What Happened to Marshall Field's Mansion on Long Island? (Caumsett Manor)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Join us on an exclusive journey to Long Island's hidden gem, the sprawling estate of Marshall Field III. Witness the grandeur of Caumsett Hall, a mansion that redefines luxury, from its opulent interiors to the mysterious life of its owner, who turned a massive inheritance into a story of triumph and tragedy, this episode of 'This House' unveils the secrets behind one of America's most beautiful homes. Discover the untold story of wealth, ambition, and legacy.
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Location: Long Island, NY
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If every channel was as classy as this, the world would be a very different place. Another absolutely fantastic video!
But when things are free, you get the riffraff.
How wonderful that this elegant, well-designed house and grounds still exist!! I love the horse stables and the huge kitchen garden of vegetables. Do these still exist? All those rooms on the bottom floor are beautiful and practical for entertaining. I would love to visit the park someday. Sad that Marshall didn't get to enjoy the place longer. Thanks for a great video!
Looking forward to your visit!
I guess I will go with Mrs. Field’s room.
It’s so so in that the interior design is weak. For someone who had at his finger tips the best Buyers of Marshall Field Department Store, I didn’t see what I wanted to see. I really question if there was an Interior Decorator such as White~Alom of London, or Joseph Duveen &Sons, or Elsie DeWolf.
The Dining Rm drapery are missing their valance’s. The chandeliers are all the same…..as if they were purchased in a Package….2 for the price of one. The furniture all seems to small for the proportions of these premiere rooms. The woodwork, cabinetry and interior architecture is excellent, though the chimney pieces are drab and lacking in both the Dining and Living Room.
The land mass is incredible though….but could easily have afforded a tapest vert in the rear facade of the house. Not as grand as Whitemarsh Hall, but something at least in Boxwood and lead urns on limestone balustrade. It doesn’t look lived in, which may well be a cottage to be enjoyed in Summer months. It would make an excellent Sanatarium……sorry, “Wellness Center” to the wokeingtons.
I am very glad to see it still there and given over in perpetuity to the State of New York. The would also make an excellent Recreation Center.
Ah, the rest of the story! Marshall III made his money in Chicago, but moved to Long Island?
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER PARTIAL DEMOLITION?????????????? AT LEAST PART OF IT IS STILL THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS IT USED FOR?????????????? WHICH ROOMS WERE TORN DOWN AND WHICH ONES ARE STILL THERE????????????? WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?????????????????
A favorite of mine. There is a sophisticated simplicity to the symmetry of the Georgian style that is both elegant and comforting. Some here may favor the more extravagant styles of other mansions, but there is no denying this is a very livable style. And a very beautiful home.
Thanks for another great video. I really like the cottages built for the estate staff and their families, much better than the cramped servants quarters provided in many other houses like this. Glad to see the beautiful grounds are publicly accessible.
I was wondering when you'd get around to Caumsett, and I'm so glad you have. Caumsett is not far from where I live and I have been enjoying that park for 40 years. It's a beautiful, fascinating place and I am grateful to the Fields for selling it to the state rather than developers, which they could easily have as that land is worth a lot of money, even back when they sold it! The house is fascinating and proud even to this day and every time I'm up there I always try to image what the place was like back in its heyday. The tennis courts and lot of other structures are gone, the ruins of the greenhouses get further consumed by overgrowth every year but still remain, but Caumsett still remains an amazing place to visit! I'd recommend Westbury Gardens if you haven't yet done a video about that.
I like to think I would stay fairly reasonable with 4bn$, but what seems reasonable to me today might be very different after that kind of inheritance. Oh well. That’s not a problem I’m going to encounter!
The whole estate was beautiful, inside the house and out. I'm impressed that he had decent cottages for his staff.
I absolutely love the home. Also very fond of Marshall Fields and its history.
Stayed a few nights in this mansion as part of a school trip when I was in elementary school. I remember my entire class was divided into sleeping in the servants rooms. There were 4 bunk beds in each room. We dined on the first floor in the loggia with a view of the man-made lake behind the house. It was an unforgettable experience. I’m very lucky to have stayed there.
Thank you for creating this video !
Very cool 🏡
It's quite lovely inside and out! I'm glad they got to enjoy it for the span of their lives!! Thanks, Ken!
The videos on this channel are always too short. ❤
He also owned 2 plantations in SC and are part of the Field Family Trust which is worth about 5 billion dollars so I am told by cousins who are descendants of his.
