- Harbor Hill
Harbor Hill was a spectacular Long Island mansion built from 1899-1902 in
Roslyn, New York , commissioned byClarence Hungerford Mackay . It was designed byMcKim, Mead, and White , withStanford White supervising the project. It was the largest home he ever designed. [http://antiquesandthearts.com/archive/stan.htm]Clarence Mackay (1874-1938) was the son of
Comstock Lode magnateJohn William Mackay , and inherited much of an estimated $500 million fortune upon his father's death in 1902. White collaborated closely with Clarence Mackay's wife, Katharine Duer Mackay (1880-1930), and with her approval, based the main facade of Harbor Hill upon that ofFrançois Mansart 'sChâteau de Maisons of 1642, using a mix of other influences to finish the overall design.Built at great expense and furnished lavishly (at least three different decorating firms were employed), the home originally sat on 688 acres and enjoyed views across Roslyn Harbor to the
Long Island Sound . Formal terraces and gardens were finished byGuy Lowell . After Harbor Hill was dynamited in 1947, a fountain with four equestrian statues, designed byHenri Gréber , was moved toKansas City, Missouri where it has since been on public display adjacent to theCountry Club Plaza .Links
* [http://www.mackayhistory.com/HarborHill.html Harbor Hill: An Appreciation]
* [http://www.vintagedesigns.com/id/mkm/mackay/index.htm Interior of the house, 1903-1904]See also "Harbor Hill: Portrait of a House" by Richard Guy Wilson.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
