Shopsin, William C. and Grania Bolton Marcus — Saving Large Estates: Conservation, Historic Preservation, Adaptive Re-Use

Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1977. Softcover. White & BW illus. wraps, 199 pp. many BW illus. 3 fold-outs. Documents specific properties in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Dutchess Counties, as well as some in the Catskills and Adirondacks. "Over the past forty or more years we have witnessed the wholesale destruction of one large country estate after the other. As these great estates disappear the tangible evidence of a significant part of our architectural, social and historical heritage also vanishes. To make matters worse the mediocre and the shabby are being substituted.. We are now beginning to appreciate what we already have lost and SPLIA's sponsorship of this stody is an effort to foucs attention on the pressing need to devise effective methods to save the few remaining great estates. However, as this study points out, organizations such as ours, and indeed even the state and other political subdivisions, are limited in what they can do. The solution quite clearly seems to be in the hands of the owners of these properties. They must be made aware of the cultural and historical value of what they own and be encouraged to undertake the arduous task of developing viable plans which will save them." (preface). G (Covers are moderately aged or soiled; inside covers have slight foxing; pages are clear with clear text and illus.) .