Mansions of the Gilded Age

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Pembroke, The Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar Estate, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York PART 1

Pembroke, The Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar Estate, Glen Cove, Long Island, NY. One of Long Island's Illustrious Gold Coast Estates & Mansions.

The story of Pembroke starts at the magnificent entrance gates. The Pembroke estate was one of the jewels on Long Island's Gold Coast & when later owned by the Loew's movie theater founder Marcus Loew, the scene of dazzling parties that made the 1920's roar. Broadway & Silent films Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Ziegfeld chorus girls & old money society mixed creating a cocktail party that F. Scott Fitzgerald immortalized in his great American novel, "The Great Gatsby".

The mansion at Pembroke. Designed circa 1916 by architect C.P.H. Gilbert for Captain Joseph Raphael De Lamar it was the fantastical dream of a poor boy who made a massive fortune. The towering French Neoclassical edifice also included a pastiche of other styles & elements, typical of many American mansions of the Gilded Age.

Many estates of the Gilded Age always liked to give an illusion that you were traveling a greater distance than needed to approach the mansion. At Pembroke a long winding drive from the entrance gates lined with manicured shrubbery, huge potted trees & colorful hydrangeas gave a hint of the magnificent splendor to be revealed.

The Pembroke estate was an exotic paradise with numerous buildings scattered around the property. When one looked east from the main house pass a colorful fragrant gardens a path led to a pavilion. The pavilion with curved trellises appendances overlooked a fountain with statuary spouting glistening sprays of water. In the center a red tiled roof tea house provided a tranquil retreat.

Sitting in the tea house as mentioned in the previous thread, this would have been the view looking back at the mansion through the colorful garden. The following passage from the novel, “The Great Gatsby” could have be inspired by this garden at Pembroke. “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."
-The Great Gatsby

Pembroke was entered through a columned entrance. Notice that main facade of the stone mansion is three stories high, but then topped with a roof pergola structure so that guests could enjoy views of the water and catch cooling breezes. Many times these rooftop pavilions frustrated the architects that felt they ruined the purity of their designs, but the wishes of the clients prevailed.

Passing through bronze doors, to the grand hall is the first hint of the sumptuous interiors within the great mansion. Velvet portieres with gold embroidered motifs, a wrap around marble staircase with a pipe organ on the mezzanine level in front of a Tiffany glass window and latticework covering the organ pipes. Potted palms, a gilded chandelier & antique hand made rugs all contributed to the awe of entering a rich man’s home.

As we continue the tour of Pembroke, this first floor plan will be helpful. In the previous two posts we looked at the front entrance & main hall which the red arrow here highlights.

View of the main hall looking back towards to the front door. The front door led to a small vestibule then passing under the portieres the grand staircase wound its way up to the second floor. Personally for such a grand house I might expect a more impressive space.

Directly in front of the entrance hall was the Living Room. The floor plan two posts back shows it to be a very large space. Classical in design, but furnished eclectically. Other rooms are off of it as also seen on the plan. What makes this room so special is the wall out of view would have been windows & doors that led to a terrace where one could sit and enjoy the view of the estate & the Long Island Sound.

Another view of the Living Room at Pembroke. The opening to the left catches a glimpse of the Dining Room. The Living Room was the largest room in the mansion and decorated with an assortment of furniture styles & art.

The Dining Room at Pembroke was decorated in the Chippendale style. You can see the Living Room beyond the draped doorway.

While there are more interiors of the Pembroke mansion scattered about & I hope to put more together at a future date, let’s go out through the doors of the Living Room seen in recent previous posts. Country houses located on bodies of water provided cool spots for hot summer months before central A/C. This is one of the many cool porches at Pembroke to relax and enjoy the view of the Long Island Sound.

In the previous photo of the west side at Pembroke I mentioned the view of the estate & how the mansion overlooked the Long Island Sound as this view clearly shows. In the distance is the edge of the winter garden which will be explored next.

Not a view of the Pembroke mansion under demolition which it would face 50 years later than this early construction view of the house. Some say it reminds them of another famous Gilded Age mansion that many visit. What mansion is that?

Pembroke completed. Please see previous post for construction view from similar angle & other previous posts going back to the entry gates for the complete story up to here.

Soon after the mansion was completed Mr. De Lamar desired a winter garden/ conservatory to hold his collection of exotic plants and to create a tropical paradise. The low wing to the left here is the beginning of a long corridor. Please see previous posts for more.

It is hard to believe the addition of the winter garden to the mansion with the connecting corridor was almost 3 times the length of the house. Mr. De Lamar had money to burn and enjoyed making his architectural dreams come true.

This larger aerial of the Pembroke estate shows the water tower and stables/garage complex at the upper right. It was in this area that his colorful gardens, fountains and tea house were situated.

This is the east side of the connecting corridor to the winter garden at Pembroke. The Winter garden will be next and posted separately. I will add the link when created.

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Newport Villas: The Revival Styles 1885-1915 by Michael Kathrens

One of the best newer books about the splendid mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. The book also has a chapter on Seaview Terrace, aka Collinwood. Buy at Amazon "As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases", More Gilded Age related books, HERE

Houses of Los Angeles: Volume II by Sam Waters

A two volume look at the great mansions of LA, some gone, some still existing. Volume II has a good chapter on the Greystone mansion at Beverly Hills. Buy at Amazon "As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases", More Gilded Age related books, HERE NOTE: The link is only for Volume II, but there is link below that if you are interested in Volume I also.

Ghosts of Greystone Beverly Hills by Clete Keith

A in-depth look at the tragic events that took place at Greystone, shortly after it was built and the ghostly sightings & odd occurrences that linger on. Buy at Amazon "As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases", More Gilded Age related books, HERE

Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood by Kathryn Leigh Scott & Jim Pierson

A favorite book about the "Dark Shadows" co- authored by Kathryn Leigh Scott who played the roles of Maggie Evans & Josette Collins. Buy at Amazon "As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases", More Gilded Age related books, HERE