Lawrance Architectural Presentations

04/25/2026

It seems like a day doesn’t go by that I don’t find another photo of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion and the neighborhood around it. The third photo is very bad quality but I did some cleaning up so we can see the details. What is so special about this view is seeing the center of the roof surrounded by third & fourth floor inner walls. Also as much as we complain about the lack of respect for architecture, the Mary Mason Jones block on the east side of Fifth Avenue by the mid 1920s was converted into the ugliest mis-mash of commercial use. Only the original Jones mansion at the corner survived but was eventually replaced. The white modern box was the site of the Huntington mansion, then torn down and replaced with what is called a tax holder, a building erected to generate rent to pay the land taxes till something better would be built. Today the flagship store of Tiffany & Co. still remains. The Vanderbilt mansion was torn down in the mid 1920s and replaced with a department store which eventually become Bergdorf Goodman.

02/07/2026

Beacon Towers, Sands Point, Long Island, NY. The circa 1917 fantastical castle was built for the former Alva Vanderbilt who divorced her husband William Kissam Vanderbilt, then shortly married another wealthy man, Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont. Unfortunately Mr. Belmont died in 1908, leaving Alva a widow, never to marry again. But Alva Belmont didn’t sit at home, instead she kept building mansions. Some say she was never happier than being knee deep in mortar. This approximately 60 room mansion overlooked the Long Island Sound was her idea of a Scottish castle, but more like a folly. She had the sons of her favorite architect, Richard Morris Hunt, who formed the architectural firm of, Hunt & Hunt, design it for her with I am sure with much direction from her. Alva filled the house with her Gothic antiques, and had murals painted with medieval scenes that also paid homage to Joan of Arc. Alva also used the house to give Suffrage meetings. One of her favorite mottos was, “Pray to God, she will listen to you”. By 1927 she decided to move to France to spend more time with her daughter, Consuelo. Beacon Tower is sold to William Randolph Hearst, where he tinkered with it enlarging it and adding many of his own furnishings and artworks. He soon decides to relocate to California where he is building an even more fanciful home at San Simeon, known as Hearst Castle. Beacon Towers remains lived in by his wife, Millicent until sold in 1942, then demolished in 1945 with the surrounding land subdivided. Today Beacon Towers lives on as the supposed inspiration for Jay Gatsby’s mansion in the classic novel, “The Great Gatsby’, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. For those who might like to see how Beacon Towers may have looked during a Gatsby party, please see some colored views and other videos I created

06/19/2025

An excellent colorized view of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion by artist, Sanna Dullaway. The New York City mansion once located on Fifth Avenue between 57th & 58th Streets was originally started circa 1880 then enlarged into an approx. 100 rooms when Mr. Vanderbilt bought older brownstones that stood in the way to fulfill his desire to have the largest mansion on Fifth Avenue. By the mid 1920’s, his widow sells the house to a developer. Various uses were considered for the lot until the luxury department store, Bergdorf-Good decided to move there. Today Bergdorf’s looks tiny as does the Plaza Hotel across the way with the super tall towers dubbed, “Billionaires Row” that now line W57th street. For more stories like this follow my other Instagram, where over 100k followers enjoy the numerous related posts about the Gilded Age era.

04/24/2025

When I am not busy working on new fine homes creating computer models & renderings I enjoy posting and telling stories about the great old houses of the Gilded Age. Join me which has grown into a very popular Instagram account with over 120k followers.

04/04/2025

“Houses of the Hamptons 1880-1930” is the book I co-authored with Anne Surchin and released in June 2007. Then in 2013 it was revised. The book was published by Acanthus Press, NYC, known for their architectural monographs that often included floor plans which everyone loves. The books first printing had a phenomenal response and sold so fast that by early fall a second printing was needed for holiday gifts. After that sold out a third updated printing with new archival content/vintage color photos was released. Both editions are now sold out, but with the wonders of the internet usually available on Amazon, ebay and other booksellers. In following posts I will add some highlights and also discuss some great stories during the writing of the book. The black & white cover shows an aerial view of the H.H. Rogers mansion and the second edition the same house but from the garden side. The house was called Blackpoint and was located on the ocean in Southampton, now demolished. While one shouldn’t judge a book from its cover, which one do you like best?

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03/20/2025

Lawrance Architectural Presentations has been serving architects, builders, interior designers & landscapers for over 30 years in the Hamptons & Long Island’s Gold Coast. Services include computer generated 3D models/renderings/interiors & video walk around/aerials. From sketches to full sets of CAD files, anything is possible. Gary Lawrance Architect is locally based on Long Island and office/site visits are no issue if needed. Reasonable pricing & quick turnaround around a specialty. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Dan’s Paper’s, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, Newsday.

Past & present clients include,

12/24/2024

Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday & New Year!

10/30/2022

09/16/2022

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Last year I inherited an extensive collection of photographs, slides, maps… Gary Lawrance needs your support for Mansions of the Gilded Age Intern Assistance