Westbury House Renovation

When we went to Old Westbury Gardens to do a public stargazing event, I was stunned when I looked up at the mansion!  It was mostly covered up with scaffolding and fabric!  I couldn't believe my eyes!

So I walked up to the house to see what was going on.  There is a display of panels on the lawn explaining the restoration work underway.  It seems that the roof, which is 115 years old, more or less, was in terrible shape, and now it is being completely replaced.  Here's the cool thing - the original roof was covered with slate from a quarry in England, and they have gone back to the same quarry to get the replacement slate!

This detail shows the beautiful brickwork and marble of some structures on the roof.

I couldn't find a photograph of the front of the house, even though I have photographed it a number of times over the years.  But I did find this black & white photo of mine of the back of the house.  You can see it is a stunning building!   It is called Westbury House and was the former home of John S. Phipps and his family.  He was an heir to the Phipps family fortune and a shareholder of his father-in-law's Grace Shipping Lines.  The house was completed in 1906 by the English designer, George A. Crawley and is a Charles II-style mansion.  It is furnished with fine English antiques and decorative arts from the more than 50 years of the family's residence.