Hempstead House, also known as the Gould-Guggenheim Estate or Sands Point Preserve, is a large estate that was built for

Howard Gould Howard Gould (June 8, 1871 – September 13, 1959) was an American financier and the son of Jay Gould. Early life Gould was born in Manhattan on June 8, 1871 to railroad financier Jay Gould (1836–1892) and Helen Day Miller (1838–1889). He wa ...

and completed for

Daniel Guggenheim Daniel Guggenheim (July 9, 1856 – September 28, 1930) was an American mining magnate and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer and Barbara Guggenheim. By 1910 he directed the world's most important group of mining interests. He was forced out ...

in 1912. It is located in Sands Point on the North Shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in Nassau County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

The estate

Castle Gould, western façade (July 2020)

The grounds contain two castle-like buildings; Hempstead House is the main house, and a smaller house is known as Castle Gould. The main house measures , and has three floors containing 40 rooms, punctuated by an . Once construction had completed, the estate needed 17 house servants and 200 farmers and groundskeepers to maintain its upkeep. Hempstead House in its prime was regarded as one of the most lavish estates to occupy Long Island's Gold Coast:

In its heyday in the 1920s, Hempstead House revealed a taste for extravagance. In the Entry Foyer was an organ made of oak. The pipes still visible on the walls above were merely for show—the music reverberated through openings in the floors. Medieval tapestries once hung on the walls, and oriental carpets covered the floor. The sunken Palm Court once contained 150 species of rare orchids and other plants. An aviary housed exotic birds in ornate cages among the flowers. The walnut-paneled Library was copied from the palace of King James I; relief portraits of literary figures still decorate the plaster ceiling. The Billiard Room featured a gold leaf ceiling, hand-tooled leather wall covering, and carved oak woodwork from a 17th century Spanish palace.

History

, son of railroad tycoon

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

, began construction of the estate after purchasing the land in 1900. Initially, the plan was to build a castle that was to be a replica of

Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: �kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of N ...

. Castle Gould, as it came to be called, was intended to be used as the main house. However, the Goulds did not like the castle, so they decided to create another house on the estate to serve as the main dwelling. After the completion of the house in 1912, the Goulds sold the estate to

in 1917. The name of the main house was changed to Hempstead House (the limestone stables and the servants' quarters are still called Castle Gould). In 1942, the Guggenheims donated the estate to the

Institute of Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

. Soon after acquiring the estate, the institute sold it to the U.S. Navy, which held it from 1946 to 1967. The U.S. government declared the estate as surplus and eventually gave the deed of the property to

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...

in 1971.

Film

Scenes from a number of famous films have been filmed at Hempstead House and the surrounding estate, such as: * '' Scent of a Woman'' (1992) * ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

'' (1992) * ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' (1998)

References

External links

Sands Point Preserve

{{Parks in Nassau County, New York Castles in the United States Gould family residences Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Houses in Nassau County, New York Mansions of Gold Coast, Long Island National Register of Historic Places in Nassau County, New York Town of North Hempstead, New York Gilded Age mansions

The estate

History

Film

See also

References

External links