OHEKA CASTLE resides in the quaint Town of Huntington, which is located along Long Island’s northern shore. One of the ten towns to compose Suffolk County, Huntington is just a little over an hour away from New York City. The town itself was founded in by three men in 1653: Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead. The men had traveled from nearby Oyster Bay to purchase a parcel of land from the local Matinecock tribe. Residents today have since referred to the acquisition as the “First Purchase,” which initially spread from the area of Cold Spring Harbor to Newport Harbor. For a time, its colonial residents were actually part of the Colony of Connecticut, before joining New York in 1664. Huntington had a small role in American Revolution of the following century, in which British soldiers temporarily used the town as their headquarters after the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. The community then became a commercial hub for the location shipping industry with the arrival of the Long Island Railroad during the mid-1800s. Huntington and the rest of Suffolk County only emerged as a bastion for tourism in the late 19th century, when affluent businesspeople started constructing lavish estates and resorts throughout the northern shore. Many fascinating cultural attractions call Huntington and its neighboring communities home today, such as the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site and the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium. Sagamore Hill National Historic Site is of particular interest, as it served as the personal home of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt from 1885 until his death in 1919.

When Otto Hermann Kahn’s first mansion burnt down in 1905, he sought to build an even greater second one. To that end, he hired the renowned architectural firm, Delano & Aldrich, for the job. Led by architects William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich, the company had designed buildings for many of America’s powerful individuals. For instance, Delano & Aldrich had created such structures like the Knickerbocker Club, the Willard D. Straight House, and Kykuit (home of the Rockefeller family). Despite having a preference toward Beaux-Arts design principles, Delano & Aldrich chose to use an eclectic assortment of architectural styles popular in America at that time. The most prominent form they embraced was known as “Châteauesque.” This unique brand of architecture blends elements of Revivalist and French Renaissance design aesthetics to achieve its distinctive appearance. Buildings constructed in such a way are also known to incorporate pitched roofs and elaborate towers that borrow heavily from Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture.

The project cost Kahn around $11 million to complete, roughly the equivalent to $153 million in today’s money. With a full length of 109,000 square feet, OHEKA CASTLE was the second largest private home throughout the entire country. Delano & Aldrich developed the structure of the building by using a combination of reinforced concrete and steel, in order to make it fully fireproof. Some of the interior walls were even 30 inches thick! To make the steel and concrete appear more natural to the building’s rustic appearance, they painted many of the rooms using a technique called “faux bois.” Developed during the French Renaissance, faux bois consisted of painting hard surfaces to brilliantly resemble natural wood. In all, OHEKA CASTLE featured a total of 127 guestrooms that a full-time staff of 126 employees attended to every day. The building also contained a beautiful ballroom, a spacious dining room, and a fantastic library. Its grand staircase was even inspired by the wonderful interior lobby of the Château de Fontainebleau. And for a personal touch, Kahn asked Delano & Kahn to carve a series of “Linden Trees” throughout the estate as an homage to his original hometown in Germany.

Kahn also invested much of his attention on developing the grounds surrounding OHEKA CASTLE. Sparing no expense, he commissioned the Olmstead Brothers landscaping company to create the design. Frederick Law Olmstead Jr., and John Charles Olmstead formed Olmstead Brothers in 1898, which oversaw the creation of many roads and parks across the United States. Together, they drafted a plan that called for the creation of a sunken formal French garden. French formal gardens had appeared throughout the Western world for centuries, having originated in the royal courts of France during the late Renaissance. The very first garden of this kind emerged at the Château Vaux-le-Victome, although many architectural historians consider the world’s greatest to reside at the Palace of Versailles. French formal gardens typically followed the principle of ornate symmetry, which represented the imposition of order over nature. These spectacular destinations also featured exotic vegetation, as well as a variety of decorative fountains. Kahn also oversaw the creation of many other brilliant outdoor facilities, including tennis courts, greenhouses, and a luxurious 18-hole golf course designed by Seth Raynor.

A local real estate developer named Gary Melius eventually purchased OHEKA CASTLE several decades after the passing of Otto Hermann Kahn. By the time Melius came to own the location, it had been significantly reduced down to just 23 acres. Furthermore, its previous tenant, the Eastern Military Academy, had greatly altered the interior spaces from their original layout. As such, Melius invested heavily into thoroughly renovating the structure back to its former glory. Some of the greatest work that Melius undertook was to retile the entire roof. Rising & Nelson Slate Co.—the same company that helped create the roof the first time during the 1910s—supplied the 4000 roof slates necessary to repair the structure. Melius also replaced more than 220 missing windows and doors that had miraculously gone missing. He eventually formed a partnership with a local non-profit called The Friends of OHEKA, who wished to help Melius protect the magnificent building in the years to come. More recently, Melius has revitalized OHEKA’s garden, planting 500 Red Cedars, 44 London Planes, and more than 2,500 Boxwoods throughout the Formal Gardens. Melius has also added several new spectacular facilities, such as The Terrace Room and The OHEKA Bar & Restaurant.

Charlie Chaplin, renowned actor known for his silent roles in The Kid and A Woman of Paris.

Orson Welles, legendary film director known for such movies as Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, and The Magnificent Ambersons.

Harpo Marx, renowned comedian who performed as one of the historic Marx Brothers.

George Gershwin, celebrated composer and pianist known for such songs as Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris.

Sandra Day O’Connor, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1981 – 2006)

Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1986 – 2016)

Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States (1993 – 2001)

Citizen Kane (1941)

The Great Gatsby (2000)

The Emperors Club (2002)

Royal Pains (2006 – 2008)

What Happens in Vegas (2008)

It’s a Funny Kind of Story (2010)

As the World Turns (2010)

America's Castles

Great American Railroad Journey (BBC)

Lifestyles of The Rich & Famous

Madam Secretary

Madoff

Mega Mansions

Succession

Treasures of New York