Imagine building your dream house
only to decide that you didn’t like it. Hi everyone, Ken here, welcome to This House In 1900, Howard Gould set out to build
his dream house. He had been born into one of the greatest fortunes America
had ever seen. His father, Jay Gould, was notoriously known around the world for
his ruthless business practices as one of the nation’s leading railroad tycoons.
With more money than the family could realistically spend throughout their lifetimes,
each of Jay’s children began building massive estates. Howard purchased 300 acres in Port
Washington and began planning his estate. He had visited Kilkenny Castle in Ireland
and wanted an exact replica built for him to live in. As construction began, he had
several changes made to the initial designs, up to the point where the castle was no
longer an exact replica, but rather bore a strong resemblance to the original. Finally,
upon its completion, he moved in to Castlegould, and within a few short years had decided that he
actually hated the house and wanted to start over. Instead of tearing it down, Howard hired
the leading gilded age architecture firm of Hunt and Hunt to design a new castle
next door. The new mansion was much more to his liking. Not only was it larger,
but it was more livable with a simple, but grand layout. By 1912,
the estate was completed, requiring a grand total of 217 full time staff
members to care for the houses and grounds. As we begin making our way towards the
front door, we will follow the shadow of the 80 foot tower looming overhead. We will
pull through the port cochere to find the front door hidden in the shadows. For the first
time, we notice how blown out the proportions are with double width doors welcoming us below a
double height ceiling, dwarfing the human scale. From here we pass below the stair landing to
arrive in the entrance hall. The oak staircase, with carved balustrade, dances
along the stone block walls, spiraling overhead. As we look around,
we find the built in pipe organ cozied up to the staircase and imagine music
bellowing through this grand stone hall. Above us, the ceiling rises out of sight
into the shadows, appearing almost as if it fades from existence, a signature of the
architects. We will see more of the stairhall when we go upstairs, but for now, let’s
continue into the cavernous first floor. As we pass through a silhouetted
archway, natural light floods the deep interior of the mansion through
the Palm Court’s glass ceiling. This room acts as the anchor for the first floor,
with alcoves and lounges beyond each arcade, and the public rooms just beyond those.
To one side, we hear chirping coming from the aviary as birds flutter
about below the oak ceiling. We will turn again, following the golden
glow of the light beyond the palm room’s arcade to find the Winter Living Room. This
room is the warmest in the house as it is insulated by two solariums on either side
of it. Let’s peek beyond the passageways to either side of the limestone fireplace before
continuing our journey around the palm room. This brings us to the enclosed terrace,
serving as a four seasons room where the family could enjoy fresh air
blowing in through screens. To one end is the dining room, with half
heigh oak panels rising below elaborate wall murals. This massive room was finished out
with parquet wood floors below its oriental rug, and up on the ceiling, the exposed wood
beams had been carved in a floral pattern. Next to the fireplace, we see depictions
of nautical vessels worked into the wall mural. Howard was known to spend much of his
time aboard his steam yacht, the Niagara. Let’s now cut back across the enclosed porch to
find the billiard room. This extravagant room was clad in reclaimed 17th century Spanish wall
panels. And if that weren’t impressive enough, these walls are not covered in wallpaper, they
have been adorned with hand-tooled leather. Above us, the coffered ceiling appears nearly
reflective being entirely covered in gold leaf. This attaches to the library which was copied
from King James the First’s palace. All of the wood work in this room is of walnut
with built in bookshelves worked into the paneling’s grid. While there are many artisan
details to catch our eyes, up on the ceiling, amidst a maze of plasterwork, we find the faces of
famous authors peeping out from the plaster vines. Let’s return now to the stair hall and begin
winding our way up. At the first landing, we will find an opening bringing us
into the sun room which is positioned over the port cochere. We can imagine
how magnificent this space would have been with colors dancing around the room as
the sun passed by each leaded stained glass window. Let’s turn around and make
our way back to the stair landing. We’ll head up a few more stairs and make
our way through the arcade straight ahead. Before we dive into the deep interior, we can turn
around, admiring the grandeur of the stair hall. As we wind through the second floor’s
halls we will begin exploring the bedrooms. There are many rooms and suites on this level,
each one is styled differently from the last. Some of the rooms are more formal, with
antique furniture sets and gilded wall panels. While others are more homey with
a refined, but comfortable décor scheme. But the grandest of all the bedrooms was that
of Howard Gould. Every item in his suite was meant to emulate a medieval fantasy. From
the light fixtures with electric candles, to the figurative relief
work found on the millwork, his bedroom made him feel like the
king he wanted to be in his castle. He enjoyed this fantasy for about 5
years before growing bored. In 1917, he sold Castlegould to mining magnate, Daniel
Guggenheim who renamed the estate to Hempstead House. The Guggenheims enjoyed the
mansion and its grounds for several decades before donating it to the Institute
of Aeronautical Sciences in 1942. It changed hands through various government entities
over the years until it was gifted from the Navy to Nassau County. While much
of the interior has changed over time, visitors flock to the grounds every year to enjoy
the former estate as the Sands Point Preserve. Did you have a favorite room? Let me know down
below in the comments section. And while you’re there, make sure to hit that subscribe button so
you never miss an exciting episode of This House
