Western Gate House
Building Address: 4 Connetquot Drive (junction of the old Montauk Highway with the Connetquot River)
Section / Block / Lot:
Surveyors Names: Cristina Muia/Nancy Solomon
Survey Date: 9/04
Building Type:
Owner’s Name:
Building Name: West Gate house
Date of Construction: c. 1889
Architect:Isaac H. Green, Richard Morris Hunt
Building Dimensions:
No. of Floors:2
Decorative Features: Tudor style half timbered.
Siding Material(s):Brick, stucco, half timbered.
Roof Style:Hip and cupola
Roofing Material(s): slate
Foundation:
Window Style(s):stained glass, historic multi-paned
No. of Entrances and Placement:
Chimneys and Placement: Brick interior end chimneys.
Condition: Good
Architectural Integrity: High
Architectural Style: English tudor style
Description:
It is a two story English style cottage, built at a cost of $30,000. The first floor is smooth brick while the second floor is half-timber and stucco. All windows are diamond pane casements with oriel windows on the second floor. This is yet another example of 19th century architecture of the Vanderbilt estate.
History:
The West Gate House marked the western entrance to the estate. Located near the railroad station, the gate house served as a special train stop for arriving guests. Like the East Gate house, designed by Isaac H. Green, it also had an elaborate entrance gate attached to an iron Vanderbilt fence. According to an Idle Hour employee list kept by Dowling College, Mrs. Maria Crawford was the West Gate house caretaker until 1897.
It is said that this house served as a refuge for William K. Vanderbilt when he discovered his wife was seeing Oliver Belmont in his absences. It was nicknamed the “pouting house.”
Sources:
Dowling College. “The Estate and Environs.” http://www.dowling.edu/about/idlehour
Kaufman, Peter. “A note on the Architect I.H. Green.” Suffolk County Division of Historic Services, (nd). Dowling College Archive