I’ve always been fascinated by the Gilded Age so it wasn’t surprising that I found HBO’s The Gilded Age riveting. It wasn’t the storyline that hooked me as much as the show’s flashy settings and costumes, placing the time-period in its historical context. The new year features season three of the show. But I decided, why wait for the show to wow me when I can visit the sites in person?
There are so many Gilded Age locations to visit close to home. Check out last month’s Main Line Neighbors newsletter focused on local Gilded Age mansions. Within a few hours’ drive, there are even more. All of these former residences are in fairly close proximity to one another by car. Guided tours at each stop include lots of walking, a plus if you’re counting steps.
The Gilded Age was a time filled with over-the-top architecture, grand interiors, eclectic art and now represents a period in American history. It was also marked by the extreme polarity of wealth and poverty. Issues of immigration, political corruption and women’s rights were all on display. Hmm, sounds familiar.
Because Long Island was a Gilded Age hot spot, we chose to meet friends from Connecticut there because it was about the same distance for each of us. Visiting the area was a blast. We stayed at nearby Oheka Castle a French-style chateau built during the Gilded Age for financier Otto Kahn on the highest point in Long Island. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it served as a setting for the TV series Succession. It was recently renovated and remodeled as a hotel noted for cavernous spaces and well-maintained grounds to explore.
Less than an hour’s drive from the hotel was my favorite former Gilded Age residence, Falaise (French for “cliff”). It’s furnished with antiques, many from the 16th and 17th century. It was both a museum and residence. Harry and Caroline Guggenheim collected architectural fragments of medieval and Renaissance-period buildings, woodcarvings, sculptures, columns, doors, gates so Renaissance masterpieces are interspersed throughout. Built by architect Frederick J. Sterner in the style of a 13th century Norman manor house, Falaise appears less grand when compared to its neighbors’ but the collections are awe inducing.
The original Guggenheim Estate is in the care of Sands Point Preserve. It is one of the mansions on the grounds: Castle Gould, Falaise, and Mille Fleur.
Another of the Gold Coast period’s summer estates along the Long Island Sound is Hempstead House, a Tudor style castle that’s 50,000 square feet. It served as the summer residence of Howard Gould and then Daniel and Florence Guggenheim.
Old Westbury Gardens is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the former home of John S. Phipps, his wife Margarita Grace Phipps and their four children. Completed in 1906 by the English designer, George A. Crawley, the Charles II-style mansion is surrounded by 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Westbury House is furnished with English antiques and decorative arts from the family’s more than fifty years of residence.
Planting Fields Coe Estate’s Coe Hall, a 65-room Tudor Revival mansion, was designed by architects Walker & Gillette. In 1913 the land was purchased by William Robertson Coe, an English immigrant, and Mai Rogers Coe, heiress and daughter of Standard Oil partner Henry Huttleston Rogers. The lavish lifestyle of the Coes included five US homes and associated pastimes included interior decoration along with horse racing, hunting, plant hybridization, animal husbandry, and patronage of the arts.
Oyster Bay, NY’s Sagamore Hill was home to Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President from 1885-1919. Well preserved interiors helps history come alive but there were far too many hunting trophies on the walls for my comfort.
About one hour away is Eagle’s Nest – Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium – William Vanderbilt’s former summer estate and private museum is open to the public. Tours share the complex history of the Vanderbilt family and visits to living quarters can be focused on history, architecture and design.
Looking ahead, November’s MainLine Neighbors newsletter focuses on additional Gilded Age homes in NY’s Hudson Valley: Lyndhurst Castle, Vanderbilt Mansion (Frederick William Vanderbilt). Also included will be Newport Rhode Island’s grand home treasures, especially Cornelius Vanderbilt’s opulent, jaw dropping Breakers, built during this fascinating period of American history.
Traveling back in time,
Jane
