A new book featuring some of Long Island’s well-known communities from their early years of development will be released next month.
Edited by Long Island native Dr. Robert B. MacKay, “Gardens of Eden: Long Island’s Early Twentieth-Century Planned Communities” explores the rapid suburban development that impacted the region during the early 1900s.
MacKay said the idea for the book came from his findings in a previously published work about Long Island country houses from 1860-1940.
“There was a new dream for city dwellers to live in the country but also work in the city,” MacKay said. “Along with developments of things like the East River tunnels and 59th Street Bridge, that caused a tremendous number of projects for communities to the area.”
The book features local communities such as Great Neck Estates, Plandome, Munsey Park, and Kensington, and stretches out to areas as far as Montauk and the Hamptons.
Sargent Russell, who co-wrote the chapters on Great Neck with his wife Ellen Fletcher Russell, said the book helps people connect to the history of their communities.
“You don’t see the line between now and then,” Russell said. “You just see old houses and new houses and drive by. But there is something more that is there.”
MacKay added that Long Island was a hot spot when it came to real estate at the time, though developers were a little skeptical.
“Long Island was unbelievably hot in terms of real estate,” MacKay said. “But take Dean Alvord, who developed Roslyn Heights, for example, who was so nervous that his clientele would be nervous about the area so he waited until after he started the development to tell them where it was.”
According to Russell, the book is more than a story of the construction of houses but rather the vision of developers to create credible communities.
“The whole book is very engaging and it turns your mind to the understanding that these towns have personality,” Russell said. “They were created by men with a vision when it was not easy to do and today they are still admired and successful.”
“Gardens of Eden” is available for pre-order on Amazon or on publisher W.W. Norton’s website and will be released on Sept. 14.
