An illustrated treasury of the most magnificent Long Island mansions and a compendium of the architects who designed them. Long Island, particularly the North Shore, was the site of some of the most lavish and extravagant residences in the world. The island's beauty, its proximity and easy travel access to New York, and its suitability for yachting and other recreational pursuits made it the perfect place for the leisure class. From the Civil War to World War II, almost 1000 estates were built there, often by the nation's richest families--Morgan, Vanderbilt, Hearst, Astor, Woolworth, Chrysler, Whitney, Tiffany, Frick, and Guggenheim, to name a few. Long Island's rich architectural history is presented in this important and long-awaited volume. It is at once a fascinating glimpse at the homes of some of America's wealthiest families and a complete compendium of the architects who designed these breathtaking houses. Among them are Delano & Aldrich; Cass Gilbert; Richard Morris Hunt; McKim, Mead & White; Horace Trumbauer; Calvert Vaux; and Warren & Wetmore. Over 1200 photographs and drawings.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. Pub. Date: 17th April 1997 Catalog: Book Media: Hardcover Number Of Pages: 563 Ean: 9780393038569 Isbn: 0393038564
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USER REVIEWS
Great book ~ Written on Dec 17, 2004. 17 out of 17 users found this review helpful.
I have to first say thank you to the author for giving us this exhaustively researched book. I expecially appreicated that the house was most always pictured with the description. The historical B&W photos are great. The book also lets you know if the house is still in extant, that is KEY in a book of this kind. I was amazed at how many survived and saddened at those that didn't. Your heart will pound as you look down to read if the beautiful house you are looking at survived. I think it is sad that so many know about the great houses of Newport and the Hudson River Valley, but forget about the greatest collection of all: The Gold Coast of Long Island. I hope if this book does nothing else,it makes developers think for a second before tearing down history. We will never see houses in America like this again. Job well done, indeed.
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