Woolworth Estate

When his current home was destroyed by a mysterious fire, Woolworth immediately went to work on building Winfield Hall, the plans for which were already drawn. With walls and pillars of marble, the house ended up costing nine million dollars, the grand staircase alone costing two million dollars.

The {{convert|32098|sqft|m2}} house is an Italian Renaissance style, marble covered residence with a five bay wide central mass and flanking four bay wide wings. It features a one bay central entrance portico and flat roof.{{cite web | url = https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ | title = Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)| publisher = New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation| format = Searchable database| access-date = 2016-06-01}} Note: This includes {{cite web | url = https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=30545&q=false | title = National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Woolworth Estate | access-date = 2016-06-01 | author = Ellen Rosebrock and Austin N. O'Brien| format = PDF| date=January 1979}} and [https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=30544&q=false Accompanying 15 photographs] After the Woolworths moved on, the house sat empty for years, and was purchased in 1929 by the wife of Richard S. Reynolds, of the R.S. Reynolds Metal Company fame. In 1945 work began to convert one two-story and basement structure into a research laboratory, corporate library and a 150-person auditorium. The new department was to be staffed by 150 technicians.{{cite magazine |magazine=Steel |volume=116 |issue=13 |date=26 March 1945 |title=Company Established Research Laboratory |page=144 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_industry-week_1945-03-26_116_13/page/144/mode/1up}} In 1963,{{cite web|url=https://untappedcities.com/2021/06/16/winfield-hall-woolworth-mansion/7/|title=The Secrets of Winfield Hall, the Woolworth Mansion in Glen Cove|date=16 June 2021 }} the house became the Grace Downs Academy, a business school for young ladies, then in 1978 was purchased by Martin T. Carey, brother to former Governor Hugh Carey of New York.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Part of the home was heavily damaged by fire on January 28, 2015.

Winfield Hall, like many other Long Island mansions, has ghostlore associated with it.{{cite book|title=Haunted Places: The National Directory : Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings, and Other Supernatural Locations|author=Hauck, D.W.|date=2002|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780142002346|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAK1p91zJEwC|page=295|access-date=April 8, 2015}} It is said that on the evening of May 2, 1917, as Edna Woolworth Hutton, Frank Woolworth's middle daughter, took her own life at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, while her father was at Winfield Hall hosting a party, a somewhat bizarre and unexplained incident occurred. Located above Winfield Hall's main entrance fireplace, the marble family crest, containing the painted faces of his three daughters, acquired a crack through the face of Edna,{{cite web|url=http://4girlsandaghost.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/haunted-long-island-winfield-estate/|title=Haunted Long Island: Winfield Estate | The Witching Hour|date=8 October 2011 |publisher=4girlsandaghost.wordpress.com|access-date=April 8, 2015}} leaving the two remaining faces, as well as the rest of the crest, untouched. A lightning bolt, the product of a severe thunderstorm, has been attributed as the cause of this crack. Shortly thereafter, stories of hearing strange noises in Winfield Hall, as well as reported observations of seeing a floating "spirit" wandering through the halls, began to circulate. Later, when Winfield Hall was being used as a business school for women, there were numerous reports of hearing a woman crying{{cite web|url=http://tatteberry.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/winfield-hall/|title=Winfield Hall | True ghost stories, folklore & mysteries|date=28 October 2008 |publisher=tatteberry.wordpress.com|access-date=April 8, 2015}} in the locked "Marie Antoinette" room, rumored to be the room where Edna Hutton had committed suicide, though her obituary states her death occurred elsewhere. Other people have reported hearing organ music{{cite web|url=http://limansionsguide.webs.com/winfield.htm|title=Winfield - Long Island Mansions Guide|publisher=limansionsguide.webs.com|access-date=April 8, 2015}} playing on its own, while detailed descriptions of seeing what appears to be the ghost of a young woman "haunting" the gardens have also been noted.

The estate was the setting for the promotional commercial of the professional wrestling video game, WWE 2K20, which depicted a cocktail party scene{{Citation|title=Go behind the scenes of the WWE 2K20 "Cocktail Party" commercial|url=https://www.wwe.com/videos/go-behind-the-scenes-of-the-wwe-2k20-cocktail-party-commercial|language=en|access-date=2019-08-24}} featuring various current and legendary WWE wrestlers, including the game's cover stars, Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/section/wwe-2k20/article/wwe-2k20-cover-superstar-becky-lynch-roman-reigns-announcement|title=Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns unveiled as WWE 2K20 cover Superstars|website=WWE|language=en|access-date=2019-08-24}}

Parts of the music video for Taylor Swift's Blank Space was filmed at the estate.{{cite magazine |last1=Spanos |first1=Brittany |title=Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' Director Details Interactive App |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swifts-blank-space-director-details-interactive-app-20141111 |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 2, 2024}}

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{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}

{{Gold Coast mansions}}

Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)

Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in New York (state)

Category:Houses completed in 1916

Category:Houses in Nassau County, New York

Category:Glen Cove, New York

Category:Woolworth family

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Oyster Bay (town), New York

Category:1916 establishments in New York (state)