Blast From The Past

Hi all! Hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July festivities. Just back from NY and from a short stay in my hometown of Glen Cove. I think one of my favorite things about Glen Cove, beside friends & family, is the history the town owns.

Founded in 1668, I was a child of six when the city celebrated its tri-centennial! I have been working on a project to preserve the city's photographic history as my father created many of them beginning as early as 1967. In my lifetime I have seen the city through many of its physical changes. As I look through negatives and slides I feel like I'm looking through family photos in a way. Although none of my family members are in the photographs, many memories are relived.

For those of you who are not familiar with Glen Cove, the city has a storied past. Glen Cove is the epicenter of Long Island's "Gold Coast" as Mansions, too many to count, were erected during the "Gatsby Era". Its residents have included the likes of J.P. Morgan, F.W. Woolworth, the Pratt brothers (Charles, George, Harold, Herbert and John), 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist, Howard Davis, Jr, Joe Namath, Billy Joel, Mel Gibson, Mike Piazza, and Roy Campanella, Telly Sevalas, Donald Sutherland, Ashanti and many other celebrities and dignitaries.

Glen Cove has been a host location to many movies including, both versions of Sabrina (1954 with Humphrey Bogart & Audrey Hepburn & 1995 with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond), Alfred Hitchock's North by Northwest (1959 with Carey Grant) Annie Hall (1977 with Woody Allen and Kiame Keaton), Hair (1979), Arthur (1981 with Dudley Moore and Liza Minneli), JP Morgan's private train station was the background setting for Tom Hanks and Shelly Long in The Money Pitt(1986), Hello Again (1987) Webb Institute (formerly the property of Herbert L. Pratt, the original estate was called The Braes) was used for Batman Forever (1995 with Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman), Sex and the City 2 (2010), and most recently, yesterday, USA's television series "Royal Pains" which used the Glen Cove Mansion (formerly the 1910 Estate of John and Ruth Pratt known as the Manor House) was filming scenes for an upcoming episode.

The photo included in this article was created by my father and mentor, J. Robert Mantler in January of 1969. The photo depicts the Manor House just after it was purchased by a group who renamed it the Harrison House Conference Center. Today, the Manor House has seen many renovations including expansive conference and guest rooms.

I know I got a little off tangent, however, it does lead me to the point of this blog; no matter how we take the simple day to day lives we lead, someone needs to document the events for us and for future generations to relive.  Although I now live and am creating new memories here in the Philadelphia area, it is because someone cared to preserve the past that I can relive the memories. Thanks Dad, Joel Davidson and to everyone else who records history through photographs.