Ridiculous amounts of money 💰. And now all gone and all dead. No biggie in the end!! I think European homes were much more elegant.
Hopefully, I would have inherited the money 50 years ago.
Wonderful Manison ♥️
Ohhhhhh yesss! Caumsett Hall is right up there with Hillwood and Ardrossian as my fantasy residences. Pope never seems to get as much attention as Stanford White, but Pope is my fave Gilded Age architect, no question (Trumbauer is very close as well).
Great video!
They also owned field Crest towels & bed linens
Loved those stair railings. I've often wondered about the people who designed them and made them. Imagining the discussion between the architect and the Head Smith arguing over how what they wanted wasn't able to be done what compromises were made, new techniques figured out, coordinating installations, what f'ups were found when they went to do the install, how they were sorted . . .
Field also lived in a spectacular triplex apartment on the 24-26th floors of the River House at 435 East 52nd St. The building had a private dock for residents to use when commuting by boat from their Long Island estates. The triplex was divided into a duplex and a simplex. The dock was removed for the FDR drive in the 1940's.
He lived in the 12th floor penthouse for a few years before moving to 740 Park Avenue (buy the book - same title) where he took an entire floor. John D. Rockefeller lived on the floor below him.
Such a beautiful estate! Apart from the tasteful grandeur of Caumsett Hall, I particularly liked that the staff each had their own cottages for their families.... The size of the estate reflected the oppulence of the Mansion too - none of this 25ac nonsense.
Do we know if the staff were required to pay _M.F. lll_ rent for living in the cottages?
They were not, however their payscale reflected these benefits (three meals a day were also provided, along with a quart of fresh milk for every household member).
Why they demolished a wing? Americans... 🥴
Yes, because nobody else in the world knocks down parts of buildings. It was probably damaged by a nor'easter, which are horrible storms that move up the coast and slam into Long Island.
@@okjoe5561 Probably?
Unfortunately, we Americans weren't as lucky as Europeans, especially, who had German and British and American bombers in the twentieth century to periodically dispose of unwanted and outdated buildings.
Ruth Field took down the ballroom (far left) when she was widowed, and it wasn’t being used.
So epic! Especially enjoyed this episode, thanks!
This home is lovely and one can imagine real people living in it, as opposed to many over-the-top, I’m-fabulously-wealthy mansions we’ve visited thru this series. I’m glad the mansion still stands.
Hi. Love your channel.
Could you consider doing the "Oheka Castle"? I'd love to hear your take on it :).
A very beautiful and livable house! I have to say that being affected by an inoperable brain tumor can be a very painful and difficult experience both for the patient and their families to go through, as the tumor literally destroys the personality and soul until there is nothing left. Enough said. Thank you again for your excellent work 👏
Another very nice video with a happy ending. Interesting to note that Fields was a highly successful businessman himself and that the family fortune was not lost in the Crash.
I’m so glad it’s somewhat intact and not torn down and developed.
I forgot to mention that I designed and stitched a large sampler that was auctioned off at one of our fundraisers. I would send you a photo if I knew your email. I also could send you a link to an incredible website that covers historical estates all over Long Island.
Great video! This is one nice mansion, though huge it seems to feel like a home. Maybe someday they'll give tours through the house. Question: Ken, do you live in a big old house?
I’m impressed by both the house and the servant’s quarters.
The library & gun room were favorites 🙂
Thank you for the tour. Hopefully the state will keep this up as a tourist attraction.
My favorite part is the chair in the fireplace in the card room.
Walking on the old driveway up to the house from the service side to the main drive is a peaceful and quiet journey. Since Cell service is very limited there, you whitenoise seems to go away and the quiet is so beautiful. Its a 4 mile round trip in and out. The air is fresh and its so peaceful.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the Super Thanks! I'm so glad these videos make your day!
Cheers!
Ken
That staircase railing was beautiful.
That was nice of her to sell the land cheap back to the state so everyone can enjoy it now.
So enjoy your videos! Love seeing all these incredible estates and homes!
Well done, as always, Ken! ❤
Yet another melancholy story...
My favorite channel!!!
Wow! I have always wondered why when the government buys something with our tax dollars, we the tax payers are NOT allowed to enjoy it?? Why we are NOT allowed to even go in?? What is the building doing, just sitting there empty? Thanks
The Main House is fire rated for just 140 people, and needs millions of dollars in repairs. The precludes its use as an event venue (location) and public gathering area. It is however, often used for movie shoots.
