36 Main St, Roslyn, NY, 11576

Harbor Hill Country Home (Estate of Clarence Mackay)

Ash Drive, East Hills

Date Built1900-1902
Original UseResidence
Restoration StatusDemolished
Roslyn Landmark Society Covenant No
View House Tour Details N/A

Project Files

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Among the largest estates ever amassed on Long Island was the enormous Renaissance –style mansion known as Harbor Hill designed in 1899 by Stanford White and built in 1900 to 1902 for Clarence H. Mackay and his wife Katherine. The 576-acre estate, built in 1900-1902, was located atop the highest point in the area overlooking the village of Roslyn and Hempstead Harbor.

This country home estate was divided into formal gardens and terraces surrounding the main house and a 70-acre farm. At the bottom of the west garden, Mackay commissioned two replicas of the famous Marly Horses statues. The 26-foot statues and pedestals were carved by sculptor Franz Plumelet and installed in 1920. The two Mackay Horse Statues have been restored and relocated. The south Mackay Estate Horse Statue is now in Gerry Pond Park in Roslyn. The north Mackay Estate Horse Tamer Statue is located in the parking lot of the Roslyn High School.

With Clarence Mackay’s death in 1938, the Harbor Hill estate was left to his son John Mackay III. Due to vandalism during the World War II, the mansion was demolished in 1947. The property was sold in the late 1950s and became the Country Estates housing development.

The remaining structures associated with the Harbor Hill Estate are: Mackay Estate Dairyman's Cottage, Mackay Estate Gate Lodge, Harbor Hill Water Tower, John Mackay III House and retaining walls throughout Country Estates.

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Clarence Mackay (1874-1938) was the heir to the Comstock silver fortune and was a major figure in the development of the international telegraph business

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Clarence and Katherine Mackay hosted many spectacular events for their friends and charities.

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1927 Aerial of Hempstead Harbor and the main road to the Harbor Hill country home.

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Following Clarence Mackay's death, the Harbor Hill Estate was put up for sale.

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The two "Marly Horse" replicas seen in the west gardens.

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As seen in 2009, the south Mackay Horse Statue was still at its original location behind a home at 165 Poplar Lane, East Hills.

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The two Mackay Horse Statues have been restored and relocated. The south Mackay Estate Horse Statue is now in Gerry Pond Park in Roslyn.

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The north Mackay Estate Horse Tamer Statue is located in the parking lot of the Roslyn High School. Photo by Howard Kroplick.

Location of the Harbor Hill Mansion and Gardens.

Long Island mansion explorers have long tried to determine out the actual site of the Harbor Hill mansion and gardens. Master mapper Frank Femenias has provided the below findings.

Harbor Hill 1938 Aerial Stony Brook Digital Library

1938 aerial of the Harbor Hill Estate. Courtesy of Stony Brook Digital Library.

Harbor Hill Overlay

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G Harbor Hill Looking East Before And After

Harbor Hill Today

Conclusion: The mansion was located at the current intersection of Lufberry Drive and Ash Drive in East Hills.

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1935

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1936 aerial of Harbor Hill showing the main road. The Mackay Estate Gate Lodge is located at the intersection of Harbor Hill Road and Roslyn Road (lower right corner of the aerial).

View of the Mackay Estate by Stewart Donaldson (Part 1-20) Courtesy of the Bryant Room , Bryant Library Local History Collection

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9 Comments
Greg O.

Darroll-
In the hardcover book, Harbor Hill Portrait of a House, there is a partial list of staff on page 110. Listed as an outside garden worker is the name Angelo DiPaolo. This could very well be a misprint or minor misinformation from the author.
If youre interested, you may join the Roslyn Landmark Society, and at the moment, there is a promotional from the Landmark Society to receive the book for joining at a certain level.

DARROLL MIDGETTE

My mother told me that my grandfather, Dominick DiPaolo, was the head gardener on the estate. Do you have any records of his work there?

adrian mallin

I grew up on Hen Hawk Lane and recall riding my bicycle around their big front entry -
It felt fun and sneaky - LOL - Can't believe how many years ago that was - Glad it's being preserved -

Howard Kroplick

Steven, Thanks for the comment. Harbor Hill is the highest elevation in Nassau County at 360 feet. Jayne's Hill in Huntington is the highest elevation on Long Island at 401 feet. Howard Kroplick

Steven Spivack

I grew up at 65 Ash Drive which appears from the street and house overlays to be completely "within" the mansion's main house (on the north side of the intersection of Ash and Lufberry). My Dad built many of the homes in that immediate area in 1958 and we didn't know this until now! We always had been told that our house was at the highest point in Nassau County. We also knew that one of the horse statues was behind the house on Poplar Dr. and the other was at my high school. The house was sold after 62 years in 2020 and the new owner sent me the link to the Mackey information.

I can't wait to show the photos to Mom!

Heidi Green

Also, can you please show me where the gate house was in relation to the main house? It's hard to tell from any of the aerials. Also, as a kid, we were members of the Country Estate Pool club and I've been in love with the gates ever since. So much history and I'm sad that the pool club is dilapidated and the gates weren't kept up. Do you know of plans to restore them?

bob sargent

Wonderful series of photographs of houses with dates---I walk this side of East Broadway very frequently going to the Bryant Library. I have often thought about some of these houses--it is good to know about them.

Mitchell Schwartz

Henry W. Johanson also designed several homes within Flower Hill, as well as Flower Hill Village Hall. Not only that but he also served as our Building Inspector for several years!

Heidi Green

Wonderful, thank you for this! There is one more house which I believe was part of the original estate, and that's the house at 475 Glen Cove Road. Was that part of Harbor Hill, or was it part of one of the others like Garvin or Spring Hill? I believe it's Harbor Hill, as it's close to the house on Melby.

Howard KroplickHeidi Green

Yes, the house at 475 Glen Cove Avenue was the location for the gate house, cottage, stable and kennel for the John Mackay III Estate with the primary residence on Melby Lane.

Howard KroplickHoward Kroplick

A profile of the John Mackay III Estate cottage, garage, stable and kennel has been posted https://www.roslynlandmarks.org/projects/john-mackay-iii-estate-cottage-garage-stable-and-kennel

Howard Kroplick

Peter, those retaining walls throughout Country Estates were built to support the main road to Clarence Mackay's home from the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge. The above aerials show the road in 1927 and 1936. Very cool! Howard

Peter wagner

Great map, trying to figure out how and why theres a massive e wall in my side yard between ash and Peach, but doesnt appear in any of these maps