Old Westbury Gardens
Old Westbury Gardens is a formerly private country estate in Old Westbury in Nassau County on the Long Island peninsula in New York , USA . The property is listed in the US National Register of Historic Places , is now a museum with show gardens and is also used for cultural events of all kinds or private parties, such as B. Used weddings. Since 1958 the villa has been used more and more often as a backdrop for Hollywood films. Public tours were also possible a year later, in 1959.
history
The 23-room country estate was once inhabited by the builder John S. Phipps (1874-1958), his wife Margarita Grace Phipps and their four children. Phipps promised his wife at the start of construction in 1903 that he would build her an estate that resembled her estate in her English home, Battle Abbey . Completed after three years of construction in 1906 by the English designer George A. Crawley in the style of Charles II, the villa already offered the visitor extensive gardens on an area of around 200 acres , extensive lawns, forests, and ponds Lakes. The Westbury estate, which belonged to the Phipps family for more than fifty years, is furnished with fine English antiques and handicrafts.
Current
Today the manor welcomes visitors of all ages for tours of Westbury House & Gardens. Guided tours are offered here through the museum in the country estate and through the geometrically laid out gardens in the outdoor area. Visits to school classes, family and children's programs, events, exhibitions, vintage car shows, classic indoor and outdoor concerts, summer concerts, lectures, book signing, horticultural demonstrations, workshops, botanical art and gardening exhibitions as well as exhibitions on the topic of horticulture, Art, history, design and architecture take place here.
Old Westbury Gardens is considered to be one of the best preserved mansions in the USA, with the highest level of quality, which for this American villa of the early 20th century was only made possible by the faithful preservation of the landscape and gardens, the architecture and the art collections.
Visiting hours
Old Westbury Gardens is open to the public. There is a souvenir and gift shop, a plant shop and a café on the extensive grounds of the country estate.
Hollywood movies
Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic The Invisible Third with Cary Grant made Old Westbury Gardens known to an audience of millions. At the same time, Hollywood took notice of this country estate as an exclusive filming location. Old Westbury Gardens can be seen as a backdrop in the following Hollywood films:
- The Invisible Third 1959 with Cary Grant, James Mason
- Love Story 1970 with Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw
- Wolf - Das Tier im Manne 1994 with Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer
- To Wong Foo, thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar 1995 with Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes
- Ice Cold Angels 1999 with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe
- 8mm 1999 with Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix
- Hitch 2005 with Will Smith, Kevin James
- American Gangster 2007 with Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
- Bernard and Doris 2007 with Susan Sarandon, Ralph Fiennes
- Royal Pains 2008, TV series
- Gossip Girl 2008, TV series with Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick.
- Arthur 2011 with Russell Brand and Jennifer Garner
Web links
- Homepage of Old Westbury Gardens (English)
- Pictures of the Old Westbury Gardens on pbase.com (English)
Coordinates: 40 ° 46 ′ 25.2 " N , 73 ° 35 ′ 41.6" W.