On Tuesday, June 16, the Roslyn Landmark Society gathered with community members, local officials, and a very special guest at the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge to mark the completion of Phase One of the building's restoration and to announce what comes next.
Joining us was Daniel W. White, great-grandson of Stanford White, who stood before a building his great-grandfather designed and reflected on what it means to see it cared for by a community that understands its value. "To see a building designed 127 years ago by my great-grandfather, that's one thing," White said. "But to see it in the shape that it is, having been lovingly restored and cared for and protected and preserved, that's another thing."
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena also offered remarks, speaking to the building's place in the life of the broader community. "I am one of those people who has driven by here a million times and wondered what was happening," she said. "What you're doing here today to restore this gate will give a treasure to our residents now and our residents for the future."
Preservation consultant John Collins, whose firm is leading Phase Two, shared that research into original construction records revealed the Gate Lodge's slate was quarried in north-central Maine, and that most of it can be reused. "We're going to be taking it off, repairing all the woodwork underneath, and then putting it all back together," he said. It is, he added, a labor of love - and it shows.
Phase One, the historically accurate restoration of the windows, doors, and hardware, made possible through a grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and installed by Island Contracting using wavy glass fabricated by Northwood Sash & Joinery of Buffalo, is complete, and Phase Two is now underway in earnest.
We are pleased to announce the launch of "It's Time to Give," a matching gift campaign in which an anonymous donor will match every new gift to the Gate Lodge Restoration Fund dollar for dollar, up to $28,000, for a total potential impact of $56,000. Phase Two will restore the historic slate roof, recreate the copper gutters and finials, and return the original clock above the gates, with its hand-hammered repoussé copper casing, to its place above this intersection for the first time in decades.
More than 60 members of this community have already put their names on this building through the Founder's Club., and we hope you'll join them.
Visit roslynlandmarks.org/itstimetogive to learn more and make your gift.
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