Gray Gardens in the Hamptons: See the infamous mansion’s beautiful walled garden in color (1916)

Vintage Gray Gardens mansion sun room - Hamptons NY 1916

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These photos show how the gorgeous walled gardens at Gray Gardens — located on the sweetly-named Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, New York — looked in the year 1916.

The pictures here were all originally all lantern slides (glass transparencies), each one hand-colored with a light enough touch to provide exceptional realism.

Gray Gardens still stands, and its website describes the property at the time as so: “Mr and Mrs Robert C Hill bought the home in 1913 as a summer cottage. At the time, the home stood on four acres of oceanfront land.

“Anna Gilman Hill, a dedicated horticulturist and garden writer, imported magnificent concrete walls from Spain to enclose the garden and temper the fierce winds and sea spray of eastern Long Island.

“With the walls and gorgeous wooden arbors in place, she then designed the garden with assistance from her landscape architect, Ruth Dean. They planted a variety of pale-colored flowers, including climbing rose, lavender, phlox, and delphinium.”

Come take a stroll through these gated gardens, and lose yourself in another era.

Northeast gate to garden

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Northeast gate to garden


Bench inside northeast gate

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Bench inside northeast gate


View west to pergola

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 view west to pergola


Pathway to sun room

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Pathway to sun room

ALSO SEE: Samuel Colt’s famously over-the-top Victorian mansion, Armsmear


 

Birdbath in the walled garden

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Birdbath in walled garden


East gate to tool house

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 East gate to tool house


Garden tool house

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Garden tool house


Northwest gate to the private walled garden

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Northwest gate


View east to pergola

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 View east to pergola


View of walled garden

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 View of walled garden


Full view of this beautiful walled garden

Gray Gardens - Hamptons NY 1916 Full view


Sunroom overlooking walled garden

Vintage Gray Gardens mansion sun room - Hamptons NY 1916

NOW SEE THIS: See the Vanderbilt Mansion, Biltmore: An American castle in the clouds


The ghosts of Grey Gardens: A look back from the 1970s

From the Miami Herald (Florida) March 24, 1972

In the 1920s, Grey Gardens was one of the most fashionable houses along the East Hampton shore. There were servants and a chauffeured limousine to take the Beales to society functions. Now a ’37 Cadillac rots on the front lawn.

Grey Gardens A look back from the 1970s

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