Roslyns Greatest Gold Coast Marvel Jordana Abraham Grade

Roslyn’s Greatest Gold Coast Marvel Jordana Abraham Grade 12 Roslyn High School Nassau County Advisor: Dr. Weseley

In the Beginning Clarence was born on April 17, 1974 to an Irish Catholic family. His father was John Mackay, a self-made wealthy man as a result of silver mining. In 1904, Mackay completed the first transpacific cable line from the United States to the Far East.

The First Mrs. Mackay n n n Katherine Duer Mackay met and fell in love with Clarence in 1897. They were wed on May 17, 1898 As a wedding gift, Clarence’s parents gave the newlyweds the site of their future mansion, Harbor Hill atop the highest point in Nassau County. Katherine was the first member of the Roslyn school board in 1905 and strongly advocated for women’s rights. In 1910 Katherine left Clarence for his doctor, Joseph Blake and obtained a divorce from him in Paris, 1904. By 1930 she had developed cancer and passed away, after which, Clarence decided to remarry.

n n The Mackay estate was built upon what is now Roslyn High School and the Country Estates Community The Mackay’s chose Stanford White, the popular architect written about in The Great Gatsby to build their dream home. The mansion took five years to build and was built on 648 acres. It cost $781, 483 to build. European furnishings were sought out to decorate the house.

Highlights of The Mackay Mansion n In 1924, a party was hosted by Clarence for The Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VIII n In 1927, a party was thrown for Charles Lindbergh after the completion of his revolutionary flight from Roosevelt Field to Paris

The Second Mrs. Mackay • Anna Case Mackay was an opera singer who met Clarence while doing a performance at his home. He became smitten with her and they were married at St. Mary’s Church in Roslyn after the death of his first wife in 1931. Anna was always noted as taking care of Mackay during his physical and financial difficulties throughout their marriage. They are shown above with their dogs in 1937.

Troubled Times at Home For Clarence n Clarence was hit with troubled times both with his wife walking out on him to marry his doctor and her death in 1930. n Clarence was further grief stricken when his daughter Ellin married Irving Berlin (left) , a Jewish composer and song writer. Clarence then disowned his daughter because of her husband’s profession and religion. n Irving Berlin plays a major role in American Musical history and has composed such famous songs as “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” and “God Bless America”

The Decline of Mackay and Harbor Hill n Following the 1929 stock market crash, Harbor Hill Mackay’s funds started to deplete and his mansion, to fall apart… n In 1933 the mansion was closed but reopened in 1935 with a reduced staff when the Mackays had a little more money. n Mackay spent his last day at the mansion 4 days before his death on November 12, 1938 at the age of 64. He died in New York City and was buried at a family memorial in Brooklyn. n Clarence left Harbor Hill to his son John Mackay II who did not possess the funds necessary for the upkeep.

Harbor Hill Today n The House and landscaping gradually were ruined due to neglect and vandalism n In 1947, the mansion was demolished with dynamite n John sold the Real Estate to a developer who built the now modern Country Estates Development in the late 50 s and early 60 s n Today all that remains of the Mackay estate are the gates which now are located off of Roslyn Road, now the entrance to The Pool Club. Additionally, two of The Manly Horses which used to be in the Mackey Formal Gardens now grace both the front circle of Roslyn High School and the other by a house in Country Estates, left in the exact same spot in which it was originally placed in 1900 -1910.

References n n n n Slide 1: Image courtesy of contentdm. library. unr. edu/cgi-bin/showfile. Slide 2: Image courtesy of www. mackayhistory. com/1924_40 Anniv_Pics. JPG Slides 3 : Image courtesy of www. mackayhistory. com/1905_katherine. jpg Slide 4: Images courtesy of www. vintagedesigns. com/. . . /mrsmackaybed. jpg and www. newsday. com/. . . /photo/200310/9632340. jpg Slide 5: Image courtesy of http: //www. mackayhistory. com/Harbor. Hill. html Slide 6: Image courtesy of http: //www. mackayhistory. com/2_mrs_mackays. html Slide 7 Image courtesy of www. rnh. com/irving_berlin/images/berlin. gif Slide 8 Image courtesy of www. vintagedesigns. com/. . . /whitedrawingrm. jpg Slide 9 Image courtesy of www. mackayhistory. com/horse_bigfile_jan 05. jpg

BIBLIOGRAPHY n n Moger, Roy. Roslyn: Then and Now. 1. New York: Bryant Library, 1992. (2006, May 28). Clarence H Mackay. Retrieved December 15 2006, from Mackay History Web site: http: //www. mackayhistory. com/index. html (2006, August 17). Clarence Mackay. Retrieved December 15, 2006, from Wikipedia Web site: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Clarence_Mackay Sloam, Myrna (2001). Timeline of Roslyn History. Retrieved December 15, 2006, from The Bryant Room Local History Web site: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Clarence_Mackay