Thursday, March 17, 2011

'Sagamore Hill'

A view of 'Sagamore Hill', the Theodore Roosevelt estate designed by Lamb & Rich c. 1884 in Cove Neck from Suburban Life, 1907. Click HERE for more on 'Sagamore Hill'. Click HERE to see 'Sagamore Hill' on google earth and HERE on bing.


Turner Pack Rats said...

OMG-not only did he give us the national parks but he was into sustainable energy but you have to admit, that windmill is really ugly (kidding - just parroting the NIMBY sentiments of my not-too-bright fellow Mainers). They whine about mid-East oil and then pass moratoriums against wind power because they think the turbine towers spoil the look of the ridges with the cell phone towers on them which no one complains about. Jules - Jules - is that time machine ready yet?

Looking at the google map that shows Sagamore, I'm guessing this isn't Zach's end of town as there are several interesting houses i've not seen on this blog eg the one next door - Dolonar - 49000 sf. -that ain't no tar paper shack and the four on the shore -Yellowbanks, Sunset House, Stowaway and La Chaumiere.

security word def - "ruggat" - Downeast Maine word meaning normal as in "Last winter sure was ruggat"

Zach L. said...


This is indeed my neck of the woods...but Cove Neck is about as private as you can get on the North Shore and most of the houses you listed I simply couldn't photograph unless I was invited onto the property. So...until that changes they will not be on the blog (unless of course I stumble across 85 year old photos of the houses).

Turner Pack Rats said...

thanx zach and sorry there's no entrance. looks like your intrepid followers will have to do some digging.
so, another question. i, of course, with my addiction to bing maps looked up Sagamore on bing and right down the hill from it on Elfland Court (who the hell named that?) is a group of buildings (the red roofed ones)that looks like the farm group for an estate but there's nothing nearby. any info on that?

security word def - "guinfac" - statistics on your favorite brew

The Down East Dilettante said...


verification word, 'saynon', the French version of Nancy Reagan's anti-drug slogan.

Anonymous said...

Aren't there pictures of some of these places on the county's tax department website?

magnus said...

TPR: Yellowbanks is currently owned by the widow of Oliver Grace, a very succesful cousin of WR Grace. It had originally been built by a Roosevelt cousin. Mr. Grace was a canny sort, and, like many old WASP's, not quick with a buck. Many years ago, Yellowbanks was in need of a paint job. The painting contractor mentioned to Mr. Grace that government grants were available to repaint structures of historic interest, provided that the paint job returned the structure to its original appearance. A "paint historian" was duly hired. Despite Mr. Grace's desire to save money, however, he was unwilling to repaint his High Victorian house- all eaves and gables and fretwork- in its inital Forest green, Tomato red and chromium yellow colorway. And I can't say that I blame him.

Sagamore Hill, by the way, is open to the public and well worth a visit.

commentator8 said...

Re: that 49,000 SF house next door that Turner pointed out: why do computer guys' homes always look like office complexes?

For additional reference, see Michael Dell's home.

Turner Pack Rats said...

magnus - mr grace should have done what the local auctioneer here in town did when his house needed painting altho the results weren't quite what he hoped. he bought surplus paint at a state auction which wasn't labelled but seemed to be a nice yellow - until he pulled into the driveway at night and his headlights hit the house. it was yellow line paint as in the line dividing lanes in the road and it has some crystalline stuff that makes it reflect bright lights. fortunately he lived on a dead end road with no traffic and it stayed on his house for many years.
and besides - green red and yellow look great together - on a pizza

security word def - "reles" - text word for reupping your rental agreement

The Ancient said...

Why do computer guys' homes always look like office complexes?

Because they get the plans for free?

(In fairness, Sandy Lerner lives very, very well down in Virginia. Not that she's a guy.)

The Ancient said...

BTW, elsewhere in the neighborhood: