|
|
|
|
|
|
From: Marret Kauffner
Date: 02 Feb 1999
Time: 15:09:24
Remote Name: 24.128.200.35
The Whitney mansion is located on Burnett Street between Avenue V and Whitney Avenue. According to http://www.brooklynny.com/gerritsen.asp, William C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy from 1885 to 1889, bought 67 acres of land and renovated a 150-year-old mansion to use as a racing lodge near the Sheepshead Bay Ractetrack. William C. Whitney is linked in Internet sources to various locations in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State.
According to the realty offering, the Whitney mansion belonged to Harry Payne Whitney by 1925. Harry Payne Whitney, the oldest son of William C. Whitney, was a rich and famous New Yorker who married Gertrude Vanderbilt in 1895. A sportsman, his name is mentioned in various Internet links to polo ponies, race horses, the Montauk Yacht Club, and other idle rich activities. He also served on the board of directors of the Long Island Motor Parkway. William K. Vanderbilt built this auto racing parkway in Suffolk County on Long Island following a series of accidents in the Vanderbilt Cup race on the earlier Jericho Turnpike. This is an interesting story that can be read at
http://www.lihistory.com/history/7/hs701a.htm
I couldn't find any other references to our Whitney mansion on the Web. However, Whitney inherited a Fifth Avenue mansion from his father. His wife was a well-known sculptor and founder of the Whitney Museum.
