January 4, 2016

From Riches to Rags to Riches:

The Renovation – and Redemption – of Brookwood Hall

by Cynthia Gunnells

Islip Town Councilman Steve Flotteron is leading the quest to save the estate, working tirelessly to procure donations and grants to fund the initiative. The first project completed was the restoration of a grand walkway leading to the water’s edge. As I stood there staring out into the distance, I couldn’t help but imagine a time when the sagging manor was at its splendor and Long Island was a playground for the affluent and blue-blooded.

“In 1930, when [a Thorne daughter] made her debut, the servants set huge candleholders along the walkways going to the lake. At an appointed moment, the electricity was turned off and the servants carried the candles in a twinkling parade through the lush greenery to the ballroom and the waiting guests. The gesture was typical of the many romantic moments the Thorne's created for their extensive set of friends and family.” – EastIslip.org

With additional funds secured by state Senators, along with a bit of the town’s capital budget, other much needed repairs are happening in the main entrance, ballroom and rotunda, with plans for rear porch and window improvements in the future.

Brookwood Hall is a place haunted by history with a rich story to tell and, thanks to preservation pioneers like Flotteron, it will be around for future generations to experience.

Interestingly, a quest to save another Islip Town landmark is now underway. With the demise of Dowling College, Idle Hour – William K. Vanderbilt’s estate in Oakdale, NY – is now up-for-grabs, and the Oakdale Historical Society recently gathered over 2,000 petition signatures in hopes that the town will help secure the future of yet another slice of Long Island Americana. 

The smell of the Long Island South Shore estate hit me the moment I stepped out of the car. I thought perhaps it was a hint of the damp ivy twisting around hundred-year-old trees that stood like soldiers up the worn gravel drive leading to the front entrance, but as I followed an overgrown trail around back and caught a glimpse of the crumbling portico, I knew it was the scent of the past. The building – a grand private home for the Knapp and then Thorne family turned orphanage turned Town-of-Islip-owned-entity – now houses the town’s Parks Department and the non-profit Islip Art Museum. If the weathered façade could talk, it would tell a tale of redemption as a new phase of renovations is set to soon begin on the 113-year old, three-story, 41-room Georgian Revival mansion sitting on 44 acres overlooking Knapps Lake.