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Old Westbury Gardens Inc
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5 reviews for Old Westbury Gardens Inc
The best time to go would definitely be mid-summer. Was just there this past weekend and the rose garden was not in bloom, neither were most of the plants in the other gardens. Walked for over 2 straight hours around the 100+ acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and wooded areas. They provide plenty of benches everywhere so that you can sit and relax and enjoy the scenery and a peaceful day outside. Many people were having picnic lunches on the front lawn, there are areas with picnic tables as well as a Cafe In The Woods where you can buy food and drinks.
Lots of people come here to take photos of the grounds, seems like almost every other person was carrying a big SLR professional type camera. We even saw a bridal party arrive to have their photos taken in the south lawn area. They do not allow any photos to be taken inside of the house.
The house at Old Westbury Gardens, "listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the former home of John S. Phipps, his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps and their four children. Completed in 1906 by the English designer George A. Crawley, the magnificent Charles II-style mansion is nestled amid 160 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Westbury House is furnished with fine English antiques and decorative arts from the more than fifty years of the family's residence."
The best part of the house tour is the collection of fine art and the many old paintings by artists such as John Singer Sargent , Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Henry Raeburn, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, George Morland, Richard Wilson and many others. Unfortunately, the way that they have the house set up for viewing, the majority of the rooms are roped off so that you can only enter a few feet into them and a good many of the paintings are not fully viewable due to these spacial constraints.
It's interesting to see how some of the wealthiest citizens of the USA lived in the early half of the 20th century. While the house is a very good sized house, and the grounds are immense, the furnishings and amenities seem sparse and primitive by today's standards. Considering that the Phipps Family lived in the house from 1906 - 1956, I would have thought there would have been at least some more modern amenities. There are no radios, no televisions, no stereos, just a library room full of books, some writing desks, and perhaps some board games in the study.
The landscaping and the gardens are definitely the star of the show though. Even if you never ventured inside of the house, it's still worth it just to visit the grounds. $10.00 admits adults to the grounds and house. They give free house tours often throughout the day. Seniors and children get discounted admission.
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The Old Wesbury Gardens have been on my list of places to visit for a long time. ... lucky for me...
The other day I was at my local library in Oyster Bay and discovered they had a FREE pass to the the Old Westbury Gardens.
Oh what a beautiful place to visit!! My favorite spot was the Temple of Love at the end of the lake.
(shhhh...if any of you guys are looking for perfect location to ask the "love of your life" to marry you-THIS IS IT!!)
The website has an amazing gallery of pictures- check it out.~enjoy.
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It's a bit surreal walking around some of the property. I visited for the first time with a friend back in high school for a classical guitar performance, which was amazing. I lovee taking pictures here and its just such an amazingly gorgeous place to wander around. I wish more people could get a glimpse of this place, its so worth making a trip even if you're not from the area.
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absolutely love these gardens. grounds are pristine and the feeling here is inspiring. lots of wonderful events. my favorite and probably the liveliest, is the scotish festival in august - bag piper's dreamland.
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Spanning 100 acres, Old Westbury gardens is good for a relaxing day in moderate to good weather. Good walking grounds, and plenty to look at: Sprawling landscaped lawns and plotted trees lead you to a hilltop Charles II-style mansion, furnished with period pieces from the time of family's residence there (roughly 1900-1960?). They were fine art collectors, with at least three original paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds. They offer a decent tour, which takes about 45 minutes. . . definitely check out the decadent porch, with hydraulic-driven tea service and panes of glass. To the west, there is a man-made goose lake surrounded by paths, statuary, and a collection of old boxwoods. Further south there is an amazing traditional/ formal rose garden (probably best-viewed in June-July) which surrounds a polyhedral sundial. . . very cool. The "walled in garden" is also formal, though not as structured, and features seasonal plants (including lantana, ornamental okra, "blue fortune" hyssops etc.). There is a more traditional verdi green sundial here, and goldfish pond with a fountain and water lillis. $10 admission (includes tour) lets you roam around all day, until 5pm, when all the wedding parties come here to be photographed. . . makes a great backdrop (check out the "temple of love").
FYI, Old Westbury Gardens is always on Craigslist looking for seasonal volunteer gardeners.
*edit 11/26/07: just saw American Gangster and noted scenes unmistakenly shot on location at Westbury Gardens. . . according to IMDB, many other movies were filmed here, including Hitchcock's North by Northwest. . . something our tour guide should have told us.
*edit 2/15/08: also the setting for most of HBO's Bernard and Doris.
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