Otto Kahn, investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts In 1919, Kahn had built a 443-acre estate on Long Island, and had Oheka Castle (from Otto HErmann KAhn) built as its centerpiece. At 109,000 square feet, the 127 room structure was designed as the second largest private residence in the United States by Delano & Aldrich of New York City; its landscaping was designed by Olmsted Brothers. The property featured a golf course, a working farm, a private airstrip, and numerous outbuildings. Following Kahns death in 1934, the property was sold to the City of New York for use as a retreat for sanitation workers and then later a government training school for merchant marine radio operators. In the late 1940s, an upscale housing development was constructed there and in 1948, the Eastern Military Academy purchased the mansion and 23 acres around it. By the time the school went bankrupt thirty years later, the gardens had been bulldozed, its rooms subdivided, and the paneled walls painted over. Vandals repeatedly set fire to the building, but because Kahn had insisted on constructing a concrete, brick, and steel structure, the house survived. In 1984 a local developer, Gary Melius, purchased the estate for $1.5 million and began the largest private renovation project ever attempted in the United States. Today, Oheka is used as a catering facility, hotel and conference center. Arial, in disrepair, today & during the 40s.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 21:22:31 +0000
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