Old Westbury Gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps (1874-1958), heir to a U.S. Steel fortune, in Nassau County, New York. It has been open to the public for tours since 1959.
The gardens are located at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, New York.
Work on the estate began in 1903, when Phipps promised his British fiancee Margarita he would build her a home in the United States that resembled her family estate in Battle Abbey. The estate was ready for Phipps, his wife and their children in 1906.
Westbury House, the Charles II-style mansion designed by George A. Crawley, contains 23 rooms. The grounds cover 160 acres.
The estate is open to the public daily except Tuesdays from late April through October. An entrance fee is charged.
[edit] Trivia
Scenes of the driveway were used in the 1970 movie Love Story to depict the entrance to the home of Ryan O'Neal's character.
Other movies filmed on the property's grounds include To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, North by Northwest, Age of Innocence, Wolf, Hitch, Cruel Intentions, 8MM and American Gangster.
