Villa Maria, Eclectic manor in Water Mill, Long Island, US.
Villa Maria is an eclectic manor in Water Mill on Long Island that blends Colonial-style portico, a dome-capped rotunda, and multiple terraces overlooking water. The main house contains nine bedrooms and thirteen bathrooms, with three separate cottages and about 1,100 feet of waterfront access to Mill Creek and Mecox Bay.
The estate was built in 1887 by industrialists Josiah Lombard and Marshall Ayres under the name Red Gables. In 1919, architect Frank Freeman redesigned it extensively, and it became known as Grey Gables in its new form.
From 1931 to 1985, the Sisters of the Order of Saint Dominic used the property as a school and retirement home for their community. Visitors can still sense how the religious community shaped the spaces and daily rhythms of the place.
The property sits directly on the water with easy access to the bay area, making it simple to explore the shoreline. The scale of the grounds allows visitors to spend several hours wandering through all the outdoor and indoor areas.
President Theodore Roosevelt's horse General Ruxton is buried on the grounds, with a bronze likeness displayed at the American Museum of Natural History. This unusual connection ties the property to an unexpected chapter in American history.
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