Swope’s Mansion

Land’s End, Long Island

Home of newspaper magnate Herbert Bayard Swope, inventor of the “op-ed”

Real-life counterpart to Jay Gatsby’s mansion &/or the Buchanan’s home (Fitzgerald did not write about a particular home but based his fictions on the ones that he knew), built 1902 by architect Stanford White (2002 NY Times article claims this is more legend than fact: “A Whisper Of White, A Hint Of Daisy”; even so, it’s the only one left and was definitely a home Fitzgerald visited)

Remembered only by a sole preservationist in the May 9, 2008 Port Washington News [tonnews.com/portwashingtonnews/2008/05/09/opinion/">letter] [topix.com/forum/county/nassau-ny/TOPR29DAKHJGQV9LH">more]

Demolished June 2008

Articles and information

tonnews.com/portwashingtonnews/2008/05/09/opinion/">opinion piece

Photographs: Historic Photos of Long Island by Joe Czachowski (Turner 2008)

See also Glitter That Was Once Gold: Long Island Gold Coast Trivia by Kevin Durst (Trafford 2006)

Inventing the American game” by Bob Alman is a contempoary (2005) illustrated profile of Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr.

Related: Sara and Gerald Murphy’s estate in the Hamptons [NY mag feature]

For further reading


First published on February 4th, 2009 at 1:51 pm (EST) and last modified on July 7th, 2009 at 9:41 am (EST).