Red Maples was an historic estate on fifteen acres in the Village of Southampton,

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

, named after the thirty or so maple trees that once lined its entrance court. The architects

Hiss and Weekes Hiss and Weekes was a notable architectural firm in New York City that was active from 1899 to 1933 and constructed a number of landmark buildings of Beaux-Arts architecture. Run by Philip Hiss and H. Hobart Weekes, the firm was known primarily fo ...

designed the house, terraces and several ancillary buildings,Harriet Gillespie, "A Southampton House," House Beautiful, Vol. 34, June-November, 1913. and the landscape architect Ferruccio Vitale designed the gardens. Completed in 1913, the house was demolished in 1947 and the estate subdivided over time into eight parcels. A gate house (enlarged and relocated), and a carriage house (converted to a residence) have survived.

History

Hoyt Family

Construction of Red Maples commenced in August 1911, when Alfred W. Hoyt (1863–1911) bought a 16-1/2 acre lot from James T. Kilbreth (of which 1-1/2 acres were assigned to a separate lot), located in Southampton, bounded by Ox Pasture Road, Halsey Neck Lane and Great Plains Road. In September, a newspaper reported that Hoyt was planning to build a "beautiful $50,000 residence." Hoyt intended the house to be a gift to his mother, Mrs. Alfred M. Hoyt (1835–1922), and his sister Rosina Sherman Hoyt (1874–1965), but in November, he died of typhoid fever. Nevertheless, construction continued, including the main house, a gate house, a carriage house and a tea house. An artesian well supplied water to a wind-powered elevated tank holding 20,000 gallons of water, needed to irrigate the extensive gardens. In 1925, Rosina Hoyt married G. Beekman Hoppin (1869–1950). The announcement of their engagement in ''The New York Times'' mentioned that she was identified with Southampton's social life, and had one of its "finest places," but had been leasing it since the death of her mother in 1922. In the summer of 1926, Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Hutton leased the house, where they gave several parties for their daughter Adelaide, one of New York's more notable debutantes.

Snowden Family

In 1929, Rosina Hoppin sold Red Maples to the oil producer James Hastings Snowden (1873–1930). In September of that year, Snowden and his wife gave a benefit lunch at the house for the Women's Maternity Centre, at which the guest of honor was former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. Snowden died in 1930 leaving a $2 million estate, and in 1931 a destitute former Broadway actor named George T. Meech took Snowden's socialite widow to court, claiming she was his daughter while demanding that she support him. The claim was settled out of court when the daughter agreed to pay her father a $25 down payment and $20 a week.

Smith Family

In March 1932, John Thomas Smith (1879–1947), vice-president and general counsel of General Motors, bought the property. During Smith's tenure at the house, it was known as "Certosa." Smith, a

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

graduate who was fluent in Greek and Latin, dabbled in real estate. In 1936, he bought and demolished the Tiffany mansion on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan (completed in 1885 by the architect

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

), and replaced it with an apartment building designed by the architects

Mott B. Schmidt Mott Brooshovft Schmidt (September 2, 1889 – July 22, 1977) was an American architect best known for his buildings in the American Georgian Classical style. Early life Schmidt was born in Middletown, New York, on September 2, 1889, and was na ...

and

Rosario Candela Rosario Candela (March 7, 1890 – October 3, 1953) was an Italian American architect who achieved renown through his apartment building designs in New York City, primarily during the boom years of the 1920s. He is credited with defining the ci ...

. Smith died in 1947, after which his heirs demolished the Red Maples house and began to sub-divide the property.

Sub-Division

In 1949, the executors of the estate of John Thomas Smith sold 1-1/2 acres of Red Maples to Ida G. Sutherland. The sale included the two-story carriage house. Smith's estate sold the remaining 13-1/2 acres to Jack and Florence Streicher, and in 1969, Florence Streicher filed plans with the Clerk of Suffolk County to subdivide the property into 5 lots: Lot 2, on the corner of Halsey Neck Lane and Great Plains Road (subsequently divided into 3 lots); Lots 3 and 4 on Great Plains Road; and Lots 5 and 6 on Ox Pasture Road.Subdivision Map 5273, Village of Southampton, filed with the Clerk of Suffolk County, dated March 20, 1969.

Gallery

File:1902 HYDE MAPSOUTHAMPTON NY.jpg, Red Maples parcel in 1902, before Alfred W. Hoyt's 1911 purchase. File:Loggia of Red Maples, House Beautiful, Sep 1913.jpeg, Entrance Loggia of Red Maples in 1913. File:SOUTH TERRACE AT RED MAPLES.jpg, The South Terrace at Red Maples in 1915, designed by the architects

. File:TEAHOUSE AT RED MAPLES, SOUTHAMPTON NY.jpg, The Teahouse at Red Maples in 1915, designed by the architects

. File:Garden at Red Maples.jpg, The Gardens at Red Maples in 1915, Southampton, New York. File:Site Plan of Red Maples - Architecture 1918.jpg, Site Plan of Red Maples in 1918. File:2019 Red Maples siteplan.jpg, Site Plan of Red Maples as subdivided (as of 2019).

References

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