Saturn Mondays

In 1902, Herbert Lee Pratt had his stately country house built in the secluded neighborhood of “Dosoris Park” (located in Glen Cove, New York). But, 10 years later, he had the house demolished to construct an even larger and even grander structure. In my opinion, this is the biggest estate upgrade i’ve seen during Long Islands gilded age era. Here’s the full history:

In 1890, Oil Pioneer & Businessman Charles Pratt purchased a massive, and I mean MASSIVE plot of land near Glen Cove, New York for his family to built estates upon. The truth is, there is an elaborate and complex history regarding the growth of this neighborhood, coined as “Dosoris Park”. To shorten; Charles passed in 1891, leaving the massive land to his countless family members.

In the next few decades, many Pratts flooded this part of the North Shore and built their elaborate residences atop it. Of these was Herbert Lee Pratt, one of Charles’s children. Herbert begun building his residence at the Pratt Family Complex in 1902, with the help of James Brite.

Herbert commissioned Mr. Brite to construct a Georgian Manse-Style mansion atop a beach-side property facing the long island sound. Brite did just that, and soon a petite yet beautifully symmetrical home was constructed, which he named “The Braes” (meaning “sloping hills down to a body of water”).

But, this mansion didn’t last long. From 1902-1911, Herbert Pratt saw an incredible increase in worth, as the splitting of Standard Oil gave immense profits. As a result, He decided to attempt a monumental upgrade from his initial home.

So, while “Dosoris Park” continued to grow by the minute, Herbert added in his two cents by demolishing “The Braes.” In its place, he yet again called up Brite to design a “colossal” estate on the grounds of his initial, much smaller home.

The Jacobean mansion stood atop the previous home, just with nearly doubt the size and grandeur. At the time, it quickly become one of the top 100 largest homes in the entire country, which is a title it’s proudly kept (even as it stopped being used as a residence). Words can’t describe how incredible this one home is. With 3 floors, Layered Terraces, and Balconies, this is no doubt one of the Gilded Ages best American homes.

Unfortunately, Herbert passed in 1944, leaving the home and its history on the market. Just 3 years later, the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture purchased the estate, and has since owned it.

In 1995, this structure was most famously used as Wayne’s Manor in the marvel production “Batman Forever.” Since, it’s reprised its role in “Batman & Robin”, “The Joker”, “Gotham”, “Great Expectations” and “Limitless.”

While “Dosoris Park” is long gone, and almost all Pratt relatives are far away from the area, many of the neighborhoods original homes still remain!

P.S. A fun fact is that while the original foundation of “The Braes I” (as one can call it) is gone, one of the wings from the home was actually preserved, and now exists slightly downhill from the home, still on property.