Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sharing The Riches

A century ago, Long Island had very few people on it.  The only inhabitants were rich tycoons and poor farmers.  The area was a playground for the rich, with hundreds of acres of untouched beautiful nature where they built second homes.  The north shore of the Island was a string of mammoth mansions owed by the wealthiest of Americans.

Most of those mansions have since been broken up and developed into subdivisions.  A few, however, remain.  While almost all of these ancient mansions are in private hands, a couple were donated for public use.  I went to one today.

Now called Old Westbury Gardens, this 175-acre estate was built in 1904 by the heir to one of the partners of Andrew Carnegie, whose steel company was the biggest in the country.  When the heir died in the 1950's, his family decided to share the beauty of this place with the public and transformed it into a charitable park.

As you enjoy these pictures, imagine living there...



























13 comments:

  1. Wow this mansion is absolutely stunning. It has that old glamour to it, which you don't see in mcmansions built today. There is something so regal and high-class about it.

    I would love to visit one of those old homes. I read a bio about Edna Fitzgerald a while ago and I remember she used to go to Long Island with her famous husband for parties almost every weekend back in the twenties. Can you imagine how cool those parties must have been in mansions like this one?! Good lord.

    Hope you're having a great weekend!

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  2. Such a beautiful place. Reminds me of some of the plantation style mansions that remain here in the South. The gardens are beautiful. I was actually out in ours today snapping photos. We've got strawberries and tons of knock-out roses. I love the pansies, tulips and bleeding hearts (one of my fav flowers).

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  3. That's so pretty! I love the last picture of the tree.

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  4. That mansion looks so beautiful! I like touring old buildings and historic sights, especially "haunted" old mansions. This one looks to peaceful and pretty to be haunted. I bet it'd be spectacular for a wedding reception.

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  5. What a great place it looks like a palace... i cannot imagine how people would live in such a huge place.

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    1. With lots of servants! It'd take a team of workers to keep someplace this big clean and running.

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  6. What an absolutely splendid place to live!!!

    ∞ © tanvii.com ∞

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  7. fabulous
    i love that gate!!!!
    brett

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  8. Wow this place is amazing! I love the gardens, walkway and fountain. I love visiting old historical homes. Last summer I toured the Buckingham Palace Estate homes and it was so much fun. Definitely my kinda thing!
    Bola

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  9. After seeing your beautiful pictures, I'm just going to have to make time to visit the gardens this year!

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  10. Oh my gosh, those pictures are breathtaking. Very good stuff. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Preciosas fotos!

    www.infinitawishlist.com

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