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TheNorth Shore of Long Island is the area along the northern coast ofNew York'sLong Island borderingLong 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.[1] Historically, this term refers to the affluent coastline neighborhoods of the towns ofNorth Hempstead (such asGreat Neck andPort Washington),Glen Cove, andOyster Bay inNassau County andHuntington inSuffolk County. Some definitions may also include the parts ofSmithtown that face the Sound. The region is also largely coextensive with theGold Coast region 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 Salonga section of Huntington.[2][3]
Being a remnant of theHarbor Hill Moraine the North Shore is somewhat hilly, and its beaches are more rocky than those on the flat, sandyoutwash plain of theSouth Shore along the Atlantic Ocean. Large boulders known asglacial erratics are scattered across the area.[4]
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 Colony andConnecticut 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.
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).[5]
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 Castle was reputed to be thesecond largest private home in the United States, second only to theBiltmore Estate inAsheville, North Carolina. Alternatively, some eschewed formal mansions and erected largeshingle-style and 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.
Following World War II many Gold Coast mansions were demolished and their estates subdivided intosuburban-style developments. Only about 200 of the original 500 survive.[citation needed] 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 Seversky Mansion, Otto Kahn'sOheka Castle, andJohn Shaffer Phipps'Westbury House were turned intomuseum homes, conference centers, and resorts. Others repurposed for non-residential uses includeHerbert L. Pratt'sGlen Cove country home,The Braes, turned into theWebb Institute,Walter Chrysler'sKings Point estate, "Forker House", turned into theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy, andU.S. Steel heirChilds Frick's "Clayton" theNassau County Museum of Art.
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.
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.
