Saturn Mondays

For years, it was thought this home was another long-gone remnant of the Long Island Gold Coast. But, I recently discovered it was actually still standing (kinda)! Called “Brymptonwood”, this was the John G. Berquist home built 1915.

Before I tell you about how I found this out, here’s what we know about the elusive estate:

In 1915, industrialist John G. Berquist of the Highway Lighthouse Firm and American Gas Accumulator Company commissioned his private country home to be built in a relatively vast & unpopulated area on the eastern side of Old Brookville.

He chose notable architect Charles A. Platt to oversee this project and design his estate. Soon, Platt had designed an elaborate but beautiful home for Berquist to reside in.

John soon did that, and by the end of the year he had moved into the gorgeous structure. This home, located north of Northern Boulevard, was a beautiful one. With vines covering most of the facade, the property included a set of stucco carriage houses, simple formal gardens, and winding driveways. Along with that, many acres of landscaped land stood in front of the home, even going as far as touching the highway.

Unfortunately, Mr. Berquist wouldn’t live at this home forever. In fact, when he passed in 1938, no one did. His wife, who took the estate upon his death, quickly put it on the market.

For a while, it was thought that upon being purchased in the 40s, the home was ripped down as many others on the coast have, and the property long gone. But, while its no representation of its original grandeur, the home and some select outbuildings actually still remain. 

The truth is that when Mrs. Berquist sold the home in 1938, she actually made a unique choice regarding its appearance. Instead of selling the entire home, or altogether demolishing it, she chose to destroy 2/3 of the structure. This left a still beautiful but noticeably unsymmetrical servants wing for sale. Apparently, this information wasn’t available publically almost at all without extensive digging (and knowing what you’re digging for). So, many believed (based off of the original home not remaining) that the entire residence was just collectively demolished.

Anyways, after being on the market for a bit, William H. Osborn Jr. would buy the home in the 1948 and presumably sell the outbuildings. Since, it’s gone on to private owners.

So, how did I find out about all this?

Well, recently I have been going on a mission to locate some of the “unknown” estates of this gold coast. These are residences that were either loosely mentioned by distant sources or are so elusive that even their presence is unknown. With this journey, I came across the story of “Brymptonwood”. What particularly interested me about this specific home is it was of a size and look akin with some of the more notable mansions from this era. Yet, only two photos exists and so little is known.

So, I ended up deep-diving this mansion in order to see what remained today, and where it once stood. Thankfully, since the location of the extant carriage house was known for a while, I had a general place to look. I began my search by digging through old maps of the area, which I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable of (I’ve been around here multiple times). I eventually came across a 1947 map showcasing the many properties that flooded the gold coast during its prime. Happy, I zoomed in on the area “Brymptonwood” was presumed to be. Thankfully, not only was this confirmed via property name but the cartographer (?) actually drew out the exact driveway and location of the home.

Immediately, I recognized multiple things. One, the road that the road (Linden Lane) was on was most definitely still extant. So, I compared the map with present-day satellite imagery and was shocked so see something else; The original driveway was still there as well!

I presumed, if this home really was gone, it must’ve just been built over like many others of the time. But, I was actually very wrong. Upon zooming in at the property found at the end of this driveway, I found an oddly looking home. It almost seemed as if a standard mansion was sliced in half!

It was in that moment that I had a revelation. I began aligning this home with the left half of our singular “Brymptonwood” aerial photo and realized this was 1/2 of the original mansion!

Happily, I shared my possible find with Zach of Old Long Island who confirmed it with me. I’m so happy, with the help of new technology, finds like this can be made and new information regarding some of the most elusive yet big buildings to cover our gilded coasts can be uncovered.

Along with researching the home, I also did a small pit stop to visit the area (from the road as this is private property) earlier this week. I found a few things; for one, the driveway can still be peered down from the road, though the home not visible.

I also noted that if you look down the end of the driveway, with the right zoom you can spot what looks to be an original fountain (?)

But, in regard to seeing the actual home, it would take an actual visit and permission from the owner. Luckily, if it’s night time and you look off of the right road, you can see one of the original chimneys through the dense woods.

Not a great photo, I know. I hope to pay the owner a visit soon or write a letter in hopes i’d be allowed to photograph the newly discovered remnant. Thanks for reading!