Falaise is one of three 100-year-old mansions open to tour at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island.
Falaise was built by Harry Guggenheim in 1923 and was modeled 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 Egg and East Egg.
One hundred years later, some of the best-maintained examples of the mansions frequented by characters like Nick, Gatsby, Jordan, and Daisy are located in Sands Point Preserve, a 216-acre park that was once home to the Gould-Guggenheim Estate.
Inside Sands Point, there are four mansions. Three are open to the public: Falaise, Hempstead House, and Castle Gould. The remaining mansion, Mille Fleurs, is a private residence.
In September, I visited Sands Point to see Falaise, the most mysterious of the three — tours are only available on weekends and you can only get there via Sands Point's transportation.
I paid $30 to visit ($15 to park and $15 for a tour), and I learned about its former owner, Harry Guggenheim, his passion for aviation, and his interest in art.
While I couldn't take photographs inside the mansion — adding yet more mystery to the property — I was able to document its stunning exterior and European-inspired 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 Preserve on a map.
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This land used to be an estate owned by the Guggenheim family, but it has since been given to Nassau County.A map of Sands Point Preserve.
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There are three mansions available for the public to visit at Sands Point. The oldest is Castle Gould.Castle Gould was built in 1902.
The second is Hempstead House, a Tudor-style mansion completed in 1912. Daniel and Florence Guggenheim bought the property five years later.Hempstead House and the surrounding land were purchased by the Guggenheims in 1917.
The third is Falaise, which means "cliff" in French.The exterior of Falaise.
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The Guggenheims gifted 90 acres of their land to their son Harry when he married his second wife, Caroline Morton, seen here, in 1923.Caroline Morton and Harry Guggenheim around the time they got married.
The preserve only gives tours of Falaise on weekends from May to October.The Sands Point Preserve itself is 216 acres of land, trails, and more.
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You have to take Sands Point transportation to get to Falaise. It was around an 8-minute drive from the meeting spot at Castle Gould.We drove deep into the woods to get to Falaise.
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Falaise was modeled after a French castle in Normandy. It was one of Harry Guggenheim's three homes — he also had a townhouse in Manhattan and a home in South Carolina.Falaise is only accessible via the tours Sands Point leads.
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That's why the home has European details, like this stone-covered courtyard. The tree planted here is over 100 years old.It's a cedar of Lebanon tree.
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When it was completed in 1924, it was not a modern home, as it was inspired by a 13th-century mansion.There was already priceless art before we even walked into the home.
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To the right of the entryway, there was an exposed garage. In the 1200s, this area would've been used as stables.Guggenheim demanded that everything be authentic.
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At Falaise, the area is used for vehicles, like famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's car, which is still parked in the driveway.Lindbergh and Harry had a special bond. Lindbergh and his wife had their second honeymoon at Falaise.
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Harry Guggenheim, left, and Lindbergh, right, were close friends. Lindbergh even wrote his best-selling book "We" at Falaise in 1927. Harry Guggenheim and Charles Lindbergh were also friendly with Robert H. Goddard (center), the father of modern rocketry.
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To the left of the home was a set of stairs leading to the yard.It was easy to miss these stairs when I first walked into Falaise.
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The ironwork throughout Falaise is exquisite.An iron gate at Falaise.
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The yard used to have a rose garden, but when Guggenheim's doctor told him he needed more exercise, he added a pool.Falaise is the only house at Sands Point with a pool.
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Our tour guide said we couldn't get close to the pool as there's no water in it — the preserve doesn't keep it filled.You can see the French influence here, as well.
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But I was still able to get a good view of the pool, the back of the house, and the lush gardens from behind the gate.Notice the fish statues in the corner of the pool. If it was up and running, the statues would be spitting out water.
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We weren't allowed to take photos inside Falaise, but it was filled with hundreds of pieces of art that the Guggenheims collected on their travels throughout Europe.This relief inside the bricks resembled Harry Guggenheim.
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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 a weakness against potential invaders.I can only imagine what this looked like at Falaise's peak.
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In addition to running his family's business, Guggenheim was the ambassador to Cuba, a horseman, a pilot, and a cofounder of the Long Island newspaper Newsday.There is a lot of Mother Mary artwork throughout Falaise.
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The main draw of taking a tour of Falaise, though, is seeing the view from its namesake cliffs. On a clear day like the one I visited, I could see across the Long Island Sound to Westchester.The home looks out over the Long Island Sound.
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From here, you can see the outside of the light-filled breakfast room, which has large windows and a view of Long Island Sound.The rest of the home is very dark, but this one room is filled with light from all the windows.
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Falaise is different from the other mansions at Sands Point. Castle Gould took inspiration from an Irish castle, while Hempstead House is also gigantic home.Hempstead House, seen here, is 50,000 square feet.
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On the other hand, Falaise is a much smaller, more intimate space. Guggenheim didn't want anything too extravagant — by his standards.There were plants and flowers all over Falaise.
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Falaise, like the other mansions, is worth a visit for anyone interested in the turn of the century, especially if you're interested in aviation as well.It costs $15 for a tour of Falaise, plus another $15 to park there.
