Vanderbilt Cup Races

Before the Estate

Before the Mackays, the property of the future Harbor Hill estate served many other functions.

During the Revolutionary War, the hill, being the second highest point on Long Island, served as an excellent lookout for incoming British ships. When a ship was spotted, warning fires were lit on top of the hill to warn of the ship's presence.

In the 1800's, the hill was a great spot for Roslyn families to come picnic and enjoy the views. Here we see a family enjoying a beautiful day atop the hill (possibly the prominent Roslyn Godwin family, descendants of William Cullen Bryant).

Clarence Hungerford Mackay

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. Mackay was friends with William K. Vanderbilt Jr., and a director of the Motor Parkway. As with most of New York high society, Mackay would often attend the Vanderbilt Cup Races. He can be seen here in between Willie K. and Jefferson DeMont Thompson at the end of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race.

1926 Harbor Hill Aerial Overview

Mackay chose to build his palatial estate at the top of Harbor Hill in Roslyn.

Outbuilding locations; 

Black circle- Main House

Yellow circle- Main Horse Stables/Auto Garages

Blue circle- Dog Kennels

Green circle- Dairy/Cow Barn 

Red circle- Polo Pony stable

Purple circle- Greenhouse and Garden

Light Blue circle- Casino/Tennis Court

Orange circle- Poultry/Chicken Farm/ Former Zion Burial Grounds

Main Horse Stables/Garages

Located the closest to the main house, the horse stables with the later garage addition were some of the finest stables around. With the advent of the automobile, garages were later added.

The stables are long gone, and no traces of any remnants can be found in the area.

Dog Kennels

Mackay was an avid hunter. Whether he was hunting at his Stanford White designed Deep River Lodge in North Carolina, or his leased Gardiner's Island property, his hunting hounds were always leading the hunting parties.

Located at the midpoint of the eastern side of his property, the kennels built in 1902 were home to his dozens of well-trained hunting dogs. When in New York, he would travel from his NYC mansion, stop at Harbor Hill to gather the dogs, and then continue to Gardiner's Island for hunting for weeks at a time.

A beautiful 'Stick Style' Warren & Wetmore structure, but one cleverly designed for function. Shaped in a horseshoe shape with dog runs exiting each kennel converging in the center.

Amazingly, the 120 year-old kennel rear retaining walls still stand behind a current home on Elm Drive in Roslyn's Country Estates.

Dairy/Cow Barn

Situated on the eastern most edge of the property in the center also on what is now Elm Drive were Mackay's famous Dairy Barn, and directly across the road, the Dairyman's Cottage residence.

The current Elm Drive is actually the original farm service entrance off of Glen Cove Road for the dairy group and follows the exact path of the farm's service road.

The Dairy barn is where Mackay raised his prized, award-winning Guernsey cows known for their highest grade of milk.

At one time, and for many years, the Dairy Man's cottage was owned and lived in by Hal David, long-time lyricist for Burt Bacharach. Does anyone know the way to San Jose from here?

Currently being restored by new owners, the house still stands today displaying Warren & Wetmore's typical design for all the incredible outbuildings of the estate. 

2018 Image prior to current restoration courtesy of The Roslyn Landmark Society

Polo Pony Stable

Harbor Hill's property was predominantly rolling hills throughout the property, but the eastern edge from the north to the south boundaries, was a vast flat field. Perfect for not only the dairy barn, but essential for the polo field and polo pony stables just north of the dairy barn.

No trace of the polo pony stables can be found.

Greenhouse and Gardens

At the north-eastern extreme corner of the property sat the large greenhouse and gardens. The gardens provided the fruits and vegetables to feed the estate, and the greenhouse always had fresh floral arrangements for the entire house.

No trace of the greenhouse and gardens remain.

Casino & Tennis Court

On a turn-of-the-century Gold Coast estate, 'Casino' usually denoted a building for sports related activities. It was a slightly different design of the building from the others, but yet still a completely recognizable and typical Warren & Wetmore design.  In June 1907, some 90 guests arrived for a 'stag affair' for the opening celebration of Mackay's casino.

Guests marveled at the soaring 46-foot-high casino walls. With a true passion for all sports, Mackay's multi-story casino boasted squash and tennis courts, (with Mackay's own personal, live-in tennis instructor) a gymnasium, swimming pool, billiard room, shooting range, all with dressing and sitting rooms.

Outside, lawn tennis courts were situated for outdoor activities. Total approximate cost of his adult amusement park addition? $200,000 1907 dollars, roughly 6.3 million today in 2022.

Sadly, another building lost without a trace of it in the current neighborhood.

