Object Details
- General
- Oheka was the grandest estate of its time in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island's North Shore, styled after French farmhouses but with 126 rooms. The house was designed by architects William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich in circa 1921. In 1917 the Olmsted Brothers planned the grounds of the 443-acre estate, which included the entrance drive bordered by red cedars, the golf course, and extensive bridle paths. It took two years to move the earth and build up a rise on which the house was sited. A distinctive parterre in front of the house was comprised of eight reflecting pools to show the changing sky and surrounding mountains, with grass borders. In 1919 Adele Wolff Kahn commissioned Beatrix Farrand to design more intimate spaces, including a Dutch garden, an octagonal garden, a rose garden and a water garden. The formal Dutch garden enclosed by vine-covered brick walls displayed tulips and flowering trees in the spring, in parterre beds separated by brick walks laid out in a herringbone pattern. The octagonal fragrance garden featured yellow and purple pansies followed in summer by lavender, nepeta and pink carnations. Farrand's designs were formal and highly detailed to the extent that each week's blooms could be anticipated.
- Garden features included greenhouses, an orangery, a croquet lawn, stables, pools and tennis courts. Courtyards at the house featured single mature trees supplied by the Long Island nursery, Lewis & Valentine. The estate was too costly to maintain and the gardens were destroyed in 1948. A partial restoration and conversion to a hotel in the 1980s reinstalled the Olmsted Brothers landscape designs but not Farrand's.
- Persons associated with the garden include Otto H. Kahn and Adele Wolff Kahn (former owners, 1914-circa 1934); Eastern military Academy (former owner), Gary Melius (former owner), Olmsted Brothers (landscape architects, circa 1917); Beatrix Farrand (landscape designer, 1919-1928); Lewis & Valentine (nurserymen, circa 1928); William Adams Delano & Chester Holmes Aldrich (architects).
- Landscape designer
- Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959
- Former owner
- Kahn, Otto Hermann, 1867-1934
- Melius, Gary
- Provenance
- Blue, Frances
- Creator
- Lewis & Valentine Company
- Delano & Aldrich
- Landscape designer
- Olmsted Brothers
- Former owner
- Eastern Military Academy
- Collection Creator
- Lewis & Valentine Company
- Collection Donor
- Lewis, Hewlett Withington
- Place
- Oheka (Huntington, New York)
- United States of America -- New York -- Suffolk County -- Huntington
- Topic
- Gardens -- New York -- Huntington
- Landscape designer
- Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959
- Former owner
- Kahn, Otto Hermann, 1867-1934
- Melius, Gary
- Provenance
- Blue, Frances
- Creator
- Lewis & Valentine Company
- Delano & Aldrich
- Landscape designer
- Olmsted Brothers
- Former owner
- Eastern Military Academy
- See more items in
- Lewis & Valentine company records
- Lewis & Valentine company records / Garden Images / United States of America / New York
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.LVC, File NY170
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Lewis & Valentine Company Records.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: [email protected].
- Bibliography
- This property is featured in "Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes" by Judith Tankard, The Monacelli Press, 2009, pp. 91-94; "American Homes of To-Day: their Architectural Style, their Environment, their Characteristics" by Augusta Owen Patterson, published by the Macmillan Company, 1924.
- Scope and Contents
- The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of articles.
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: [email protected].
- Record ID
- ebl-1521747742262-1521747742345-0
