Chanticlare (often spelled Chanteclair and also known as the Ricks Estate) was a large, Gold Coast-era estate located in the

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Flower Hill, on the North Shore of

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 ...

, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States.

Description

Overview

Chanticlare was constructed in the 1920s for attorney and

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

executive Jesse J. Ricks. The mansion, designed in the

English Tudor English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-style by Frederick A. Godley, featured 42 rooms – including a music room/ballroom.

Failed preservation efforts

In the 1960s, following the deaths of Jesse Ricks and his wife, their children would sell off the remaining land. Originally, the developers of the Chanticlare at Flower Hill subdivision, Edwin and Walter Ketay, wanted to save the mansion, and made attempts to do so. A number of the homes built on as part of the development were designed by architect Stanley H. Klein. One of the plans for its preservation was for C.W. Post University (now LIU Post) to purchase it and use the space as a music school, an accounting school, and/or administrative offices, amongst other proposed uses by the school.MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF FLOWER HILL. NASSAU COUNTY. N.Y. May 1, 1967. Village of Flower Hill, New York. However, in 1967, C.W. Post ultimately chose not to buy the property.MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF FLOWER HILL. NASSAU COUNTY. N.Y. 1967-1969. Village of Flower Hill, New York. The Ketays soon after tried getting the Nassau County Cultural Society to occupy the home – although the plan was largely opposed by residents.Minutes of a Public Hearing and Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Flower Hill. Nassau County. N.Y. December 4, 1967. With all preservation efforts failing, preserving the building proved to be too costly, and the estate was ultimately demolished in the late 1960s and replaced with an additional 4 homes as part of an amended plat map and plan for the Chanticlare at Flower Hill subdivision made by Edwin and Walter Ketay.

Remnants of the estate

Chanticlare pipe organ

In 1968, the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

formerly located in Chanticlare's music room was donated by John Ricks and Jane Ricks-King, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Ricks, to

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

in honor of their late parents. The three-bank Aeolian electro-pneumatic pipe organ, valued at $115,000 in 1968, was installed in the Adams Playhouse at Hofstra, along with a memorial plaque. In order to house the components of the instrument, Hofstra had to add two chambers onto the Adams Playhouse, totaling . The donation of the organ meant that students at Hofstra studying the organ could practice on-campus as opposed to having to travel off-campus to the nearby Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation.

Guest house

The estate's guest house, located off

Stonytown Road Stonytown Road is a 1.32-mile (2.12 km) road in the Village (New York), incorporated villages of Flower Hill, New York, Flower Hill, Plandome, New York, Plandome, and Plandome Manor, New York, Plandome Manor in the North Hempstead, New York, Tow ...

, still stands. Like the main mansion, it was also designed by Godley.

References

{{coord missing, New York (state) 1920s establishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures demolished in the 1960s Buildings and structures completed in the 1920s Demolished buildings and structures in New York (state) Flower Hill, New York Houses completed in the 20th century Houses in Nassau County, New York Mansions of Gold Coast, Long Island Tudor Revival architecture in New York (state)