Chelsea Mansion

Located along Long Island’s fabled Gold Coast, the Chelsea Mansion is the former residence of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Moore. The home, which sits on 100 acres of land, is a curious blend of architectural styles that was inspired, in part, by the couple’s wedding trip to China. While Alexandra Moore stated that the Chinese manor was the inspiration for the house, the home also has French and English influences, which are more readily observed from the mansion's front facade. The 40-room mansion, which is now used as an event space, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

When Benjamin Moore and Alexandra Emery married in the early 1920s, the marriage brought together two old and prominent families. Moore (an attorney, not the paint manufacturer) descended from one of the earliest families in New York City, whose farmland would eventually become part of the city’s Chelsea district. Emery was from a prominent Cincinnati family. When the couple married in 1921, they made a wedding trip to China, which included a cruise along the upper Yangtze River. As they sailed along the river, the couple was struck by a large farm manor of stark white with a Black roof and trim. When they returned to the US, they set about recreating the manor house they’d admired in China.

Though the Gold Coast had long been viewed as an enclave of wealthy New Yorkers, many of whom built suitably expansive and opulent homes, by the time the Moores began making plans for their home, tastes had changed. The Gold Coast homes built in the 1920s were still imposing, but they were generally less ostentatious than their predecessors. The home's stark white contrasted against the Black roof and trim--inspired by the home in China--would also be a reflection of the changing tastes of the time. The couple purchased land in 1923 and hired the architectural firm of Delano & Aldrich to design their curiously eclectic home. From the rear, the sloping roof, pond, and moon gate evoke the mansion’s Chinese influences while the front façade displays more of a French Renaissance sensibility. The couple named their home Chelsea, after Benjamin Moore’s ancestral farmland.

The home’s interior is equally eclectic. Predictably, there are numerous Chinoiserie elements, including carved teak doors from the Chinese summer palace. But the Moores were widely traveled and their home’s furnishings and décor reflected their cosmopolitan lifestyle. The pine paneling in the dining room came from the Duke of Wellington’s country house, while the flower room featured walls from an old English pub.

Following the death of Benjamin Moore, his wife eventually remarried Robert McKay, a family friend. She continued to live in Chelsea for many years after her second marriage. She also continued her travels, bringing works of art and exotic furnishings home to New York with her. She also salvaged items that others threw out; the breakfast room wallpaper was found on a Paris street awaiting pickup by trash collectors. She rescued the wrought iron porch furniture from a dump near the home.

McKay deeded a portion of the estate to Nassau County in 1964 and continued to gift portions of the estate over a number of years. Eventually, nearly 100 acres were given to Nassau County, land which was combined with acquisitions from the Christie Estate to form the Muttontown Preserve. Alexandra McKay lived in the Chelsea mansion until her death in 1983. The mansion, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is available for private events.

Chelsea Mansion Opens for Private Events, Nassau County . Accessed July 3rd 2021. https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/4178/Chelsea-Mansion.

Chelsea Mansion, Gold Coast Mansions . Accessed July 3rd 2021. https://www.goldcoastmansions.com/ChelseaMansion/ChelseaMansion.html.

Leidl, Kaitlyn. A Guide to Long Island's Gold Coast Mansions , Thirteen. Accessed July 3rd 2021. https://www.thirteen.org/program-content/a-guide-to-long-islands-gold-coast-mansions/.

In Our Village , Muttowntown. Accessed July 3rd 2021. https://www.muttontownny.gov/resources/in-our-village/.