Friday, May 23, 2025
The Clarkson Estate, the only mansion left remaining in Bayville from the turn of the 20th century, has sustained interior and exterior damage and undergone numerous alterations over the decades, and is need of repairs that will costs an estimated $10 million or more.
The structure is the last of the Gold Coast mansions that once lined Bayville’s western waterfront. Built by wealthy families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they were known for their European-influenced architecture.
At this point, the fate of the property remains unknown, because the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, which owns the property, has not made any decisions on it, and it has not been listed for sale, according to Bayville Mayor Steve Minicozzi.
The eight-acre property has been zoned for potential subdivision into three-quarter-acre residential lots since Bayville created zoning laws in 1937.
At the Feb. 24 village board meeting, resident Bill Bleyer, a longtime journalist and author, said that the village should be proactive in trying to save the mansion, and en-couraged the board to work with United Cerebral Palsy to find a solution to preserve it, and avoid a potential demolition.
Bleyer argued that “the only way there is a successful outcome in terms of preserving a historic site involves getting involved very quickly and being proactive.”
Minicozzi made it clear after the public-comment portion of the meeting that United Cerebral Palsy was exploring all of its options. “They don’t know what they want to do yet,” he said.
In 1913, after purchasing roughly 73 acres of land and relocating several homes and businesses, dry goods tycoon Peter Rouss built a summer estate on the site. It featured a 65-room mansion, a large service building with garages, servants’ quarters, and a large dock with a protective jetty for his yacht. Rouss named the mansion the Callendar House.
Robert Clarkson bought the estate in 1932, after Rouss died. Clarkson, the chairman of American Express at the time, made several renovations to the main building, including changing the front façade, and added a hangar for his seaplane.
Clarkson sold the estate to a group of doctors for $250,000 in 1958, and after three years of renovations, it reopened in 1961 as the Oyster Bay Hospital. It was plagued by financial problems, however, and closed in 1969.
The estate was vacant for several years before reopening as Renaissance, a recovery center for alcoholics, which closed in the 1970s. The cerebral palsy association opened a treatment and rehabilitation center for people with the disease in 1984.
Representatives of the association had not responded to questions about whether the property is still being used for residential purposes by press time.
In a post in a Facebook group called “Mansions of the Gilded Age,” Jake Finamore, a 15-year-old Bayville resident, wrote that he had spoken with village Trustee Micah Tucker about the mansion, and possible uses for the property. Finamore wrote that village or state ownership is unlikely, and he suggested potential commercial use as a hotel or spa. But he also acknowledged that large businesses often struggle in Bayville.
Public involvement, Finamore wrote, could include a fundraising event for the mansion, and a possible museum inside the mansion. But, he concluded, that would require United Cerebral Palsy’s approval.
Finamore encouraged residents to attend the next village meeting, scheduled for March 24, or share their ideas with the village via email or letter.
