Monica Randall grew up on the Gold Coast of Long Island and was fascinated by the massive estates and their tantalizing stories.
Throughout the last fifty years the Gold Coast mansions were regularly razed for sub-developments
Winfield is the last of the marble palaces still standing..
Captivating and impossible to put down, this book will enchant readers everywhere.
This riveting memoir explores the culture and history of an era gone by, filled with enthralling stories of infamous scandals and breathtaking Gilded Age tales of New York society.
Through exhaustive research and countless interviews, Monica gradually uncovered stories of the Woolworths\' sad past: the suicide of Edna Woolworth (Barbara Hutton\'s mother), Woolworth\'s obsession with Napoleon and the Egyptian occult, and the rumors surrounding the unsolved fire which burnt the first Winfield to the ground.
Amid magnificent gilded carvings and marble, a labyrinth of secret passageways, hidden chambers, and deserted tunnels help reveal the true nature of its eccentric builder.
After a whirlwind romance, they became engaged, and Monica moved in to Winfield, only to have her suspicions confirmed: Winfield is haunted.
At the auction, Monica met a mysterious European businessman, who bought the house.
After a brief incarnation as a charm school, Winfield was closed and auctioned off.
While there, she began a career scouting locations for movies; she used many of the surrounding estates including Winfield.
In the 1960s Monica was living in one of the fabled mansions built by a Five-and-Dime heiress.
On a clear day, you can see the New York City skyline from its balustraded roof, yet for nearly a century few have been allowed to enter its gates.
Woolworth built Winfield, the grandest of its manors in the 1910s.
W.
Millionaire F.
Monica Randall grew up on the Gold Coast of Long Island and was fascinated by the massive estates and their tantalizing stories
