Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Wrecking ball for Land's End


A 25-room Long Island mansion that some believe inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrayal of lavish lifestyles in his Jazz Age classic "The Great Gatsby" is being razed, the latest in a long cadence of estates disappearing from what's known as the Gold Coast.

Known as "Land's End" and sitting on a 13-acre lot on Long Island Sound, the 24,000-square foot house is being torn down to accommodate five $10-million custom homes. David Brodsky, who bought the home with his father, Bert, for $17.5 million in 2004, told Newsday that taxes, insurance and maintenance on Land's End became prohibitive — about $4,500 a day — prompting the decision to build anew.

In its glory days, Land's End was said to feature marble, parquet and wide wood-planked floors, Palladian windows and hand-painted wallpaper.

— Associated Press

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