Poultry/Chicken Farm/ Former Zion Burial Grounds

Clarence Mackay, like all good estate owners, needed a large poultry farm for the estate. Within the southern boundaries of his estate property stood a cemetery for the nearby Salem A.M.E. Zion Church that to him, was the perfect location for his new poultry farm. 

In 1899, amidst some controversy, the Mackay's agreed to purchase land for a new cemetery for Salem A.M.E. Church and to pay the costs of removing and re-interring the bodies in the new location, even paying further costs of family members to travel to the new location for the cemetery. According to an article in the August 31,1899 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, “The future burial ground of the colored people of North Hempstead will be in the new Greenlawn Cemetery at Pine Lawn, Long Island.”

For many years, the exact location of the Zion cemetery grounds was not known. However, recently the Roslyn Landmark Society has uncovered the probable location of the cemetery.

The probable poultry farm/Zion burial ground location today on the north side of Harbor Hill Road at the intersection with Chestnut Drive.

Searching for the Mt. Zion Cemetery of the Salem A.M.E. Church purchased and moved by Clarence Mackay | News | Roslyn Landmark Society

Other Current Structures and Remnants

Mackay's Harbor Hill country home was demolished in 1949 and the entire property subdivided into the 600 house Country Estates development. While almost all of the outbuildings were either destroyed by fire or removed for the Country Estates development, there are still dozens of remnants to confirm where structures stood.

The blue Indiana limestone main gate lodge, where future British monarchs, Charles Lindbergh, and future Popes passed through to visit the estate is one of the few structures still intact. Currently sitting in a fairly dilapidated condition, the gate lodge still proudly stands at the corner of Harbor Hill Road and Roslyn Road still welcoming visitors to East Hills and Roslyn village. The village of East Hills and the Roslyn Landmark Society have begun the long process of restoration of the structure in hopes of returning it to its original Stanford White grandeur within a few years.

Throughout the entire property, drives, retaining walls, and even some structures were constructed of a dark granite. That granite was sourced from the old Murray Hill reservoir, which stood on the spot between 40th & 42nd streets where Bryant Park and The New York Public library currently stand in Manhattan.

To construct the drives and structures, about 166,000 tons of granite, at a cost of $117,006, was purchased from the 4-acre 1898 demolition site of the 1840's reservoir at 5th Ave & 42nd St, then shipped by barge to Roslyn, and sent to the top of the hill's construction site.

The reservoir can be seen in this photo from the 1870's.

One of those structures constructed with the Murray Hill granite was the estate's water tower.

Mackay had running water and electricity at Harbor Hill even before the village of Roslyn. On Lumber Road in the village, Mackay constructed a pumping station to pull water from Hempstead Harbor and pump it via a long water main to the 60-foot-tall water tower 410 feet above sea level to supply fresh water to the entire estate.

The large, looming water tower still stands today at 131 Redwood Drive in the Country Estates development. No longer in use, it still is amazing, and startling, to see it when passing it today in the residential neighborhood.

The one-mile long main drive from the gate lodge was a delight to ride on and provided a glimpse into what beauty was to be seen at the final destination. Stanford White's intention of building a 'fine and dignified' approach to the main house was underscored by Guy Lowell's landscaping with its maple trees, imported Linden trees and rhododendrons. The spectacular main drive alone set the Mackay's back about $150,000 (about $5 million today).

Here, the main drive can be seen as the way Charles Lindbergh would have driven over it to attend a Harbor Hill party in his honor after his ticker-tape parade on June 13, 1927.

Very recently, The Roslyn Landmark Society rediscovered an approximately 500-foot section of the main drive hidden in plain sight behind the homes on Mimosa Drive. The walls most clearly visible in the winter months when the foliage no longer hides them.

The drive at the beginning of its ascent up the hill as seen today with its upper and lower retaining walls on either side.

Another recent discovery by the Roslyn Landmark Society was a portion of the retaining wall for the west terrace of the main house behind this home on Ash Drive.

This wall provided support for the north side of the west terrace of the house seen here.

Hicks Nurseries were famous for carrying out Olmstead designs at many Gold Coast estates, and Mackay's Guy Lowell designed landscape also received their treatment. Known for large, mature tree moving and planting, Mackay had some 75 rare and valuable trees moved to the estate. Most were lost to developers, but there are still quite a few to find if you know what to look for. This long-known Maple tree stood as one two main trees in the front circle of the big house. It still stands near the corner of what is now Lufberry and Ash Drives with a few others in the front yards of some homes.

In a follow-up post, we'll look at the main house interiors and furnishings, including Clarence Mackay's extensive, and very impressive collection of historic armor.