	40°54′25″N73°28′38″W
Roslyn House	1891			James Brown Lord	demolished 1974	40°47′55″N73°36′43″W
Westbrook Farms/Knollwood	1906–1920	60	262	Hiss & Weekes	demolished 1959	40°49′33″N73°32′11″W

List of communities

• Asharoken
• Baxter Estates
• Bayville
• Belle Terre
• Brookville
• Calverton
• Carle Place
• Centerport
• Centre Island
• Cold Spring Harbor
• Commack
• Cove Neck
• Dix Hills
• East Hills
• East Setauket
• East Shoreham
• East Northport
• East Norwich
• East Williston
• Eatons Neck
• Elwood
• Flower Hill
• Fort Salonga
• Garden City Park
• Glen Cove
• Glen Head
• Glenwood Landing
• Great Neck
• Great Neck Estates
• Greenport
• Halesite
• Harbor Hills
• Head of the Harbor
• Herricks
• Huntington
• Huntington Bay
• Huntington Station
• Kensington
• Kings Park
• Kings Point
• Lake Success
• Lattingtown
• Laurel Hollow
• Locust Valley
• Lloyd Harbor
• Manhasset
• Manhasset Hills
• Manorhaven
• Matinecock
• Mattituck
• Mill Neck
• Miller Place
• Mineola
• Mount Sinai
• Muttontown
• New Cassel
• New Hyde Park
• Nissequogue
• North Hills
• North New Hyde Park
• Northport
• Oyster Bay
• Oyster Bay Cove
• Old Brookville
• Old Field
• Old Westbury
• Orient
• Plandome
• Plandome Manor
• Poquott
• Port Jefferson
• Port Jefferson Station
• Port Washington North
• Port Washington
• Ridge
• Rocky Point
• Roslyn
• Roslyn Estates
• Roslyn Harbor
• Roslyn Heights
• Saddle Rock
• Saddle Rock Estates
• Sands Point
• Sea Cliff
• Setauket
• Shoreham
• Smithtown
• Sound Beach
• Southold
• South Huntington
• Stony Brook
• Strongs Neck
• Syosset
• Terryville
• Thomaston
• Upper Brookville
• Wading River
• West Hills
• Williston Park
• Woodbury

See also

• The Hamptons, New York
• Gold Coast (Connecticut)
• Gold Coast (New Jersey)
• Gold Coast (Florida)
• List of glacial moraines
• Terminal moraine

References

General sources

• AIA Architectural Guide to Nassau and Suffolk Counties.American Institute of Architects. Long Island Chapter, 1992.
• Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney.Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: An Artist's Country Estate.Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.
• Hewitt, Mark Alan.The Architect and the American Country House, 1890–1940.Yale Univ. Press. 1990.
• MacKay, Robert B.Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects 1860–1940.W. W. Norton, 1997.
• Mateyunas, Paul J.North Shore Long Island: Country Houses 1890–1950.Acanthus Press, 2007.
• Mensing, Kenneth G. and Rita Langdon.Hillwood: The Long Island estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post.Long Island University, 2008.
• Randall, Monica.The Mansions of Long Island's Gold Coast.Rizzoli, 1979.
• Randall, Monica.Winfield: Living in the Shadow of Woolworths.Thomas Dunne, 2003.
• Sclare, Lisa and Donald.Beaux-Arts Estates: A Guide to the Architecture of Long Island.Viking Press, 1980.
• Spinzia, Raymond E. and Judith A.Long Island's Prominent North Shore Families: Their Estates and Their Country HomesVol. 1–2. VirtualBookworm.com, 2006.
• Wilson, Richard Guy.Harbor Hill: Portrait of a House.W. W. Norton, 2008.

External links

• Old Long Island - Dedicated to the preservation of Long Island's Gold Coast estates
• LIGC - Over 700 tags identifying Long Island's Gold Coast mansions and gardensatWikimapia
• Gold Coast Mansions of Long Island, New York
• Long Island's Gold Coast Past and Present
• "Gold Coast Mansions"—episode of the PBS television documentary seriesTreasures of New York
• History, NYIT de Seversky Mansion