Sands Point Preserve

After waking to the pleasant pitter-patter of rain on the deck, we got up and had breakfast in an unhurried manner. Around 10 a.m., we used the water taxi rather than our dinghy to get into town quickly and without splashes. From the town dock, we got a Lyft ride to Sands Point Preserve, the former Guggenheim estate. During the early 20th century, hundreds of prominent American families built great mansions as summer retreats along Long Island Sound. The Guggenheim estate is now owned by Nassau County and operated by the all-volunteer Sands Point Preserve Conservancy. 

The estate was created by financier Howard Gould, son of railroad robber baron Jay Gould. He purchased undeveloped land in 1900 and 1901. Castle Gould, a 100,000 square foot medieval style limestone structure modeled after Ireland's Kilkenny Castle, was completed in 1902. Howard Gould's wife, actress Katherine Clemmons, was not pleased with the mansion, so he built a second mansion closer to the water. This Tudor style mansion, Hempstead House, is merely 50,000 square feet. 

Castle Gould

Part of Hempstead House

Formal garden at Hempstead House

After the Gould's divorce, Gould sold the estate in 1917 to mining tycoon Daniel Guggenheim. Daniel was the third Guggenheim to own an estate at Sands Point; his brothers Isaac and William owned estates nearby. In 1923, Daniel gave 90 acres of the estate to his son Harry as a wedding present. Harry built his home in the the style of a French Norman manor house, atop the bluffs overlooking Long Island Sound and named it Falaise (French for "cliff). When Daniel died in 1930, his wife Florence built a smaller mansion named Mille Fleurs for its gardens and moved there. 

After auctioning off the furnishings of the Hempstead House in 1940, she reopened that mansion for 75 British refugee children while foster homes were being arranged for them. Hempstead House and Castle Gould later housed the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, a Navy training center. In 1971, Nassau County acquired 127 acres of the estate from the U.S. government for recreational use and then inherited 90 more acres, including Falaise, when Harry Guggenheim died.

The only mansion currently open for tours is Falaise, but only on the weekends, so we could not see the opulence inside. We did see the formal rose garden at Hempstead House and walked along some of the trails winding past ponds and landscaped areas as well as through woodlands. Today it is overcast and grey, but we stilled enjoyed walking for a couple miles. 

Pond on the estate

Garden area by the entrance to the estate

We were unable to summon a ride-share, so we walked three miles back to town through some lovely residential neighborhoods and some less desirable real estate, ending at Mill Pond. This man-made pond has recently been restored to an unpolluted habitat with walkways and benches surrounding it. The pond was created about three centuries ago by damming a natural inlet. When the tide filled the reservoir, the water was captured. When it was full, the gates were opened and the water flowing back into the bay powered a grist mill. All along the coast in this area, tidal mills were constructed to power grist mills, saw mills and even breweries. There are only a few of the mill structures still inexistence.

We stopped for lunch at an unusual two-in-one restaurant named both Loco Mexican Restaurant and Diwan Indian Restaurant. We were greeted and served by an Indian man who recommended the Mexican menu, so we ordered Mexican food (although Rob also enjoyed a mango lassi). Other than the bar area, nothing about the interior is Mexican. At the entrance, there is an altar where sweet smelling incense was being burned alongside offerings. The dining area was elegant with wine-colored seating accented by white tablecloths. The food and the service were excellent. Susan wisely chose an appetizer. Rob and Peter had no trouble eating all their food, but I brought back more than half of my meal because it was so big.

We are staying on the mooring ball in Manhasset Bay for another night as a front is moving in, the wind is blowing at 20 knots with higher gusts, and more rain is expected in the night. Tomorrow it is supposed to be hot and sunny with a high of 90 degrees with a 10-15 knot west wind which we will use to travel farther east along Long Island.