A look at Faliae, A 1920S MANSION MODELED ON Medieval French Castle

Updated

2025-09-05T16: 27: 27z

FALAISE IS ONE OF THREE CENTURY-Old Mansions You Can Tour at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island, New York.
Faliaise was budilt by Harry Guggenheim in 1923 and was modered on a 13th-Century French Manor.
Guggenheim Lived There Until HIS DEATH IN 1971, UPON WHICH THE LAND WAS GIFTED TO NASSAU COUNTY.

Long Island’s North Shore is Famous for Being the Inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Iconic Novel “The Great Gatsby,” Which Took Place in the FICTIONAL TOWNS OF WEST EAST EGG. It also was the summer home of some of the sis iConic families Estabished the Gilded Age, Like the Rockefellers, Guggenheims, Vanderbilts, and More.

Over One Hundred Years late, some of the best-maintained examples of the mansions frequented by characters like nick, gatsby, jordan, and daisy are located in sands Point, a 216-Acre park that was home to the gould-guggenheim estate.

Inside Sands Point, there are four mansions. Three Are Open to the Public: Faliaise, Hempstead House, and Castle Gould. The Remaining Mansion, Mille Fleurs, is A Private Residence.

In September 2024, I Visited Sands Point to See Forgive, The Most Mysterious of the Three – Tours Only Avilaable On Weekends and You Can Only Via Sands Points Transportation.

I Paid $ 30 to Visit ($ 15 to Park and $ 15 for a Tour), and I Learned About Its Forms Owner, Harry Guggenheim, His Passion for Aviation, and his interest in art.

While i is couludn’t take Photographs Inside the Mansion-Adding Yet More Mystery to the Propperty-I was able to document its stunning and European-based details.

Here’s what it was like to Visit Harry Guggenheim’s Summer Home.

Sands Point Preserve Is A County Park That’s Located Around 30 Miles Outside of New York City.

SANDS POINT ON A MAP — Sands Point Preserve on a map.

Google

This land used to be an estate owned by the guggenheim family, but it has since been gioven to nassau country.

Sands Point Preserve Map — A MAP OF SANDS POINT PRESS.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

There are ane three mansions available for the public to the Visit at Sands Point. The Oldest is Castle Gould.

Castle Gould Sands Point — Castle gould was built in 1902.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The Second is hempstead house, a tudor-style management compiled in 1912. Daniel and florence guggenheim bought the property five years late.

HEMPSST HOUSE AT SANDS POINT — Hempstead House and the Surrounding Land Were Purchased by the Guggenheims in 1917.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The Third is Faliaise, Which Means “Cliff” in French.

Front of Falia — The Exterior of Falaise.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The Guggenheims Gifted 90 ACRES OF THEIR LAND TO THEIR SON HARRY AND HIS SECOND WIFE, CAROLINE MORTON, SEEN HERE, IN 1923.

Harry Frank Guggenheim (1890-1971) American Businessman and His Wife c. 1925. — Caroline Morton and Harry Guggenheim Around the time they got got.

APIC/Getty Images

Source: Sands Point Preserve Conservancy

The preserve only gives tours of Faliae on Weekends from May to October.

Ride to Falia — The Sands Point Preserve ItSelf is 216 Acres of Land, Trails, and More.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

You have to take Sands Point Transportation to Get to Faliaise. It was around an 8-minute drive from the meeting spot at castle gould.

Inside the van going to balaiise — We drove deep into the woods to get to bars.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

FALAISE WAS MODEDED AFTER A FRANCH CASTLE IN Normandy. It was one of the Harry Guggenheim’s Three Homes – he Also Had a Townhouse in Manhattan and a Home in South Carolina.

Faliaise exterior — FALAISE IS ONLY ACCESESSIBLE VIA The Tours Sands Point Leads.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

That’s why the home has European Details, like this stone-covered courtyard. The tree plast here is over 100 years old.

