History of Harbor Hill Rings Out

By Brandon Mariana and Howard Kroplick

Four magnificent bells once topped the lavish Gothic carriage house and stables of Clarence Mackay’s 576-acre Harbor Hill Estate in Roslyn. Once the picture of regal extravagance when built in 1902, the passing decades would see the estate fall victim to age and vandalism. After the carriage house and stables were demolished in 1947, the three bells that remained were donated to Nassau County, where they were placed in storage and soon faded from memory. Or so we thought, as documents over fifty years old have tracked the three bells to a surprising place: Hofstra University.

The three bells rest in the Hofstra University carillon outside the Student Center, having been permanently loaned to the university back in 1968 on a mutually beneficial arrangement: Nassau County could free up storage space while Hofstra gained the perfect piece for their campus. Though a plaque on the carillon lists the history of the carillon itself, we only learned of the bells’ origins through the documentation uncovered by Gary Hammond, the former museum registrar for the Nassau County Division of Museum Services. One letter shows then Hofstra president Clifford Lord’s request for the bells, the other is the loan receipt from Hofstra confirming the bells’ arrival.

As for why only three bells remain, one of the bells had unfortunately been stolen when vandals damaged the building during World War II. With the war hindering the number of police and the ability to hire security guards, vandals were able to damage stables to the point the property owner, now John Mackay, the son of Clarence Mackay, decided to have the mansion, carriage house and stables demolished rather than repaired and restored. This leaves the fate of the final bell, a work of the great bell maker Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York, sadly unknown.

The original Renaissance-style mansion was designed for Clarence and Katherine Mackay beginning in 1899 by the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. Named Harbor Hill for its location overlooking Hempstead Harbor, the lavish country home was one of the largest ever built on Long Island and rested on one of the island’s highest points. Soon after the completion of the mansion and its gate lodge, another prominent architectural firm Warren and Wetmore designed the estate’s outbuildings including the carriage house, stables and dairyman’s cottage. A decade later Warren and Wetmore would design the Grand Central Terminal. The parties thrown at Harbor Hill welcomed prominent guests from near and far, including Charles Lindbergh and even the Prince of Wales prior to becoming the future King Edward VIII

While much of the Mackay’s property became the Country Estates housing development in 1958, the Dairyman's Cottage, Gate Lodge, and Water Tower are still standing and were added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 1991. To have now found that three of the estate’s glorious bells currently rest high above a new generation of students at Hofstra University reminds us that our history will find a way to persevere. Though the bells have long since lost their original clappers, the storied history of Harbor Hill continues to ring out.

Four bells were completed for the Mackay’s carriage house and stables on February 7, 1903 by Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York.

Mackay's Carriage House and Stables were located south east from the nearby mansion. Circa 1927. Courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation.

The building was originally primarily used as a carriage house and stables. Later, it served as a garage for Mackay’s automobiles. Circa 1904. Courtesy of the Bryant Library Local History Collection.

Mackay’s horse carriages lined up in 1910. Later, the carriage house served as a garage for Mackay’s automobiles. Courtesy of the Bryant Library Local History Collection.

The four Meneely bells manufactured for Clarence Mackay can be seen here. Circa 1910. Courtesy of the Bryant Library Local History Collection.

The carriage house and stables in ruins in 1945. Note the broken windows. Only one bell can be seen from ground level. The building would be demolished two years later in 1947.

After the mansion and carriage house were demolished, several statues, concrete urns and three bells from were donated by John Mackay III to Nassau County. One of the four original bells had been stolen by vandals. From left to right: Robert Gamble (Nassau County deputy commissioner for recreation and parks), Ed Smits (Nassau County Historical Museum Curator) and Sol Wachtler (Town Supervisor, North Hempstead). Courtesy of The Roslyn News (1/26/1967).

On December 12, 1967, Clifford Lord, president of Hofstra University, made a request to Nassau County for a permanent loan of the three bells. Three days later, the request was approved by Ed Smits of the Nassau County Historical Museum. Courtesy of Gary Hammond (former Museum Registrar, Nassau County Division of Museum Services).

The loan receipt from Hofstra University dated January 1968 for:

•1- 42” diameter bell, 34 ½ high- marked Harbor Hill Meneely Bell Co., Troy, N.Y.-1903

•1-29” diameter bell, 24”high-marked Harbor Hill Meneely Bell Co., Troy, N.Y.-1903

•1-24 ½” diameter bell, 21 “ high, marked Harbor Hill Meneely Bell Co., Troy, N.Y.-1902

Courtesy of Gary Hammond (former Museum Registrar, Nassau County Division of Museum Services).

Current view of the location of the Harbor Hill bells at Hofstra University Student Center, Hempstead, New York.

The Mackay Estate Carriage House and Stables were located south east of the mansion. A current road overlay places the Carriage House in the middle of today’s Redwood Drive at the intersection of Linwood Drive in East Hills. The mansion was located at today’s Ash Drive just east of Lufberry Drive. Mapping courtesy of Frank Femenias.