Business & Finance

See inside Coe Hall, a 65-room mansion built by a Gilded Age businessman


  • Coe Hall is a 65-room mansion that was built on the Gold Coast of Long Island, New York, in 1921.
  • The home, built by insurance exec William Robertson Coe, is inside the Planting Fields Arboretum.
  • The main house, along with its multiple greenhouses and gardens, is open to the public.

In the village of Upper Brookville on Long Island, New York, you can step back 100 years — all you need to do is enter the Planting Fields Arboretum, a 409-acre state park that houses an expansive mansion, multiple greenhouses, gardens, and a tea house straight out of a fairy tale.

The mansion, Coe Hall, was built by William Robertson Coe, an executive who succeeded in the insurance and railroad businesses, and his wife, Mai Rogers, an heiress to a fortune built on Standard Oil money. In fact, Coe was the president of the company that brokered the insurance for the hull of what was known as an unsinkable ship: the Titanic. He was even booked on the return voyage of the Titanic from New York City to England, per the Long Island Press.

Coe Hall — the second mansion to be built on the property after the original from 1906 burned down in 1918 — looks like it was transplanted from the English countryside and dropped on the Gold Coast, a stretch of Long Island’s North Shore that earned its nickname for the opulent estates built by wealthy families around the turn of the 20th century.

That’s on purpose, as they wanted to make it seem like the home had been there for decades, making them “old money.”

During my tour of the property this spring, a docent told me some architectural touches didn’t match at the time of construction, as if to give the appearance that the home had been remodeled over the years.

In addition to the main house, which was designed by the architectural firm Walker & Gillette, the arboretum is home to beautiful landscaping and gardens designed by the famous Olmsted Brothers, who also designed Central Park and Oheka Castle.

Here’s what it’s like to visit one of the largest Gold Coast mansions left on Long Island.

The Planting Fields Arboretum is a 409-acre state park on Long Island, New York.


A map of the Planting Fields.


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The estate was purchased by William Robertson Coe, an insurance and railroad tycoon, in 1913.


welcome to planting fields sign

The entryway.


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It’s now open for tours. It cost $8 to park there, and another $15 to tour the house.


fields at coe hall

There are many fields at Coe Hall.


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The property was in the Coe family until his death in 1955, when it was given to the state of New York.


coe hall driveway

A view of the main driveway of Coe Hall.


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The centerpiece of the park is Coe Hall, a 65-room Tudor mansion built in 1918.


coe hall exterior

Coe Hall from the lawn.


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There are personalized touches all over the house’s limestone exterior.


coe hall exterior

The West Portico.


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For example, this ship carved into the house is a nod to Coe’s ties to the maritime industry and his love of sailing.


coe hall ship

An etching on the portico.


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The building was modeled after English manor homes to evoke “old money” vibes rather than the “new money” that Coe had made.


front door coe hall

Coe Hall.


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You get almost a medieval feel from the moment you walk through the entryway.


entryway of main house

The entryway.


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It took three years to complete Coe Hall.


hallway coe hall

A hallway.


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There are taxidermied animals throughout the house — Coe was an avid hunter and summered in Wyoming.


entryway coe hall

The ram head was just one of many.


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One of the first rooms you can view is Coe’s den.


study at coe hall

The den.


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It’s covered in dark wood, giving a masculine atmosphere.


coe hall fireplace and study

The den.


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The shelves were filled with priceless books, like this signed copy of Mark Twain’s autobiography. Twain was a close friend of the family.


mark twain book

A signed copy of a Mark Twain book.


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There are photos of Coe and his second wife, Mai Rogers, on display. They had married in 1900.


coe hall pictures

Photos of the Coes.


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This house was built amid Prohibition. So Coe knew he had to prepare for an alcohol shortage.


speakeasy in the study coe hall

A secret door.


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He built his very own hidden speakeasy in his den. A docent told us he spent millions of dollars in today’s money to stockpile alcohol.


inside the speakeasy

The speakeasy.


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The docent said Coe and his wife had opposing style tastes and suggested visiting her salon across the hall.


coe hall entryway

Don’t miss the suit of armor.


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He was right. If her husband’s taste was English, this parlor was straight out of Versailles.


mrs coe sitting room lounge

Mai Rogers’ salon.


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On the way to look at the rest of the home, we passed a small side room that displayed a bison head and one of Coe’s hunting rifles.


buffalo head coe hall

A buffalo.


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The art in the living room is original to the home.


living room coe hall

The living room.


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It’s certainly not a bad place to spend your weekends.


living room area coe hall

The living room.


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This mezzanine was built as a place for the four Coe children to play and store their toys and musical instruments without getting underfoot.


mezzanine for playing kids coe hall

An area for the kids to play.


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The Great Hall is at the back of the home. It was perfect for the parties of the Roaring ’20s.


grand ballroom coe hall

The Great Hall.


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This box on the second floor looks like it was made for people-watching, but it was actually where musicians would play during parties.


great hall coe hall

There were many books on the shelves all around the room.


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The craftsmanship throughout the house was impossible to miss.


craftsmanship at coe hall grand ballroom

Woodwork on the mantel.


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Every detail was intentional. These flowers are a reference to Rogers’ love of plants — the property itself became an arboretum.


flower woodworking detail coe hall

More woodwork.


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There was another portrait of Coe hanging in the corner.


portrait of coe

A painting of William Robertson Coe.


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On the left is Rogers, and on the right is their youngest child (and only daughter), Natalie. She was married in this room in 1934.


wife and daughter of coe

Paintings of Mai Huttleston Rogers Coe and her daughter, Natalie.


