Long Island's Gold Coast, renowned for its opulent mansions that inspired 'The Great Gatsby,' is now more subdued as it marks the novel's centennial. Once a playground for the wealthy elite, the area had about 1,200 grand homes inhabited by families like the Vanderbilts and Astors. Today, fewer than a third of those mansions remain, with many replaced by modern construction. Despite less vibrancy, some residences like the Vultaggios' retain a connection to the past, evoking memories of Fitzgerald’s roaring Jazz Age.
Artist Irene Vultaggio, who lives in a mansion next to Sands Point Lighthouse, remarked, 'I live in Daisy's house... So [Gatsby] would look towards my house, and there would be the green light.'
While some enormous homes from the era remain, the atmosphere is less debaucherous than it was in F. Scott Fitzgerald's day during the Jazz Age.
Collection
[
|
...
]