Harbor Hill Water Tower
Redwood Drive, East Hills
Project Files
- The-Lay-out-of-a-Large-Estate-Harbor-Hill-The-Architectural-Record-July-December-1904-Part-I.pdf
- The-Lay-out-of-a-Large-Estate-Harbor-Hill-The-Architectural-Record-July-December-1904-Part-II.pdf
The Harbor Hill Water Tower is sited atop a hill on an open area just west of Redwood Drive, in East Hills. The Tower is located within a group of suburban homes built during the 1950's following the subdivision of the Clarence Mackay Estate. Surrounded by trees and grassland, and placed upon a slight rise, its setting preserves some of the rural character the tower had when it was constructed, originally. The structure, itself, retains its architectural integrity to a very high degree.
HISTORY The Mackay Estate Water Tower is architecturally significant as a representative example of a country estate out-building and of the country estate architecture of Stanford White of the firm Mckim, Meade & White, one of the most prestigious architects active in America at the turn of the century. Designed in 1899 and built in 1900-1902, as a component of Clarence Mackay's Harbor Hill Estate, the water tower is an important survivor from the period when much of Long Island was developed with great estates. The Mackay Estate was one of the most extensive and most significant built on Long Island during the period, at the turn of the century, when large country estates were being established by some of America's wealthiest families/The Mackay Estate consisted not only of the main house, but also of landscaped grounds, and a series of important out buildings. Although the main house and grounds are no longer extant, three significant out-buildings, including the water tower, survive as evidence of the importance of this estate. The three buildings are not only important as surviving structures from one of the great Long Island estates, but each is architecturally distinguished in its own right. The water tower is significant as a handsome utilitarian structure, reflecting the fact that every aspect of estate design and planning was carefully considered by the owners and architects involved.
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Roslyn Park Hospital (1946-1960)
In 1940, the mansion and eight acres were sold by the Rosenbaum family to Dr. Louis S. Bardoly for use as a hospital. Several acres of the property were sold in 1945, which would be developed into the garden apartments on Edwards Street.
Dr. Louis S. Bardoly (1894-1969) was a native of Hungary and emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. He had a medical practice in Cleveland, Ohio before coming to Roslyn. He also wrote and produced several Broadway plays including Case History (1938), Strange Story (1956), The Magnificent Hugo (1961) and The Sunday Man (1964).
After purchasing Belrose and eight acres in December 1940, public hearings were held concerning the hospital for almost six years. Dr. Bardoly finally opened the 50-bed and 12-bassinet general hospital on September 7, 1946. In 1950, the hospital was modernized with a $250,000 addition.
Marianne McMahon, are you related to the late John McMahon, RHS '65? If so, I send you my greetings and love. John was one of the best-liked people I ever knew. I never saw him without a smile on his face. He was a proud member of The Roslyn Volunteer Fire Department, and if I'm not mistaken, he lived in The Heights, but was a member of Roslyn Hook and Ladder Company #1 in the Village.
As for the Hospital on Warner Avenue, in the 1950's and 1960's it was Roslyn Park Hospital, and it was owned by the evil Dr. Bardoli. I know this because my mother was the Head Nurse there for a period and I was a patient there around 1959. The place was known as an abortion mill under Dr. Bardoli.
The only place in Roslyn we ever thought to be haunted was the then abandoned house on Railroad Avenue, between the train station (when it was at Station Plaza, across from Adelsteins and then The Plaza) and the railroad trestle that crossed Roslyn Road.
Sincerely,
Ken Merena, RHS '66
Marianne:
Follow this link to information on the Belrose property on Warner Avenue. Enjoy, Howard
https://www.roslynlandmarks.org/profiles/belrose-roslyn-park-hospital-long-island-doctors-hospital
Very interesting. I worked in a school on Warner Ave in Roslyn and the nursing home next door used to be Long Island hospital. Any info on that property? The school is haunted and I sure can tell you stories.