Friday, August 23, 2013

The Shattuck Estate


American Graffiti in Plainview


One beautiful Saturday we made our way to the Shattuck Estate, an abandoned mansion in Plainview, New York.  Being very easy to find and not a struggle to get to, it was a no-brainer to visit.  Not much is known about the construction of this home.  Somewhere in the early 1900’s successful New York City attorney, Edwin Paul Shattuck, bought the estate.  Shattuck lived in the home until his death in 1964. The homes golden age was from the 1920’s – 1940’s.

Edwin Paul Shattuck









Mr. Shattuck was the personal attorney for 31st President, Herbert Hoover. The two were best friends and died within three days of each other.  I can assume that Hoover must have visited this grand estate at one time or another. 




Edwin was a member of the Shattuck family; known for founding the Frank G. Shattuck Company, which operated many things including the well-known food chain of the time, Schrafft Foods. 








This reminds me of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Nassau County purchased the property back in the early 1970’s, and wanted to develop the land for residential and commercial purposes.  In 1972, Carl Ross, a resident of Plainview, fought to turn the Shattuck Estate and it is 138-acre parcel into a preserve – it was a success! 







The mansion has mostly been forgotten about and left to nature. As we can see from the photos, local teenagers have found the spot and frequent it as a hang out to drink beer and spray graffiti.   





There are two types of abandoned properties one can explore. Ones that are easily accessible, like this one, and ones that are a struggle to get to (Hart Island).  These easy ones get trashed with litter and spray paint, which, in my opinion, takes away from the experience. I prefer the locations that lurk in the shadows – that’s where true adventure is found.  Nonetheless, we had a fun time checking this place out. Until next adventure, I bid you adieu.




17 comments:

  1. Do you know if it has since been torn down?

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    1. I lived in this house back in the 60's

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    2. John, pictures are horrific, I have good memories of our time there. Debi

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    3. This is to JOHN VALENTI: since you say you "lived in this house back in the 60's", I am not sure if you remember two brunettes and one blonde haired girl you invited inside your home? We were all very young in the 60's. I was born in 1958.

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  2. Where is/was this place? I lived in Plainview for 25 years and never heard of it

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  3. Torn down. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.8001281,-73.4496638,106m/data=!3m1!1e3

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  4. This is to JOHN VALENTI: since you say you "lived in this house back in the 60's", I am not sure if you remember two brunettes and one blonde haired girl you invited inside your home? We were all young in the 60's -- 1968 I turned 10.

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  5. in reply to martin rosenstock... you can find the location across from the college streets.. theres a no trespassing sign on a flimsy chain linked barrier .. proceed at your own risk... the grounds and interior are deteriorating.. bats in the basement think of it as " the house on haunted hill"

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    1. The Property was known as Pirate Hill. Rumors were that Pirates landed in Cold Spring Harbor and came inland about 8 miles to bury their treasure somewhere on the property. Wine was made from grapes grown on the property and its label said Pirate Hill. I lived in that house in the mid 60`s.

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  7. I have a prayer bench that was once in this mansion. Does anyone have any information on it?

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  8. Unfortunately this spot is now just a clearing with a fire hydrant and an old electric hookup being the only things betraying the nature of the place. Not sure when it was knocked down.

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  9. This was my great great uncles house, Edwin Paul Shattuck. He died in 1964. I'm not sure how someone could have been living there in the 1960s unless they were living there without permission or were part of the staff.

    I was there once in 1964 when I was 8. This house was never sold, it became a part of the city and became a nature preserve. When I look at these pictures it makes me very sad.

    To the person with a prayer stand from that house... All I can tell you is that it was one of his possessions. I too have many things that came from that house.

    I can also tell you that he was NOT connected to the Shattucks with the Schraftts Market. He came from Oregon and that was the connection between he and Herbert Hoover. They both grew up in the Portland area. (Gresham and Newberg) They did not know each other during that time. They did become good friends.

    If the house has been knocked down it is probably for the better. I will always remember it as the majestic house from the 60s that I had the privilege of staying in.

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  10. The has been knocked down several years back. I was lucky enough to be the last person inside of this amazing place. I walked every single room from the top to the very bottom. I captured over 100 pictures. The following weekend heavy equipment was on site ready to demo the property. I was there June 30, 2012.

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  11. I grew up in the neighborhood across the street on one of the college streets. My father was friends with the caretaker hired by Nassau County at that time, this would have been the early 80's. They lived in what would have been the "servants" quarters of the home and the rest of the home was closed off from where they lived. They had a horse and I would go there and pet the horse. The caretaker was married and had 4 children. I would play with the younger children on the grounds of this mansion. At that time it was already very overgrown, the old pool had been filled in with dirt. There was so much beauty to explore. At some point the caretaker and his family left the property and moved upstate. After that, I presume, the property was repeatedly vandalized, which makes me so sad. I wish someone had pictures of it before it was vandalized. So sad to know that the County had to knock it down, but I am sure it was for safety reasons. Too bad they could not have restored it and turned it into a preserve and nature center where children could have gone for school trips (like Old Bethpage Restoration). That would have been awesome.

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  12. I was there back in 1980 when it was a rehab and that's why you see basketball hoops around the place cause it was not the original owner playing basketball I assure you, the rehab was called topic house and was closed in 1982, very large and beautiful place, we had a living room there with about ten couches

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