Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday July 18, 2008
VISIT THE HOMES OF LONG ISLAND’S FAMOUS RESIDENTS
Contact: Kristen Matejka
Director of Marketing and Communications LICVB&SC
631 951-3900 xt.317
HAUPPAUGE, NY –(July 18, 2008)-Long Island, NY is home to a host of famous Americans, ranging from beloved presidents to well-known artists, who left their permanent mark on history. Many of the places where they lived and worked are open for visitors to come and experience their legacy.
While many of Long Island’s current famous residents, including Billy Joel, Calvin Klein, Martha Stewart, Howard Stern, Alan Alda, Steven Spielberg and others lead fairly private lives here, following are just some of the people whose homes the public can visit easily. For more information on other historical sites visit www.discoverlongisland.com
Walt Whitman
Born in 1819 in Huntington, Walt Whitman is considered one of America’s greatest poets and humanists. In 1838 he founded Huntington’s weekly newspaper, The Long-Islander. He published Leaves of Grass in 1855 which contained the poem Song of Myself. Walt Whitman’s Birthplace constructed by his father is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It served as inspiration for Whitman. It contains Nineteenth century furnishing and architecture. There are exhibits on display which incorporate more than 130 portraits of Walt Whitman, original letters, manuscripts, artifacts, and a schoolmaster's desk.
Phone: (631) 427-5240
Website: www.waltwhitman.org
Jackson Pollock
At a young age, Paul Jackson Pollock was encouraged to pursue his interest in art. Along with his wife, Lee Krasner the pair was influential to the art of the 1950s. His work caught the eye of Peggy Guggenheim who in turn became his patron. In 1945 Guggenheim lent Pollock the down payment on a small homestead in East Hampton. Now known as the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, this was Pollock's home for the rest of his life and the site of his most innovative and influential work. This is also where he embarked on his world-renowned spontaneous pouring technique. He lived there until his tragic death nearby in a car accident. His and Krasner’s grave can be visited near the house. The house, built in 1879, remains as the two artists have left it, with personal items such as records and books. The paint-splattered studio is open to all those who wish to walk in his footsteps and the mind of his imagination. Reservations are required.
Phone: (631) 324-4929
Website: www.pkhouse.org
Theodore Roosevelt
Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay was the home of the 26th US president Theodore Roosevelt. This National Historic was his “Summer White House” from 1902 to 1908. Open all year round and constructed in 1885, it is a 23-room Victorian Mansion. A Queen Ann style home, it includes all the original furnishings such as animal trophies and various gifts from leaders of different countries. Roosevelt was a man of great accomplishments such as starting the construction of the Panama Canal and setting up the National Parks system. The 89-acre estate also holds the Old Orchard Museum, former home of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. There is a trail that goes to the salt marsh and the beach from behind the museum. Guided tours are available, as well as exhibits and audio visual programs on Roosevelt's family life and career. He was buried in 1919 in the Young’s Memorial Cemetery, just one mile from this house.
Phone: (516) 922-4447
Website: www.nps.gov/sahi/
Charles Lindberg
Charles August Lindbergh, also known as “Lucky Lindy” was the first person to make a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. On May 20, 1927 he took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island and flew 3,600 miles to Paris. A sister airplane of the Spirit of St. Louis can be seen in the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on Long Island. This airplane was flown by Lindbergh and used in a movie about his life. This trans-Atlantic flight gained him international fame and he befriended Long Island resident Harry Guggenheim. Lindbergh spent time Guggenheim's Sands Point mansion, Falaise, while writing "We," his best-selling 1927 account of his world-renowned trip. Falaise is a 13th century Norman style manor house with brick walls, pitched tiled roofs, and a high tower. Bequeathed to Nassau County, the mansion stands furnished as the Guggenheim’s left it, with antique sculptures, carvings, paintings from the 16th and 17th century, as well as the personal items of Guggenheim and Lindbergh.
