Idle Hour is a former

Vanderbilt estate Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is a historic house museum in Hyde Park, New York, United States. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1940, it is owned and operated by the National Park Service. The property, historically known ...

that is located in Oakdale on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

. It was completed in 1901 for

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist, and horse breeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kissam Vand ...

. Once part of

Dowling College Dowling College was a private college on Long Island, New York. It was established in 1968 and had its main campus located in Oakdale, New York on the site of William K. Vanderbilt's mansion Idle Hour. Dowling also included a campus in Shirle ...

, the mansion is one of the largest houses in the United States.

History

In 1878, Alva and

began building a lavish, wooden 110-room home known as Idle Hour, on a estate on the

Connetquot River The Connetquot River (also known as Great River) is a river in Islip, New York. It is one of the four longest rivers on Long Island and is recognized by the state as a Wild, Scenic and Recreational River. It is particularly known for its br ...

. The building, initially completed in 1882, was designed by

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of architecture of the United States. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 ...

Hunt & Hunt Richard Howland Hunt (March 14, 1862 – July 12, 1931) was an American architect and member of the Hunt family of Vermont who worked with his brother Joseph Howland Hunt in New York City at Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of Richard Morr ...

(an American who studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris), continuously added to until the home was destroyed by fire on April 15, 1899, while his son, Willie K. Vanderbilt, was honeymooning there. Willie and his new wife,

Virginia Fair Vanderbilt Virginia Fair Vanderbilt (January 2, 1875 – July 7, 1935) was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family by marriage. ...

, escaped the fire. His daughter Consuelo had also honeymooned there when she married the

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative ...

in 1895. It was promptly rebuilt of red brick and gray stone in the English Country Style, with exquisite furnishings, for $3 million. The building was designed by Hunt's son,

Richard Howland Hunt Richard Howland Hunt (March 14, 1862 – July 12, 1931) was an American architect and member of the Hunt family of Vermont who worked with his brother Joseph Howland Hunt in New York City at Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of Richard Mor ...

, and at the time was considered among the finest homes in America. The rebuilt estate "included nearly all of Oakdale, 290 or 300 buildings, a herd of steer and a paddlewheel steamer to ferry guests up and down the

alongside the mansion." Around 1902, an addition was made to Idle Hour by the prominent architectural firm

Warren & Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm based in New York City, a partnership established about 1889 by Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles D. Wetmore (1866–1941). They had one of the most extensive practices of their time, and were e ...

Later ownership

After Vanderbilt's death in 1920, the mansion went through several phases and visitors, including a brief stay during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

by gangster

Dutch Schultz Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. He made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the n ...

. Around that time, cow stalls, pig pens and corn cribs on the farm portion of Idle Hour were converted into a short-lived bohemian

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

, known as the Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians, that included figures such as

George Elmer Browne George Elmer Browne (May 6, 1871BROWNE, George Elmer
in ''

and Roman (Bon) Bonet-Sintas as well as sculptor Catherine Lawson, costume designer Olga Meervold, pianist Claude Govier, Francis Gow-Smith, and his wife Carol. In 1963,

Adelphi College Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

purchased the estate and, in 1968, spun the campus off as

(named after city planner and philanthropist Robert W. Dowling). In March 1974, the home sustained its second fire and required a $3 million renovation. The estate was home to Dowling College, a private co-educational college, until the college closed in August 2016. In 2017, Idle Hour and the Dowling Campus were set to be auctioned off. In 2018, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Central Islip approved the $14 million purchase of the site. by Mercury International LLC of Delaware, an affiliate of NCF Capital Ltd. which owes over $3 million dollars in back taxes to Suffolk County.

Largest homes in the United States

The 70,000 sq. ft. mansion ranks among the largest houses in the United States, tied with

Woodlea Sleepy Hollow Country Club is a historic country club in Scarborough-on-Hudson in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The club was founded in 1911, and its clubhouse was known as Woodlea, a 140-room Vanderbilt mansion owned by Colonel Elliott Fitch Shep ...

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

(built for his sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

and brother-in-law

Elliott Fitch Shepard Elliott Fitch Shepard (July 25, 1833 – March 24, 1893) was an American lawyer, banker, and owner of the '' Mail and Express'' newspaper, as well as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association. Shepard was married to Mar ...

in 1895).

Gallery

File:Country residence ("Idle Hour") for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York LCCN2017650941.jpg, Photograph of Idle Hour, 1880 File:Country residence ("Idle Hour") for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York). (Kitchen and servants' rooms addition). (Elevation) - Richard M. Hunt, architect, New LCCN2010647867.jpg, Kitchen and servants room' addition, 1886. File:Country residence ('Idle Hour') for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York) LOC ppmsca.52120.jpg, Architectural drawing of the stables, 1888. File:Country residence ('Idle Hour') for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York) LOC ppmsca.52124.jpg, Architectural drawing, 1889 File:Country residence ('Idle Hour') for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York) LOC ppmsca.52123.jpg, Architectural drawing, 1889 File:Country residence ('Idle Hour') for William K. Vanderbilt, Oakdale, Long Island, New York) LOC ppmsca.52116.jpg, Architectural drawing of Idle Hour's interior, -1901 Idle Hour 02.jpg, The north facade at Idle Hour, Idle Hour 03.jpg, The inner courtyard at Idle Hour, Idle Hour Stables.jpg, The stables at Idle Hour,

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

Idle Hour, Town of Islip, Suffolk County
at Preservation Long Island
The Gilded Age, The Vanderbilt's and Idle Hour
video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...