Roslyn’s grand entryway just got grander. With the help of the Roslyn Landmark Society, new limestone blocks were recently installed at the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge on the corner of Roslyn and Harbor Hill Roads, the latest upgrade in the gate’s ongoing restoration.
After months of logistical planning, new limestone blocks were installed at the gate lodge to the former Harbor Hill Estate, one of the Gold Coast estate’s last standing structures.
The Roslyn Landmark Society will later install new doors, windows, roofing and a clock at the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge before transforming the vacant property into a historical education center.
“The great thing about the gate lodge is that it once served as the entryway to a grand estate, and to this day, even though the estate’s no longer there, it still serves as the Grand entryway either to the Village of Roslyn or to the town of East Hills,” said Jamie Karbowiak, executive director of the Roslyn Landmark Society.
Jennifer Lister, the Roslyn Landmark Society’s project manager, said she worked with architects and partners with the masonry company North Shore Monuments to match the color and design of each block so that it would be as historically accurate as possible.
The gate lodge’s limestone blocks and steep-sloping roofs mirror the French Baroque-style chateau of Harbor Hill’s primary residence, where telecommunications mogul Clarence Mackay lived from 1902 until he died in 1938.
While the estate was destroyed in 1947 and the property was sold off to the Country Estates housing development in the late 1950s, the gate lodge has remained a central feature when entering Roslyn. In 1991, the structure was listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places.
Even as single-family houses continued sprouting around Roslyn, the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge remained the Country Estates Swim Club from the 1970s until 2008. For the next 14 years, weeds, bushes, and trees occupied the vacant gate lodge until the Village of East Hills took over ownership in December 2021.
For over three years, the Roslyn Landmark Society has been working to restore the gate lodge, beginning with removing the property’s overgrowth and cleaning graffiti from the limestone blocks.
In June 2024, Roslyn High School Art Club students installed paintings of colorful windows on the gate lodge’s boarded-up windows, where they brought life back to the former Gold Coast entryway.
The painted windows will soon be replaced with renovated windows and doors, according to the Roslyn Landmark Society, which stated that the installation is scheduled for June. A grant from the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation, which provides financial support for history projects around Long Island, provided funding for the new doors and windows.
After installing new windows and doors, the Roslyn Landmark Society will hang a new clock above the gateway and install gas lanterns to restore the gate lodge to its original 20th-century appearance.
The final step before transforming the space into an educational and community center would be replacing the slate roof, which the Roslyn Landmark Society said is still searching for funds to complete. Lister noted that while designs are ready for the roof’s repairs, the landmark society still needs to raise money through grants and individual donations.
To achieve this goal, the Roslyn Landmark Society recently launched the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge Founders Club, where those interested can donate $200 for an engraved brick on the gate’s walkway, or pledge $5,000 to $25,000 for recognition on a plaque that will be placed on the gate when renovations are completed.
The Roslyn Landmark Society has raised over $100,000 to support this mission and continues to accept donations until the restoration is complete. For more information about the Mackay Estate Gate Lodge and to donate to its restoration, visit www.roslynlandmarks.org/get-involved/founders-club, email info@roslynlandmarks.org, or call (516) 625-4363.