Phone: 516-571-7901
Website: http://www.sandspointpreserve.org/htm/falaise.htm
William Floyd – Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Born on Long Island, General William Floyd voiced out his opinion and sympathized against the British as the Revolutionary movement started in New York. In 1774 Suffolk County sent Floyd to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence as a New York delegate. After the war, he served in the Senate. Today, the William Floyd Estate in Mastic is part of the Fire Island National Seashore, donated in 1965. It preserves over 300 years of history and contains architectural features and artifacts from American life. There are guided tours in the estate and around the Floyd family cemetery where William Floyd was buried. There are writings, drawings, manuscripts though-out this 25 room furnished home that depicts life thought the ages. More then 250 objects are on display along with more than 3,000 books from the family’s personal library. Many of the books were written by Floyd family members.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/fiis/planyourvisit/williamfloydestate.htm
Phone: 631-399-2030
Walter P. Chrysler
The Chrysler Estate was acquired by Walter P. Chrysler in 1932. Chrysler formed the Chrysler Corporation in 1925 and established the Plymouth and DeSoto lines. He also financed the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York City was named Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1928. Now, the Chrysler Estate is part of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, where officers are trained in marine engineering, maritime and international law, customs, navigation, and other naval skills. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy museum depicts merchant marine history with ship models, paintings, antique instruments, and a 1945 radio room from a victory ship. It houses a collection of marine art, artifacts, and various other exhibits. One prominent exhibit is the National Maritime Hall of Fame, the only one in the nation. The Hall of Fame honors people and ships important to American oceanic, coast and waterway shipping. The museum also contains a learning center open to the public. It also houses the largest collection of navigation and nautical instruments.
Phone: (516) 773-5515
Website: www.usmma.edu/museum
Jupiter Hammon at the Joseph Lloyd Manor House
Jupiter Hammon was born a slave in 1711 on the Lloyd family manor home. He was the first published African-American poet and is credited as a founder of African American literary tradition. He grew up attending school, which helped him develop his skills as a writer. In 1760, he published “An Evening Thought,” the first piece of literature published in the United States by an African-American. Overlooking scenic Lloyd Harbor in a setting that has remained remarkably unspoiled since the eighteenth century is where Jupiter Hammon lived, the Joseph Lloyd Manor.It is a distinguished house which preserves the simple elegance that characterizes Long Island workmanship before the Revolutionary War. During the Revolution, Lloyd Manor is thought to have served as a barracks for Loyalists stationed at Fort Franklin who repulsed an attack by French and American troops in 1781.
Phone: (631) 692-4664
Website: www.splia.org/hist_lloyd.htm
William Vanderbilt
America’s first major trophy car race, The Vanderbilt Cup, was held on Long Island in 1904 and portions of the road and the home of the fascinating man who founded the event, can be visited. The internationally acclaimed Vanderbilt Cup was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II. Portions of the now-paved, scenic Vanderbilt Motor Parkway still run through Long Island. Vanderbilt built Eagle’s Nest, his summer estate at Centerport. This 43 acre Spanish style home was designed by Warren & Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Station. It started as a bachelor’s retreat overlooking Northport Harbor, where a boathouse and wharf accommodated his passion for the seas. His other love, motor racing is represented on the estate by the two-story automobile garage, now the museum’s Education center. His custom built 1928 Lincoln touring car is displayed on a large revolving turntable.
This house is open to the public and its rooms are filled with large game dioramas, artifacts from all over the world, a mummy, and a marine life exhibit. The estate also operates a world-class planetarium.
Phone: (631) 854-5555
Website: www.vanderbiltmuseum.org
The Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission (LICVB&SC) was established in 1979 as the official tourism promotion agency for the destination’s travel and tourism industry. Based on Long Island in Hauppauge, NY, the LICVB&SC contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting the region as a world-class destination for tourism, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, and related activities. For more information about Long Island, please contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission by calling 1-877-586-6654 or visit www.discoverlongisland.com.
Press Contact Email: kmatejka@discoverlongisland.com
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