Gatsby's Gold Coast: Long Island Architect

Just a short ride from New York City on Long Island’s north shore lies a place of uninhibited wealth and opulence immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby. Many of the “Gold Coast” mansions that grace this scenic coastal area, so-called due to the huge concentration of fortunes here, are open for the public’s perusal and enjoyment.

Come to Long Island’s Gold Coast and take a step back in time to the 1920s when neighbors at the upper echelon of high society strove to out-do each other in terms of lavish, castle-like mansions and gardens of European caliber. Visit Old Westbury Gardens, the Vanderbilt Estate, or the Frick Estate at the Nassau County Museum of Art. Over a half-dozen estates, once owned by some of the most famous people from New York, have been converted to public use. Many offer art galleries and tours, and others open to allow visitors to stroll the grounds and spectacular gardens to get a feel for what life was like for the privileged few.

Others such as Oheka castle, once the home of Otto Hermann Kahn, and the Glen Cove Mansion, once a Pratt family estate, are open to the public for events and overnight accommodations.