Oheka Castle
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Oheka Castle was the country home of financier and philanthropist, Otto Kahn. Built by Kahn, between 1914 and 1919 and located on the Gold Coast of Long Island's north shore, the home was and remains, the second largest private home in America, comprising 127 rooms and over 100,000 square feet, as originally configured.
In 1905, a previous country home of Kahn's, Cedar Court, in Morristown, New Jersey, was virtually destroyed by fire. In constructing Oheka, Kahn swore this home would not burn, so he had his architects Delano and Aldrich, design the building out of steel and concrete, making it one of the first totally fireproof buildings. In constructing the home, two years alone were spent building an artificial hill on which to place it, giving it commanding views of Cold Spring Hills and Cold Spring Harbor.
Kahn commissioned Olmsted Brothers to design the estates grounds and among the many features on its 443 acres, was an 18 hole golf course, one of the largest private greenhouse complexes in America, tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool, a landing strip, orchards and stables. Today, the golf course and stables are a part of the Cold Spring Country Club and the greenhouse complex operates as an independent business. Much of the remainder of the property was developed into single family homes.
Several years after Kahn's death in 1934, the home was sold and used for several purposes, including as a retreat for New York City sanitation workers. In the 1941 film Citizen Kane, Oheka Castle was used to portray the fictional Xanadu estate in some shots.[1][2] In 1948, Eastern Military Academy purchased the home and the 23 acres that remained with it, staying there until it closed in 1979. For the next four years, the building remained empty during which time over 100 documented arson attempts occurred, all of which the building survived, demonstrating Kahn's success in building a fireproof building.
Oheka ultimately became the property of Gary Melius, a Long Island businessman. In a state of almost total disrepair when he acquired it, Melius undertook the largest private residential renovation project in the United States. The building now serves as hotel, catering and conference center.