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Above the massive fireplace is a portrait of the three Coe boys: William, Robert, and Henry.


coe hall painting of sons

A painting of their sons.


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A docent told us it took $1.7 million annually — in 1927 dollars — to maintain Coe Hall. That’s around $31 million today.


windows coe hall

There were stained-glass windows throughout.


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There was another reading room set off the great hall. The shelves were filled with antiques and old books.


side room off living room coe hall

Another side room.


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The last viewable room on the first floor was this formal dining room.


dining room coe hall

The dining room.


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The main staircase felt straight out of a castle.


staircase coe hall

The stairway.


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This hallway led to three guest bedrooms and the Coes’ suites; there are nine bedrooms total.


guest room corridor coe hall

The second floor had all the bedrooms.


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This was the only guest room open for visitors. Each room has a walk-in closet and its own bathroom.


guest room at coe hall

A guest room.


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At the end of the hall were Coe and Rogers’ bedrooms and bathrooms.


upstairs corridor at coe hall

The hallway.


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This was Rogers’ bedroom. Like her salon downstairs, it is bright and airy.


mrs coe bedroom coe hall

Rogers’ bedroom.


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And no, that’s not wallpaper. This design was hand-painted onto the wall.


coe hall mrs coe bedroom

The art was intricate.


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The windows gave her a view of the gardens she painstakingly designed.


mrs coe bedroom

The chandeliers are all original to the time of the Coes.


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This is her bathroom. Once again, it’s very French.


mrs coe bathroom coe hall

Rogers’ bathroom.


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In addition to a bathtub, she had a needle bath. Jets of water came out from different points on the cage-like contraption.


mrs coe bathroom coe hall

A needle bath.


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Across the hall is her husband’s bathroom, where he had his own interesting contraption: an electric light cabinet, similar to an infrared sauna.


mr coe bathroom coe hall

Coe’s bathroom.


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Down the other hallway were the kids’ bedrooms. They were all closed, though, because Netflix filmed season three of “The Diplomat” at Coe Hall, and these rooms were used as storage.


kids room hallway coe hall

The kids’ rooms.


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Coming back down the stairs, I got another look at just how intricate and intentional every detail in the house was.


view coming down the stairs coe hall

The staircase.


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Now it was time to check out the much-revered grounds.


exterior of coe hall

Another view of Coe Hall.


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Right off the bat, this fountain caught my eye.


exterior of coe hall

The fountain.


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I also enjoyed this courtyard. The landscaping was by the Olmsted Brothers, who also designed Central Park and Oheka Castle.


exterior of coe hall

A courtyard.


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Near the house, there’s a small pond and a bench off a hidden path. It’s the perfect spot for quiet contemplation.


secret pond coe hall

A secret garden.


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But the main draws of the backyard are the Blue Pool Garden and the Tea House.


backyard and tea house

The backyard.


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Before the pool was here, this area was a tennis court. It took 16 workers to dig out 16,000 square yards of soil to build the sunken pool.


blue pool coe hall

The Blue Pool.


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At the end of the garden is the Tea House, which was built in 1906.


tea house coe hall

The Tea House.


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The exterior makes the Tea House look like something out of a fairytale.


exterior of tea house

The Tea House.


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Can’t you just hear someone saying, “Once upon a time…”?


bench on side of tea house coe hall

A bench outside the Tea House.


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Rogers entertained her friends in the Tea House on nice days.


inside of tea house

Inside the Tea House.


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It looks like the inside of a Tiffany’s box.


inside of tea house coe hall

Monochrome has been a popular trend for over 100 years.


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The other structure in this area of the park is the Playhouse, which was built so Natalie, the Coes’ daughter, could have a place to play house.


exterior of playhouse coe hall

The Playhouse.


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As we continued walking around the park, we came to this archway made of pine trees.


archway to get to main greenhouse

An archway leading to a greenhouse.


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Walking through it felt like walking through a storybook.


under the archway

Inside the tunnel.


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On the other side of the archway is the Main Greenhouse, built in 1914.


main greenhouse coe hall

The Main Greenhouse.


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This was originally called the Hibiscus House, but now it’s a mixture of tropical plants.


greenhouse coe hall

Inside the Main Greenhouse.


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One corner of the building was anchored by this giant palm tree.


inside main greenhouse coe hall

A palm tree.


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There were plenty of paths to walk down to get the full experience.


inside main greenhouse coe hall

Inside the Main Greenhouse.


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We then walked the Azalea Walk, one of 13 trails at the Planting Fields.


azalea walk coe hall

The Azalea Walk.


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That led us to the other greenhouse on-site, the Camellia Greenhouse, built in 1917.


camellia grenhouse

The Camellia Greenhouse.


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It has the largest collection of camellias under glass in the northeast.


camellia greenhouse

Inside the Camellia Greenhouse.


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However, camellia season is in January, so we missed it.


camellia greenhouse coe hall

Inside the Camellia Greenhouse.


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But there were still plenty of flowers and plants to check out in this greenhouse.


camellia greenhouse coe hall

Inside the Camellia Greenhouse.


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There are many more gardens to see at Coe Hall, including a rose garden, a hydrangea collection, and a dahlia garden.


gardens at coe hall

One of the many paths.


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Walking around Planting Fields and Coe Hall felt like stepping back in time and revealed the remarkable wealth of Gilded Age families. Any history buff should pay it a visit, if they can.


coe hall exterior

Coe Hall.


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