Oakdale Idle Hour gatehouse for sale for $575,000
Idle House gatehouse Credit: Pristine Properties Cole & Associates photo
The former west gatehouse to the Vanderbilt Estate in Oakdale is on the market for $575,000.
William K. Vanderbilt, horse breeder and heir to a railroad fortune, purchased the original 862-acre estate on the banks of the Connetquot River in 1876 as a country retreat, which he named Idle Hour.
The West Gatehouse, an 1890 two-story English-style cottage on a .3-acre lot, once served as a refuge for Vanderbilt’s son, William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., and his new bride, Birdie Fair Vanderbilt, when the original mansion burned down during their honeymoon there in 1899.
The mansion was replaced, and is now a part of the Dowling College campus, while much of the estate has been converted to a residential community that retains the name Idle Hour.
“It’s got a lot of detail, obviously . . . and it’s got character,” says Clifton Cole of Pristine Properties Cole & Associates in East Setauket.
Original details include the diamond-pane window casements, hardwood floors, two fireplaces and some of the moldings. The home has two bedrooms, but the master suite has a sitting room that could be converted to a third bedroom, Cole says. There’s one bathroom, which features a claw-foot tub.
The owner, an interior designer, is having a new kitchen with a Viking stove and custom millwork installed, says Cole, who is listing the property with Samuel Reinoso. Annual taxes for the 1,700-square-foot home are $8,815.
(Pristine Properties Cole & Associates Photo)
