- The Highs & Lows in Every Direction! & In-Between Too! - re: New Suffolk NY - LOEW Estate -
By Danny McCarthy?
When it comes to gathering information I have to be the judge of just what I exchange! When I moved out to Southold in 1988 from Jamaica Estates (Queens, NY!), mom and dad and I routinely noticed the corner where the Southold Savings Bank and the Main Road is located and the street sign was listed as?Young’s Avenue. Well, we realized that that was wrong, that that was a “typo,” since that street name is supposed to salute the 1640s Founder of Southold whose name is Reverend John?Youngs. There were other types of spellings over the years of that last name; i.e.?Young,?Younge,?Yong,?and?Youngs. The name of the street has been updated and has been corrected and now reads?Youngs Avenue.?
?????I’ve come to learn?that?surnames (or last names in one’s family line),?do?come?in?various variations?of one?spelling or another.?Aha!?Surname confusion!?
?“Just You Wait” For This Information!?
Of course you know of the outstanding?Silversmith’s Corner Summer Concert Series?organizer and?C.A.S.T. (Community Action of?Southold?Town)?member?Peg Murphy.?Peg Murray?is?that terrific?Broadway?Cabaret?Tony Award Winner {who was well?cast!}.?Now, don’t those names sound similar??
Friendly and Theatrically Speaking! ~ Of Course!?
It’s All In?the?Name!?~ “They Call?the Wind Maria!”?
Frederick Loewe?was a Broadway composer who worked with Alan Jay Lerner.?Broadway and?Hollywood?hits by this incredible duo include?among others:?Brigadoon,?Paint Your Wagon,?Gigi,?My Fair Lady,?and?Camelot.?I’ve formed?just a couple of?subheads for this article making use of?some of the?titles of?their musical numbers?from?the?sensational?duo’s?different?blockbuster-successes.?See if you can identify what shows they relate to, okay??\“I’m On My Way”?– “Sir, May I Have Your?Name?”?
The?Frederick Loewe Theatre?at?New York?University?is located at?35 West 4th?Street?in?Manhattan. There’s a?Loew’s?movie theatre in?Stony Brook,?New York.?There’s the?Lowe’s Home Improvement?worldwide retail?business.?Of course,?there are?actors?Rob Lowe?and?his brother?Chad Lowe.?See??Surname variations?again.?
Loew & Behold!?
A while back, I came across a Southold resident who shared interest in being updated about the New Suffolk?Loew Estate.?When Mary Manning grew up in New Suffolk, her family lived on part of the?Loew Estate?grounds. Living next to this large, beautiful building ended up appearing in dreams for many years until it was razed in 1972 and now the story begins since those original dreams that were actually nightmarish?disappeared!?The foundation of the?Loew Estate?could be seen on the ground for many years even after the house was “taken down.”?
?I did my research and followed?through by making use of the?New?Suffolk?SPLIA (Society for the Preservation of?Long Island?Antiquities),?The New Suffolk Story?(by Marjorie Moore Butterworth),?Suffolk Historic Newspapers,?and?some other online-related readily-available information,?that I will be sure to site?here?for you.?
Relatively Speaking!?
The owner of the?Loew Estate was?Frederick William?Loew.?Frederick W. Loew?was?born in?Alsace,?France?on December 20, 1834. He?became a?Manhattan?resident?and a?Justice of the Peace?and?summered with his wife, Julia Augusta Vanderpol, and?their?two children, Charlie?and Lulu, in New Suffolk.?Marjorie Moore Butterworth in her volume?The New Suffolk Story,?lets us know that Judge Loew along with his wife and two children came?from?New York City?to New Suffolk in 1883.?A?September 2, 1971?Suffolk Times?article by Ronnie Wacker titled?The Turret Tumbles?which is?located within the?New Suffolk SPLIA?that spotlights the?Loew Estate,?says that the couple “had homes in New York City, Paris and Cairo.”?
The Home Was “On the Street Where?{They}?Lived”?
The?Loew?property was purchased by?Frederick Loew?in 1879, and in 1890, “the original house?{that had been there} was?destroyed by fire.” All that was left were?the?servants’ quarters and a barn-stable that were?built around 1856.??
?“There’s a Coach Comin’ In”?
A magnificent newer home was built?by Riverhead architect George H. Skidmore?in 1900?for Frederick Loew. It?became the showplace of New Suffolk.?“…?{Frederick Loew}?built?this?{newer magnificent home}?large stone mansion with?large verandas, cupolas and a?porte-cochere?{porch where one can discharge passengers from a vehicle} on Jackson and Fifth Streets.” It seems there were twelve bedrooms and 10 fireplaces in this residence.?“The Loew family were noted, among other things, for their beautiful coaches and spirited horses.” “Nay” you say??
?Rumor Has It …?
