Customer Reviews

Mansions of Long Island's Gold Coast

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I grew up in the Gold Coast area and go back to visit every year. I ordered this book after coming back this year. I remember many of these places from when I was a boy decades ago and it was wonderful to see some of the photos and descriptions of places I have been, and even better to see the interiors of places I have not been in. It is hard to imagine what these places were like if you have never been there. The scale of living is almost unimaginable today, and to have that much money and power concentrated in one place will likely never happen again. This book helps recreate that time and place and feeling. As it is almost 20 years old now I would like to see an update on this book. For instance, Oak Point in Bayville, mentioned in the chapter on Play Houses, has been completed subdivided now. On the other hand Planting Fields in MIll Neck is almost completely restored and is a wonderful place to visit, although it was a bit disconcerting to go on a tour of the mansion and view rooms and objects that you couldn't touch when I had actually sat in some of those chairs in those same rooms thirty years ago. My only criticisms would be that I would have liked to see more color photos, more detail on a few of the places, and more exact location info on all the places. If you have any interest in this era or this area buy this book.

This slender but well illustrated book features the magnificant homes built in the early part of the twentieth century by the wealthy residents of Long Island's North Shore. It is an excellent momento if you have been visiting Long Island. For a person, like me, who grew up on Long Island and drove past these estates daily, it is a wonderful chance to see behind the big walls and know more about the families who built them

The BEST book on the mansions of Long Island. Great photos & stories by the author. She even periodically gives lectures which are well worth attending. Extremely interesting facts.

Who knew that amongst such enormous mansions built by the weathiest and most famous of american entrepeneurs could stand a modestly sized mansion of such wonderful taste and stylistic grace. Bravo to monica randall for presenting the wonderful Foxland mansion to the world!!