Nice, but you missed a bit of side history. During WW1 the estate was used by the U.S. Army signal Corps for an aviation field.
Not true. WWI was long over when Field purchased the property (in his wife's name) in 1922. The nearby Fort Hill estate contained a short, dirt runway. During WWII Field leased Caumsett to the US government at $1.00 per year. The property was used to consolidate observation posts on the north shore of LI and for the design and production of motivational posters. The Farm Group was used to raise thousands of pigs. The $1.00 sum paid kept the property on the Town of Huntington property tax roll at a time when those funds were desperately needed. Field was a very generous man.
Thank goodness. I was expecting it to have become another victim of the Great Depression era. For the main house to have survived under the control of one family for so long bodes well for the originality of the surviving structures, especially the interior.
Caumsett is now a thriving New York State Park Preserve. Come visit us!
I really like the loggia! I'd be reading there all the time!
It is a good-looking mansion and I wonder what it looked like before the wing was torn down?
You see it in the video... 🤷♂️
Ruth Field tore down the ballroom on far left, as it was no longer used. If you look at recent pictures, can see “something” is missing. A beautiful home/property. Great to visit.
Walled garden kept beautifully
Actually the film is only partially correct. Both the east and west wings were torn down after WWII to lessen the property tax impact, and to coalesce with the more gentle economic times and feelings after the war. The Field family left the Main House (not "Caumsett Hall") moving in to the Summer Cottage.
The brother that died, is that the brother that got killed in the famous brothel in Chicago? The only thing I dislike about Marshall's Field, is that they sold to Macy's. The store has been nothing since then. When you shopped at Field's, you knew you were buying quality. (Chicago-State St.)
I think that was his dad that is rumored to have been shot at a bordello. Some state he accidentally shot himself at home. The mansion is still there. I passed by it a few times in Chicago.
I loved Marshall Field's toy department as a child in the 70's. Macy's is OK, I shop there sometimes.
I seem to remember a ballroom on the west side of the house,was that demolished?
Good memory! It was demolished before the estate was sold.
Caumsett Hall gorgeous view
The gorgeous view your refer to is of the Field created, heart shaped, fresh pond. Large pumps were installed by Field so he could stock the pond with fish. The pumps kept the ponds temperature low with a steady supply of well based, cold water. Long island Sound is just north of the pond.
Beautiful concept incorporating the best of Nature & Dwellings - most excellent he took such good care of the Staff - yet strange the Mans had no Porte Cochere to keep the Rain or harsh Sun & Wind off visitors - Wonderful Tour - Thx
Wonderfully informative video.
While living in Lloyd Harbor I had the good fortune to be one of the 4 founding members of the Caumsett Foundation. Through fund raising efforts we managed to rehabilitate many areas of the Caumsett Estate. I’m older than dirt now and your video was a marvelous reminder.
What a beautiful estate. He sounds like a kind man providing homes for his staff. Loved all the estate, nicely decked out without being gaudy. The veranda with the view of water was my favorite.
The acreage n lush woods is just stunning. So glad it’s open to public..,
I grew up on Long Island and this was a place my dad took us to hike many times. The bluffs that overlooked Long Island sound really added to the beauty
Thank you
Beautiful house and property! I did not find much inside appealing though!
I’ve never visited, but read some about this house a few years ago. I understand that the gate house (1:39) actually dates from the late 1600s by early Long Island settlers. I think it was very admirable of him to respect the history that was there before he bought the property. You did a great job covering this, Ken. Thank you!
💯 The most positive element of the interior is: it is obvious in the owner's recognition of Light and Clarity. No the dran dark layered Victorian.
This home was a most appealingly refreshing experience for its inhabitants and guests.
You creep me out every time you say, "This House."
Why does the narrator talk like this? He has no gravitas.
Sure it was vast but I don't think it can compare to the to the beauty of Other Mansions I don't know why it was considered one of the beautifulest in America except for the grounds and location property
Raised in Chicagoland so all about anything Marshall Field... interesting not much said about Marshall's dad junior, wonder why as that is not just an oversight. Senior wa a true patriarch, racist but generous to his own kind and charitable to Chicagoans in general. The original stores still stand on the Mag mile and worth a look.
My mom grew up in the 30's and 40's, she told me how rude the sales clerks were to minorities back then.