100th REVIEW CONDRIE HALL
TRIP BACK IN TIME
Beautiful DOG PARK, WEDDING Venue
Named For André Condrie
But IT'S NOT the ORIGINAL name !
This CASTLE ORIGINALLY was
WEST NECK FARMS . Built by architect George Luce as a SUMMER Home for
George McKesson Brown & wife Pearl as respite from New York City.
Huntington's NEWEST Castle a SPRAWLING ,135 acre multiple structure. self-sufficient Town
Farm /summer home & French Castle
built by George McKesson Brown of
The McKesson PHARMACEUTICAL / chemical Empire.
West Neck Farms ,was a self-sufficient facility which included a functional Farm
with PRIZED chickens,Boathouse,.Ice House, Stables, Garage , SERVANT'S quarters, water tower, electrical house, Superintendents Cottage
And , THE GRAND MAIN HOUSE.. SPRAWLING, 40 room 80,000 sq ft FRENCH CASTLE
Complete with ballrooms and indoor swimming pool.
HAD One of the first AIR conditioning units WITH GIANT FANS, In the basement
Forcing AIR over HUGE BLOCKS of ICE chilled air would flow through the venting throughout the house.
The west side property Has 4 Rows of lined trees.To to create Lanes that horse-drawn carriages would Gallop up and down the hill.
one LANE went up with the huge blocks of ice and the other LANE. BACK Down
for another block of ice . AT the bottom of the hill was the ICE House. where the blocks of ice were stored the ice was drawn from the manmade pond at the base of the giant lawn next to the boat house.
When the ice was exhausted, blocks of ice from GLACIERS were brought in through Huntington Harbor to the private dock at The Boathouse.
The Old caretaker would tell me stories how the HORSES would Gallop up and down the HILL, at a FURIOUS Pace, In the Heat of the summer with fresh blocks of ice.
ICE would slide down chutes on the side of the house into the basement where there was a storage Ice House and HUGE FANS on GIANT pulleys.
SAW them myself in my youth.
DESIGNED to WOW ,IMPRESS
The High Society of Great Gatsby
Legends and luminaries of 1920s, 1930s, Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, made a film here.
ALL THE FAMOUS FOLKS, politicians Business people and High Society of The Day. Who wouldn't want to chill in a air conditioned Castle?
The OLD CARETAKER told me, HOW the HORSES, their ornate carriages would unload the GUESTS at the Front Portico, The horses would be taken to the Stables now Unitarian Church
Upon the Advent of cars
They would overheat the wait was so long MANY GUESTS would Come to be entertained
The Cars would backup for miles.
George Brown Lost his fortunes in the market crash of 1929.
As Maintenance costs of West Neck Farm were HUGE, he was forced to sell to the Christian Brotherhood, move in the Supers HOUSE.
The Christian Brotherhood renamed the Castle After Departed founder André COINDRE. This Christian School operated 20 years or so until closing. Then The EAGLE school.. opened .. and operated for some years .but unfortunately became insolvent closed THE castle fell into neglect until the 70s in which, a caretaker & security were hired.
I WAS the SECURITY. Here.!
The old Caretaker kept the ESTATE meticulously groomed ,none of the overgrowth around the pond seen today. THE forest of trees in the lower lawn 40 years ago was Just grassland.
REAR of Building between the two sections there...Used to be a catwalk that stretched between the two sections.
I would stand there and watch the Sun go down..
Back in the day We were concerned that the building would be sold off and demolished ... all the other buildings except the main house have been sold off.
THE garage & Stables ,Unitarian Church
COINDRE Hall ..32 Acres Still survives
I'm SO HAPPY. to see COINDRE Hall is NOW a Beautiful Park.
Parking is FREE
A WONDERFUL place for Doggies to PLAY
A GREAT Place to HIKE , EXPLORE and
GET HITCHED Great WEDDING VENUE
I love coming here to take MY pictures
and Remembering ...The Times..
Jim D.
BUT JIM !!
We Heard stories of GANGSTERS, GHOSTS, BOOTLEGGERS. Secret tunnels YOU were the NIGHT GUARD
GHOSTS ?
Yes, I SAW ONE or SO..
A Lady in white lace dress in the middle of the HALLWAY upstairs, at around 2 a.m. NEAR where the CHAPEL was, she went in the room across from the chapel .
I bolted into the room, she was gone ..(WHY.? ..am I Chasing GHOSTS?) SPOOKY Chapel, Deserted for YEARS, would STILL smell like the incense. Some Nights the incense smell was so strong. The hair would raise on the back of my neck.
I get this weird feeling in my stomach. PLACE gave me the creeps at NIGHT there was an open old AC vent, led directly to the basement next to my desk. I would hear all sorts of shrieks bangs..CREEKING..
DO you KNOW ?
sounds a 100 year old house makes at 1am and you are the only one.. THERE.
Oh GREAT My job Patrol the Haunted Mansion, midnight.
And even more haunted basement with the feeling of claustrophobic.. DARK GLOOM ...,dripping water
THEY'VE bricked-up 2 BIG HOLES. Facing the BAY.I believed used to be one of secret tunnels. ALL TRUE
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