Oyster Bay Cove home with nautical roots listed for $14.5M

A place where steamboats once docked in Oyster Bay Cove is now the site of a 12,200-square-foot waterfront mansion listed for $14.5 million.

The seven-bedroom, 8 1/2-bath home stays true to its nautical roots with 425 feet of waterfront, a dock and a boathouse on 4.95 gated acres.

The property has had a handful of notable visitors, including Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000.

"She was giving a speech at one of the universities the next day," says homeowner Mel Weiss, a retired attorney and current board member of the nonprofit Israel Policy Forum. "She had been to the house previously, and she asked if she could use the guesthouse to prepare."

Weiss says Clinton stayed in a circa-1880 carriage house, which was renovated several years after the main 19-room home was built in 1994. The grounds feature rolling lawns, outdoor sculptures, a heated pool, tennis court, pond and artesian well that dates back at least a century.

Weiss says the home was designed by architects Keller and Sandgren with two goals in mind -- capturing the beauty of the surroundings, which include views of Connecticut and Billy Joel's Centre Island home as an across-the-water neighbor, while providing a suitable space for a growing art collection.

The first floor includes a living room with a fireplace, a dining room and bar, a kitchen/breakfast room, den, office/library and a guest room. Upstairs, a master bedroom has his-and-hers baths and a dressing room. There is also a sitting room, gym and sauna and a widow's walk. A newly installed sound system pipes music into the pool area and each of the rooms, Weiss says.

On the lower level, there is a wine cellar and tasting room that holds thousands of bottles, as well as a theater inspired by the architecture of Radio City Music Hall.

The home is listed with Aileen Murstein and Mollie Grossman of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.