The Roslyn Country Home of a 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race Spectator- Clarence Mackay
As a friend of William k. Vanderbilt, Jr. and a member of high society, Clarence Mackay had a premium seat to watch the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race. With the assistance of master mapper Frank Femenias, the Roslyn (now East Hills) location of Mackay's long demolished Harbor Hill estate is explored below.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
For profiles of over 150 historic properties in the Roslyn community, visit Roslylandmarks.org.
Join the Roslyn Landmark Society and support the Roslyn Grist Mill Project.
Clarence Mackay (1874-1938)
Clarence Mackay (1874-1938) was the heir to the Comstock silver fortune and was a major figure in the development of the international telegraph business
1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race
As seen in this photo following the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race, William K. Vanderbilt Jr. (in the middle wearing goggles) was asked to address his friends and race officials at the Westbury grandstand.
Clarence Mackay can seen standing next to Willie K. during the speech.
Harbor Hill Estate
Among the largest estates ever amassed on Long Island was the enormous Renaissance –style mansion known as Harbor Hill designed in 1899 by Stanford White and built in 1900 to 1902 for Clarence H. Mackay and his wife Katherine.
The 648-acre estate, built in 1900-1902, was located atop the highest point in the area overlooking the village of Roslyn and Hempstead Harbor. Mackay and his wife hosted large events at the estate for his friends and charities.
The estate was divided into formal gardens and terraces surrounding the main house and a 70-acre farm. At the bottom of the west garden, Mackay commissioned two replicas of the famous Marly Horses statues. The 26-foot statues and pedestals were carved by sculptor Franz Plumelet and installed in 1920.
As seen in 2009, the south Mackay Horse Statue was still at its original location behind a home at 165 Poplar Lane, East Hills.
The horse could be seen above the garage.
The two Mackay Horse Statues have been restored and relocated. The south Mackay Estate Horse Statue is now in Gerry Pond Park in Roslyn.
The north Mackay Estate Horse Tamer Statue is located in the parking lot of the Roslyn High School.
With Clarence Mackay’s death in 1938, the Harbor Hill estate was left to his son John Mackay III. Due to vandalism during the World War II, the mansion was demolished in 1947. The property was sold in the late 1950s and became the Country Estates housing development
Location of the Harbor Hill Mansion and Gardens. Courtesy of Frank Femenias.
1938 Aerial. Courtesy of Stony Brook Digital Library.
Long Island mansion explorers have long tried to determine out the actual site of the Harbor Hill mansion and gardens. Our master mapper Frank Femenias has provided his findings.
The mansion was located at the current intersection of Lufberry Drive and Ash Drive in East Hills.
The Lay-Out of A Large Estate The Architectural Record, July-December 1904
Comments
Great stuff!
If you look at Google Street View, it looks like the two photos of 165 Poplar drive are reversed.
__________________________________________________________
Howard Kroplick:
Two different views: One from the street and one in the backyard. It was an amazing sight. The property owner was selling the home and the statue was in jeopardy of being demolished. Ian Zwerdling and I stepped in and helped transfer ownership to the Town of North Hempstead and relocation to Gerry Park.
Looking back at the current view of the Roslyn site, Mackay mansion was four times larger than the biggest house in the area today! He was only 28 years of age when he built the house on the hill. Sadly, there is no evidence at all today of the former estate. It’s been completely wiped off the map. THANK YOU Howard for saving those Mackay horses!
Frank- At least the Dairy man’s cottage, water tower, and front gate are still there.
https://www.roslynlandmarks.org/projects/mackay-estate-dairymans-cottage
Greg, great info, I was unaware. The path leading to the water tower still has a horse/pillar ornament mounted at its entrance, and the Dairy Man’s cottage sits at an amazing 3/4 miles away from the mansion!
Howard, Best, most thorough and informative article I’ve ever seen on the Mackay estate and family. Was he involved with the Vanderbilt Cup Races in ant way?
Al, he ran in the same social circles as Willie K.. However, he appears only to have attended the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race.
Their name was pronounced MACKee. His father started the family fortune silver mining in Virginia City NV. John Mackay lived in NV while his wife partied in France. There was still enough money for Clarence to invest in the Atlantic under water telegraph system that kept the family’s wealth in tact. Nevada silver money helped finance the North during the Civil War.
Howard, Clarence Mackay did invest in the Long Island Motor Parkway investing $5,000 in stock and bonds.
Wonderful article and Frank, thanks for the mapping!
An researcher’s old website (http://www.mackayhistory.com/MackayStories_Contents.html) contains some personal remembrances of the estate for those interested. One recounts a party for the Prince of Wales with 1200 guests and that MacKay was once clocked at 14(!) MPH.
(Father) John started the telegraph business and built the Postal Telegraph Bldg on Broadway, that exists as a landmark today. Clarence extended the business, later selling out to ITT, only to be ruined in the 1929 crash.
Father John was known as the “Bonanza King” because this strike, near Virginia City, was considered as the ultimate “bonanza” strike. A reason that a show set near Virginia City about a family named the Cartwrights was called “Bonanza.”
As I recall, the pronunciation was actually Ma-KIGH’, which would correspond with its Scots origin. The front gate has always been prominent in my memory and here it is looking slightly west of north from the intersection of Main Street/Roslyn Road and Harbor Hill Road. Also as I recall, there were, and still may be, some remanent structures beyond the gate - a swimming pool or tennis court (Dave Russo - hint, hint). How about King Zog’s estate next? Hey, it was/is just up 106 from the VCR course (a LIMP excuse)! Sam, III
Oops - forgot to note that that big, bulky guy to MacKay’s left in the post-race pic is probably none other than the redoubtable Jefferson De Mont Thompson, Chairman of the Vanderbilt Cup Commission, and Director and Treasurer of the Parkway. Sam, III
Moved from Manhattan to Crabapple drive in 1956/57. I was six. Only about 15 houses built at that time- the kennels were partially there and a “storage tunnel”
My memories inspired a feature film I wrote called WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MARKEY WOODS? An imaginary tail of the lives of seven children, a bombing and the visit of The Prince of Wales.
Love how you consolidated all this info of your blog.
Ad in Suburban Life Magazine of Oct., 1910 featuring the Mackey greenhouse.