Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps (1874-1958), heir to a U.S. Steel fortune, in Nassau County, New York. It has been open to the public for tours since 1959.

The gardens are located at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, New York.

History

Work on the estate began in 1903, when Phipps promised his British fiancee Margarita he would build her a home in the United States that resembled her family estate in Battle Abbey. The estate was ready for Phipps, his wife and their children in 1906.

Westbury House, the Charles II-style mansion designed by George A. Crawley, contains 23 rooms. The grounds cover .

The estate is open to the public daily except Tuesdays from late April through October. An entrance fee is charged.

Scenes of the driveway were used in the 1970 film Love Story to depict the entrance to the home of Ryan O'Neal's character.

Other movies filmed on the grounds include North by Northwest, The Age of Innocence, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Wolf, Hitch, Cruel Intentions, 8MM, Bernard and Doris, American Gangster, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Scenes from the television series, Royal Pains and Gossip Girl also used the location in filming.

The painting "Mrs. Henry Phipps and Her Grandson Winston" by John Singer Sargent hangs in the dining room. The godfather of Winston was Winston Churchill.

References

1.      ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.