Sands Point Preserve

The Guggenheim mansion, Falaise, is open for tours from June through October.

Sands Point, 127 Middleneck Road

516-571-7900

Admission: Beginning April 25, 2009, Sands Point will charge $5 per car and $2 per "walk-in" Monday - Tuesday and Thursday - Sunday; Wednesday free.

NEWS BRIEF: As of 2010, the Sands Point Preserve is being managed by the Friends of Sands Point, a nonprofit organization.

Click here for Google map

The 216-acre preserve, located by the Long Island Sound, is dominated by the massive Hempstead House and nearby Castlegould stable, but also includes a second mansion, “Falaise,” that was built by Capt. Harry Guggenheim around 1923. (Guggenheim was the founder with his wife, Alicia Patterson, of Newsday.)

Falaise, located on a cliff above the Long Island Sound and based on a 13th-century French Norman manor house, is open for tours between June and October, Thursdays through Sundays each hour from noon to 3 p.m. (fees: $6, adults, $5 seniors; please note that children under 10 are not allowed in Falaise).

Distinctive features of the house include an enclosed cobblestone courtyard, thickly mortared brick walls, steeply pitched roofs of heavy tile, and a round tower. The Medieval atmosphere is continued inside the house by the arches, thick wood beams, textured plastered walls, and carved stone mantels.

Falaise is also furnished with antiques, many from the 16th and 17th centuries, and includes wood carvings, sculptures, Renaissance paintings and several important pieces of modern art. Please call for fees and other information.

In addition to its stunning buildings, Sands Point provides six nature trails that meander through diverse habitats of woods, fields, pond and beach in a beautiful North Shore community along the Long Island Sound. The preserve is an interesting mix of natural and landscaped areas. Forests, meadows, beach and cliffs, lawns, gardens and a freshwater pond provide habitats for a variety of plants and animals. The proximity of different habitats affords the visitor a varied outdoor experience within a relatively limited area. Nature Trails provide access to the preserve and highlight specific points of interest in self-guiding literature.

Click Here for link to Sands Point Preserve Website.

The magnificent Castle Gould at Sands Point Preserve

Falaise Mansion at Sands Point Opens for Tours on June 6

The interior court at Falaise incorporates a pool.

The historic Falaise mansion, one of the few mansions left from Long Island’s Gold Coast era, is opening on June 6 for tours four days a week.

The tours, which are given until October, are held Thursday through Sunday every hour from noon to 3 p.m. Fees are $5 per person for the tour, in addition to the entrance fee to the preserve ($5 per car and $2 per "walk-in").

Falaise was built on a bluff above the Long Island Sound in 1923 for Harry F. Guggenheim and his wife, Caroline, on what is now the Sands Point Preserve. The fascinating architecture of the mansion is French eclectic, based on a 13th-century Norman manor house.

Exterior features include an enclosed cobblestone courtyard, thickly mortared brick walls, a steeply pitched roof of heavy tile, and a round tower. Inside, a Medieval atmosphere pervades, with arches, thick wood beams, textured plastered walls, and carved stone materials. Falaise is also furnished with antiques, many from the 16th and 17th centuries, wood carving sculpture, Renaissance paintings, and some modern art.

The son of noted 19th-century industrialist and philanthropist Daniel Guggenheim, Harry Guggenheim was himself a businessman, diplomat and philanthropist who served as a Navy pilot in both world wars. Guggenheim’s lifelong fascination with aviation led to friendships with Charles Lindbergh, a frequent visitor to Falaise, and rocket pioneer Robert Goddard. Guggenheim also started up Newsday with his third wife, Alicia Paterson.

Perhaps the most impressive of the North Shore’s early-20th-century estates, Sands Point first served as the home for railroad heir Howard Gould and was later purchased by Daniel and Florence Guggenheim. The preserve is dominated by the massive English Manor house, Hempstead House, as well as the 100,000-square-foot stable, Castlegould.