64 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • AUGUST 2018
OPEN HOUSE
ROSLYN RETREAT:
The exterior of the Grand Manor-style estate built in the 1850s features 8.2 acres of land with a statue garden, pool and three guest cottages.
(Photo by Matthew Kropp)
By RUTH BASHINSKY
The Tudor-style mansion known
as Mayknoll that was owned by a
former director of the Central Intelligence
Agency is on the market
with bids now being accepted on the
entire compound or a portion.
The private Glenwood Road
estate, set on 8.2 acres with views
of Hempstead Bay, was built in
the 1850s by a steamship captain.
The property includes three guest
cottages, a statue garden, and pool.
Bernadette Casey Smith, the daughter
of the late William J. Casey, who
served as CIA director during the
administration of Ronald Reagan,
has fond memories of the home that
has been in the family for 70 years.
“It’s a wonderful place to grow
up,” says Smith. “I was an only child,
but I never felt like I was an only
child because I had all these people
around.”
The manor, which was initially a
Victorian, had five different owners
before the Caseys acquired it. In 1919,
the current occupants redesigned it
and turned the home into a Renaissance
esque Tudor-style design.
Some of the original features are
the etched glass pocket doors and tile
flooring located in the main foyer.
“The story was that the steamship
captain hand selected the tile when
he was in Italy,” says Smith. “He
told his wife he was sending her the
floor. There’s also a secret passage
that would make a great wine cellar.”
Treasures from overseas and
personal mementos fill the house.
In the foyer hangs an Asian wall
panel from Japan, a Cuzco school oil
painting of the Madonna purchased
in Peru, and a sculpture of Alexander
the Great conquering the world.
In the living room are two paintings
by John Sloan, an influential turn-ofthe
century realist.
The property offers majestic views of Hempstead Bay. (Photo by Matthew
Kropp)