Their New Suffolk summer home was?thought?to be a “haunted house.” …?“many stories were told about {this house}in New Suffolk. It was supposed to have $5 million buried somewhere in its many secret places.”??????
??The End Was Near?– “If you?Pleas!” – “Out of Estate, Out of Mind!”?
The November 11, 1887?Long Island Traveler?read that: “Judge Loew?and family have left their summer home here and gone to?New York?{to sail for?Europe} where they intend to spend the winter for the improvement of the Judge’s health.”?You see, wealthy Judge Loew died?on?November?7,?1909?at the age of 75?in?New York?County?(Manhattan). The November 10, 1909?The New York Times?included the fact that “funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 10,?at 11 A.M., from the residence of his brother-in-law, Dr. W. B. Vanderboel,?37 West 76th?St.”?{See??Vanderboel?vs.?Vanderpol!}?Burial was in the Brooklyn (Kings?County)?Green-Wood?Cemetery.?
?????The November 23, 1909?Brooklyn Daily Eagle?shared a special story about the Judge’s “unique will.”?The article states that Judge Loew was a “judge of the Court of Common Pleas in?New York?and was a summer resident of New?Suffolk.”?That article?also says?that?he wrote his will?himself?and?that?it?was probated November 22, 1909.?
????After his death, the house declined.?According to Mrs. Butterworth’s?The New Suffolk Story , Mrs. Loew and her two children?“turned into recluses”?after the death of Judge Loew.?They didn’t do a thing to take care of their surroundings,?and socialization was not even?a consideration?by?any?one?of?them.?Such a sad?and unnerving story?is told by Mrs. Butterworth in her volume?both about?the house as well as the family.?It’s?definitely?an?excellent?read!?
?????Ronnie Wacker reminds us?too?how?life was “lavish in the elegant homestead that looked over the?{Peconic}?bay.” Ms. Wacker also has some fascinating stories?in?her article about Lulu and her troubles.?
“And So It Goes!”?–?“Going, Going,?{and Almost}?Gone!”???
A gentleman by the name of Hugh Quinn,?who was a retired building code?engineer, bought the residence in 1965?hoping to improve “the castle,”?according to that Ronnie Wacker article. However, practically every nook??and cranny of the?Loew Estate?was torn down in 1972 despite?Mr. Quinn’s??wishing?for prolific possibilities of improvement. A “granite-faced stone?first floor” was one of the three floors in the Victorian house and “doors and?windows?couldn’t be changed in walls that were 15 inches thick.”?It almost?sounds?like?The?Little Rascals character in one of the episodes who?sat on a?stoop and?blinked incessantly and proclaimed: “Remarkable!”?
领英推荐
Bank on a?Capital Idea!?
According to the?New Suffolk SPLIA, “The only LOEW structures that remain are the carriage house?that has?a one-and-a-half story simulated gable roof plus dormers that “have?{an}?articulated stick style design?and the gate?posts of rusticated concrete blocks.”?The?Ronnie Wacker article states that Mr. Quinn kept the barn?“with its original pegged floors”?for he and his wife’s “four grown children who want to use it and?{to}?redo the caretaker’s house into a playhouse for the?{14 (!)?}?grandchildren.”?The?New Suffolk SPLIA?also includes the fact that, and, I quote, “The Loew Estate was one of the important landmarks in New Suffolk before it was torn down. The remaining features are important in one?phase of New Suffolk history.”?
“Make Your Own Kind of Music”?– Let’s Make That Perfectly Clear!?
What’s in a name??Gwen Verdon starred in the original Broadway version of?Damn Yankees?in 1955 at the?46th?Street?Theatre on Broadway. Her rousing rendition of?Whatever?Lola?Wants?(a song and dance number in?Damn Yankees) is truly a treasured and definitely quite a legendary performance! Brava!?In 1970, Bobby Sherman had the popular Billboard hit:?Julie, Do You Love Me??Cases of name modifications again. Stay tuned?for further clarification!?
“Thank Heaven for Little Girls” ~ “Whatever {Lulu} Wants!”?
I’ll try to settle something ~?A?February 14, 1963?The Watchman?obituary?regards?Julie V. Lowe, the daughter of?Frederick and Julia Lowe.?Julie?is Lulu’s real name.?The Gwen Verdon character’s name?Lola?is similar to?Lulu!?The New Suffolk Story?on page 19?also?lists?the?Loew daughter’s?name as?Lulu. The Cutchogue column by?Margaret Friis?in the February 13, 1975?Long?Island?Traveler-Mattituck Watchman?also?includes the listing of?Lulu. Mrs. Friis mentions that after World War I “Charles and Lulu Loew donated their house in?Paris?to be used as an American hospital.” That Cutchogue column?clears up that?brother and sister?Charles and Lulu?were?the children of Judge Loew.?The New Suffolk Story?says that Charlie “was hit by a car while riding his bicycle and died as a result.” Lulu was thus left alone to maintain her “secret life alone.”??
