During the 2023-2024 school year, Roslyn Landmark Society’s Gardiner Young Scholars intern Isabella Santos led the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge Art Windows Project, enlisting fellow Roslyn High School Art Club students to help create decorative coverings to adorn the Gate Lodge’s window openings. On Thursday, June 13, the Roslyn Landmark Society held a Window Art Unveiling Ceremony at the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge on Harbor Hill Road to celebrate the completion of this innovative student art project.
The Mackay Estate Gate Lodge, designed in 1899 and built between 1900 and 1902, was the entrance to the expansive Gilded Age estate of Clarence H. Mackay, a prominent financier and industrialist. The Gate Lodge, styled as a Tudor Revival, features intricate stonework, half-timbered framing, and a slate roof. It was listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
In January 2022, the Roslyn Landmark Society began restoration efforts on the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge in partnership with the Village of East Hills to return the site to its 1902 appearance and develop the building into a History Resource Center. In December 2023, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation awarded the Roslyn Landmark Society generous grant funding to restore the structure’s windows and doors. While this important work is underway, the Gate Lodge’s window openings have been temporarily covered with plywood.
Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, Roslyn Landmark Society’s Gardiner Young Scholars intern Isabella Santos spearheaded a collaborative project, enlisting Roslyn High School Art Club students to help create decorative window coverings to be placed over the plywood until the newly fabricated windows can be installed later this fall.
The Gardiner Young Scholars Program is an opportunity made available to all Long Island historical societies by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. It requires completion of one hundred hours of internship service accompanied by a $1,600 stipend. Candidates must be students between the ages of 15-22 and are selected at the discretion of the nominating historical society that oversees their hours and activities.
During the ceremony, Howard Kroplick, Co-President of the Roslyn Landmark Society, and Village of East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz spoke about the extraordinary history of the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge and the public-private partnership between the Roslyn Landmark Society and Village of East Hills to restore the magnificent structure.
Awards were also presented to Roslyn Landmark Society’s 2023 Gardiner Young Scholar, Isabella Santos, and Roslyn High School Art Club scholarship recipient, Hannah Bailey, for their participation in the project and to recognize the significant roles they played in seeing the project through to successful completion.
Additional information provided by the Roslyn Landmark Society.
