Old Westbury Gardens will get a face-lift after receiving thousands in grant money from the state to restore the grounds and repair the masonry.
The Preservation League of NYS and its program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts announced the 2024 Preserve New York grant recipients on Aug. 1. An independent panel selected 21 applicants in 17 counties across the state to receive support totaling $264,388. Old Westbury Gardens was among the accepted applicants and will receive about $15,396.
“Projects funded through Preserve New York often mark the beginning of bigger preservation efforts, and the League takes tremendous pride in helping to jump-start this important work,” Jay DiLorenzo, president of the Preservation League of NYS.
“We can’t wait to see how this year’s grantees tackle these projects and look forward to continuing to be a resource into the future. We are grateful for the continued partnership of the New York State Council on the Arts as well as the additional support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, which makes these grants possible,” he said in a statement on PreserveNYS.org.
Lorraine Gilligan, director of preservation at Old Westbury Gardens, said she is “pleased to be the recipient” of the 2024 Preserve New York grant. She said these awards are often referred to as “gateway grants” as they typically set the groundwork for subsequent funding. The projects on Long Island from this grant money are funded by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation through the Preservation League.
“Past Preserve NY grants have been the gateway documents that have opened the door to funding significant restoration projects throughout Old Westbury Gardens,” Gilligan said on PreserveNYS.org. “The support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has been critical to our success in preserving Old Westbury Gardens and making it a tourism anchor vital to the Long Island economy.”
The money will go towards the restoration of the gardens, including the reef pool, which was built in the late 1920s. Gilligan said the masonry did not have all the “expansion joints” it needed to react to hot and cold weather. This started the deterioration of the interior of the pool.
“It also really didn’t have an adequate circulation system,” Gilligan said. “So what would happen is that the water would become stagnant in the pool and then that would attract mosquitoes and other bio growth, which is not healthy, and we would have to clean the pool very frequently to keep it crystal clean.”
There is also water infiltration in the marble columns, which caused them to crack open. The main purpose of the project will be to determine the extent of deterioration, as well as to provide the gardens with data for a remediation program. The scope of repairs will address chronic water infiltration and masonry deterioration issues. The on-site assessment will include a limited visual assessment in accessible areas, with select excavation at the backside of the grotto wall to confirm existing, non-functional waterproofing and drainage systems.
“The existing condition report will address hazardous conditions in brick retaining walls adjacent to the Westbury House Service Wing designed by Horace Trumbauer in 1911,” Gilligan said. “The East Lake Grotto has suffered from the effects of hydrostatic pressure. This is a character-defining hardscape feature in the historic landscape that will require stabilization.”
Key features that will be evaluated include the West Grotto Wall, Grotto Tunnel, South Grotto Wall, South Service Wing Retaining Wall, and the North Service Wing Retaining Wall. The study will be conducted by the architectural preservation firm Jan Hird Pokorny and Associates. Gilligan said the data gathered in the evaluation will be the basis for creating a budget and pursuing funding.