?????Mind you though, I also came across the entry of the will of Judge Loew in the November 26, 1909?Sayville?Suffolk?County?News where he typeset his daughter’s name as?Julia?and not?Julie! When Lulu died on February 8, 1963, she was age 93. Her obituary says that she was “one of the oldest residents of New Suffolk.” Interment was in?Riverdale,?New York.?
?{In 1975, Joel Grey starred on Broadway in Where's Charley co-starring with Ann Reinking who was Joan of Arc.}
Where’s Charley?
The June 25, 1953?Long Island Traveler Mattituck Watchman?carries the obituary of?Charles E. Lowe?and does say that he was “riding toward his home {to New Suffolk} on a woman’s bicycle when he fell just as a 1941 Packard?sedan passed him,” causing him to hit the concrete.?He sustained a skull fracture and other injuries. He was given first aid treatment at the scene and was removed by ambulance to the?Greenport?Eastern?Long Island?Hospital, where he died later in the afternoon.?
????He was “educated at?Columbia?and?Harvard?Universities?and at the Sorbonne in?Paris. He was a world traveler and?linguist?and was reputed to be able to speak eleven different tongues.”?
“Before I Gaze at You Again” ~ “I Love?New York!”?
What should really be a highly regarded entry in the February 14, 1963 obituary is the line which says that?Julie Loew’s?mother “was the daughter of?Jacob Vanderpol?{who} was a descendant of one of the first settlers of?Manhattan.”?Julia Vanderpol Lowe?died on March 21, 1926 and is buried by her husband in the?Green-Wood?Cemetery?in?Brooklyn.??
Bits and Pieces?
The Sag Harbor The Corrector dated March 12, 1887 included the fact that Architect Skidmore was?“preparing plans for a new drug store at?Shelter?Island?Heights.”?
?????The Corrector dated September 24, 1892 stated that?“The plans for the new?church?of?St. Mary's on?Shelter?Island?have been prepared by Architect Skidmore.”?
"You Say You Want A Re{s}olution!"?
Mr. Skidmore brought the idea of the sale of bonds for the building of a children's home?“up-Island”?in?Yaphank,?NY. This was shared in the March 13, 1896 Long Island Traveler. Mr. Skidmore was asked to?“get up plans for a home something of the old style of farm houses and he said that he didn't think he could do that. The following resolution was offered by Mr. Skinner: "Resolved, That the committee appointed to enter contract for building the children's home at Yaphank, have a suitable plot surveyed and set apart as a location for such home, south of and including a portion of the pine grove on Yaphank avenue.”?The resolution was carried.?
?????Shelter?Island?Town?was again?listed?in a newspaper where Architect Skidmore was shown as being mightily involved. The December 4, 1896 Long?Island?Traveler?reads that he had?“ground plans of kitchen and dining-room departments for the new Manhanset House.”?Among some of those others that were involved included Greenport resident Parker Moore, who would be working with masons as soon as possible with the brick work.?
?????Also found entered about?Shelter?Island?in that 1896 Long Island Traveler is the listing of the?“Chequit Point at Prospect”?where Architect Skidmore and Engineer O. H. Bateman?“laid out the lines and levels for the foundations.”?By the way, Engineer Bateman commenced to lay out the lines and levels for the foundations of the Manhanset House.?
?????The Corrector that’s dated March 20, 1897 noted that there was a Riverhead Board of Supervisors meeting held and that?“the question of building additions to the jail and Court House”?was settled. Architect Skidmore’s plans were accepted. According to the write-up, the cost of the jail would be $15,000 and $2,000 was for the?County?Treasurer's office.?
?????The August 2, 1901 The?Suffolk?County News shared information that a “fine piece of property at Mattituck" purchased by a certain Captain Sigsbee was about to have a large house erected. The plans for that house were taken care of by "Architect Skidmore {of Riverhead}.”?
“With a Little Bit of Luck” ~ “{What} Ever I?Would Leave You”?
????Architect Skidmore of Riverhead also designed many?other?large mansions on?Long Island?back in the 1800s and early 1900s, as you saw earlier, with the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historic Council.?“I{’ll} Remember?{“That} Well!”?“Wouldn’t {That} Be Loverly?”?Well anyway,?“I’m an Ordinary Man!”?and?“Before I Gaze at You Again,”?maybe?next time I’ll tell you “What Do The Simple Folk Do?”?
Just one of Riverhead George Harrison Skidmore's bounteous designs was the New Suffolk LOEW House.?The Peconic Bay Shopper?dated February?2016 features my article beginning on page three {Thanks to Mike and Rita Hagerman of Academy Printing Services who publish The Peconic Bay Shopper}:?