COURTYARD AT FALAISE — It’s a cedar of Lebanon Tree.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

When it was compiled in 1924, it was not a modern home, as it was inspired by a 13th-centenary mansion.

To the right of the entryway, there was an exposed garage. In the 1200s, this area would ben assed as stable.

At Faliaise, The Area is Used For Vehicles, Like Famed Aviator Charles Lindbergh’s Car, which is Still Parked in the Driveway.

Garage at Faliae with Charles Lindbergh's Car — Lindbergh and Harry Had a Special Bond. Lindbergh and His Wife Had their Second Honeymoon at Faliaise.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

Harry Guggenheim, Left, and Lindbergh, Right, Were Close Friends. Lindbergh Even Wrote His Best-Seling Book “We” at Falia In 1927.

Standing in front of the rocks in the launch tower on September 23, 1935, are (left to right): Harry F. Guggenheim; Dr. Robert H. Goddard; and Col. Charles A. Lindbergh — Harry Guggenheim and Charles Lindbergh Were Also Friendly With Robert H. Goddard (Center), The Father of Modern Rocketry.

Hum Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

To the left of the home was a set of stairs leading to the yard.

staircase to the pool — It was easy to miss these stairs when I First Walked Into Faliaise.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The Ironwork Throughout Faliaise is Exquisite.

gate to the pool phalanx — An irron gate at Falia.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The yard used to have a rose garden, but will Guggenheim’s Doctor Told Him he Needed More Exercise, he added a pool.

Full pool shot at Faliae — FALAISE IS The Only House at Sands Point with a Pool.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

Our Tour Guide Said We Couldn’t Get Close to the Pool as there is no water in it – the preserve doesn’t keep it filmed.

Left Side of Pool at Faliaise — You can see the french influence here, as well.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

But i was still able to get a good view of the pool, the back of the house, and the lush Gardens from beebind the gate.

Right Side of Pool at Faliaise — Notice the fold statues in the corner of the pool. If it was up and running, the statues would be spitting out water.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

We were allowed to take Photos Inside Faliaise, but it was filled with the pies of art that the guggenheims collect on their travers Throughut Europe.

Back Patio Faliaise — This relief inside the bricks resembled Harry Guggenheim.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

Inside, The Home is relatively modest and quite Dark. Most of the Windows Are Narrow and Small – For Medieval French Castles, Windows Were Seen As Weakness Against Potential Invaders.

In adding to runNing his family’s Business, Guggenheim was the ambassador to cuba, a horseman, a pilot, and a cofaunder of the Long Islands newsday.

Artwork at Faliaise — There is a lot of Mother Mary Artwork Throughout Falia.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

The Main Draw of Taching a Tour of Faliaise, Though, is Seeing the View from Its Namesake Cliffs. On a clear day like the one of the visited, I COULD SEE ACOSS The Long Island Sound to Westchester.

Faliaise View — The home looks out over the long island sound.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

From here, you can see the outside of the light-fidied breakfast room, which has far off Windows and a view of the Long Island Sound.

View of Breakfast Room at Faliaise — The rest of the home is very dark, but this one room is filled with light from all the Windows.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

FALAISE IS DIFFERENT From Sands Point’s Other Mansions. Castle gould was inspired by an irish castle, while hempstead House is Much Bigger.

HEMPSUTEAD HOUSE — Hempstead House, Seen here, Is 50,000 Square Feet.

Dariusz Gryczka/Shutterstock

Faliaise is a much smaller, more intimate space. Guggenheim Didn’t Want Anyding Too Extravagant – by His Standards.

Faliaise, like the other mansions, is Worth a Visit for anyone interesting in the tour of the Century, especilantly if you’re interests in aviation as well.

pardon — IT COSTS $ 15 FOR A TOUR OF FALIAISE, PLUS ANOTHER $ 15 TO PARK THERE.

GABBI Shaw/Business Insider

Source link