Hempstead House was built in 1912 by financier Howard Gould. He sold it five years later to Daniel and Florence Guggenheim.
Daniel Guggenheim was the brother of Solomon Guggenheim, founder of the NYC museum, and Benjamin Guggenheim, who perished on the Titanic.
Hempstead House was part of 216 acres that the Guggenheims purchased as a summer home. It's now known as Sands Point Preserve.
Today, you can tour Hempstead House. This entryway, with its original 60-foot chandelier, is one of the focal points of the home.
Immediately to the left is what was once known as the Palm Court. The ceiling used to be entirely glass, giving it a greenhouse feel. The metalwork is all original to the Guggenheims' time.
Here's what the Palm Court looked like 100 years ago. In the bottom-right photo, the Guggenheims are pictured with Charles Lindbergh and one of the Wright brothers.
Directly behind the Palm Court is the summer living room, which provides a great view of the garden.
It also features the largest fireplace in the home.
Another photo on display shows what the room looked like in the 1920s. The now-open archways used to have French doors.
Next to the living room is the library, which has a window seat that looks perfect for lounging on.
The ornate ceiling in this room is original, with busts of Shakespeare and other scholars engraved into the plaster.
This room might be familiar to viewers of HBO's "The Gilded Age." It doubles as George Russell’s office on the show.
HBO really got the aesthetic down — Russell’s office essentially looks like this.
These doors, which were originally carved in Spain in the 16th century, lead to the billiards room.
The billiards room also has a luxurious window seat.
Across from the summer living room is the dining room. The stenciling along the tops of the walls is relatively new and was put there for a design showcase.
This is the separate servants' hallway. I learned that at its peak, Hempstead House had 16 servants living in the home, plus more in Castle Gould.
This is the door to the silver safe. When the US Navy vacated the home in 1967, they sealed it up, and it was only rediscovered in 2014.
This bathroom has been converted, but it used to be the servants' dining room.
We then headed upstairs, giving us another view of the impressive tower and chandelier.
We stopped at another ornate room. This was where guests were served breakfast.
Directly next to the breakfast room was another wood-paneled study.
Hempstead House has four floors, but we only saw two. This room used to be Mrs. Guggenheim's sitting room.
It has yet another perfect window seat.
This was her actual bedroom. It's now used as a bridal suite when weddings are held at Hempstead House.
Down the hall was Mr. Guggenheim's bedroom. Now, it's used by grooms during weddings held here.
It's also one of the only rooms with a private bathroom.
We stopped at one more guest room, which was more modest.
As the tour concluded, we were able to explore the gardens outside.
You might be wondering where the name Hempstead House comes from — it's because that's Hempstead Harbor in the distance.
Hempstead House is just one of many Gold Coast mansions on Long Island that would be interesting to any history buff, and definitely worth the $10 ticket.
