Love 'The Gilded Age'? This Rye mansion has a connection
A Rye property, now on the market, merges contemporary design with a Gilded Age sensibility. That is, the house, built in 1978, sits on a piece of land that once served as the formal gardens for the oldest and largest house on Manursing Island — a home once owned by George Jay Gould, the son of famous 19th-century “robber baron” Jay Gould.
Jay Gould maintained his own opulent estate, Lyndhurst, in Tarrytown. Coincidentally, Lyndhurst is currently being used as a filming location for the second season of the HBO series, "The Gilded Age."
The gardens here would be a fitting film location, too.
The waterfront property at 35 Island Drive, and its four-bedroom home, are now on the market for $7,495,000.
The house was built on what used to be the fountain of the estate's formal Italianate garden. All around the one-acre property are hints of its storied past, from brick walls and pathways, arches, filigreed iron doors, statues, grand stone staircases and pergolas.
The current owners put in a pool and tennis court that overlooks the water and the Tide Mill Yacht Basin & Harbor just beyond the water's edge. There is a private beach and marina for use of those in the homeowner's association. Manursing Island has just 39 homes.
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The four bedroom, three and a half bath home is just over 4,000 square feet. The rooms are bright and airy, with high ceilings, clean lines and surfaces, from marble floors to full length windows that take full advantage of the site.
There is an all-white kitchen, wood paneled office or den, a formal dining room with a wall of windows and a unique floating fireplace.
The history
Fans of HBO's "The Gilded Age," which was created by "Downton Abbey's" Julian Fellowes, know there is always some drama occurring among the monied set on the series. In real life, the one-time owners of the property where this home stands, the Goulds, were no different.
The formal gardens of the main Gould estate, a 20-room stucco and limestone Tudor Manor house which still stands today next door to 35 Island Drive, were installed by Guinevere Sinclair. According to news reports of the time, Sinclair was George Gould's mistress; he reportedly kept a low profile by arriving for visits to the mansion via his yacht. Gould purchased the property for Sinclair, whom he married after his first wife passed away. After Gould's death, she sold the estate.
In a August, 1923 story, the Scarsdale Enquirer reported that Mrs. Vera Sinclair Gould sold the estate to J.H.R. Cromwell for $375,000. The paper reported that she had paid $600,000 for the property and updates.
Photos from the collection of the Museum of the City New York taken in 1926 after Cromwell purchased the estate, show a set of delicate iron gates, which are still on the property today, a tangible reminder of another age.
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Like this house
Where: 35 Island Drive, Rye
Price: $7,495,000
Schools: Rye City schools
Taxes: $57,323
Contact: Fiona Dogan, William Pitt Julia B. Fee Sothebys, 914-414-5147; 914-921-9269
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 'The Gilded Age' in Rye: Home with interesting past for sale
