Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects, 1860-1940 [Hardcover]

Anthony Baker (Editor), Robert B. MacKay (Editor), Carol A. Traynor (Editor), Brendan Gill (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393038564 | ISBN-13: 978-0393038569 | Publication Date: April 17, 1997

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

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony Baker is a vice president and trustee of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities and chairman of the publications committee.


Robert B. MacKay is the director of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities.


Carol A. Traynor is public affairs officer of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities.


Brendan Gill writes about architecture for the New York Times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 563 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (April 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393038564
• ISBN-13: 978-0393038569
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 17, 2004

By 

Shannon Deason (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects, 1860-1940 (Hardcover)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars If this is an interest of yours, this is very useful, April 3, 2011

By 

J. J. (LI, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Long Island Country Houses and Their Architects, 1860-1940 (Hardcover)

This has information on the area that other books do not. The houses here built before property taxes by people of means and taste.