An Abandoned Farmhouse On Long Island Sat Untouched For Forty Years
Every house has a story to tell. Some houses greet guests and families with those stories on a day-to-day basis. Others sit untouched for years, waiting for their stories to finally be told. The house you're about to learn about had to wait 40 years for someone to listen.
The person who finally heard the story of this incredible farmhouse was Bryan Sansivero. He was given special permission to enter the abandoned house and document its history. What he found will transport you back to a completely different time.
The Community Didn't Even Know About The House
Bryan Sansivero, who specializes in photographing abandoned places, was surprised that the farmhouse was so well-concealed from the public eye. The long path leading up the home tucks it away from any curious eyes.
"It's amazing how hidden the home was. It was surrounded by a busy community," he shares. "Many people here had no idea the house even existed." He also says that this site felt more like stepping back into time than any other house he's explored.
A Once-Impressive Facade, Now Crumbling
A combination of environmental exposure and long-term neglect has left the once-impressive Victorian home in a serious state of decay. Here, we see the front of the main farmhouse, which was built in 1860. The roof is sagging badly and one of the home's columns now lies on the ground.
The nine-acre property also includes a smokehouse, a garage, a privy, a milk house, a horse barn, and carriage house, a sheep barn, and four smaller barns. Sansivero says, "I hope that my pictures can in some way help contribute to the restoration of such a beautiful and historically significant home."
The House Was Built Before The Civil War
The farmhouse is located in the hamlet of Commack in Suffolk County, New York. Commack is a "census-designated place" that was named by the Secatogue Native Americans who used to live there. Covering a total of 12 square miles, Commack is known for its fertile soil and wooded lands.
Today nearly all of the area is suburbanized, which makes the Marion Carll Farm site that much more unique. The farmstead dates all the way back to 1701, with the house being constructed just before the beginning of the Civil War.
Years Of Neglect Took Their Toll, But The Home Is Full Of Treasures
Sansivero photographed the Marion Carll Farmstead on multiple occasions, with access granted by the local school district and board. He says, "each time I visited I would uncover more items and many priceless antiques."
The house seemed to contain layer upon layer of valuable pieces of history. They've all been removed from the property now, but these rare photographs remind us of how the house looked after sitting abandoned for so many years.
Marion Carll Wasn't Just Any Old Homeowner
Who was Marion Carll? She was a pillar of the community and a well-respected local teacher. She formed the area's very first PTA and a local grammar school was named for her in 1957.
Since education was such an important part of Carll's life, it made sense that she left her property to the Commack School Board and District, with the stipulation that it would only be used for educational and historical purposes. These embroidered shoes sitting on a bed were probably Carll's.
Carll Attempted To Preserve The Past
As a history enthusiast, Marion Carll wished to preserve as much of the farmhouse's 19th-century character as possible and never made much of an effort to update the home to modern standards. As a result, the site is full of vintage antiques and relics of the past.
"Even though it's been abandoned since 40 years ago when Marion Carll passed, it appeared as if she was living in another century completely," says Sansivero.
The Property Has Ties To Walt Whitman
Here is a pile of family photos documenting the lives of the Carll family. A book about local history, Huntington's Hidden Past by Kerriann Flanagan Brosky, revealed some interesting information about the family's property:
"The land on which the farm stands, off Commack Road, was originally inhabited by members of the Secatougue Indian tribe. According to a deed of record from 1698, the Indians conveyed the parcel of land to John Skidmore and John Whitman, great-great-great grandfather of poet Walt Whitman."
Danger On The Stairs
Here we see the main staircase, which must have been a grand sight when the house was constructed in 1860. There is another stairway in the home that leads to the basement. The other flight of stairs was not in such good condition, reports Sansivero.
"We were only in the basement once and I did not get any pictures of it. The stairs collapsed as we were going back up," he says. Old abandoned buildings, while beautiful, can be very dangerous to explore.
A Breathtaking Find In The Parlor
If not for the accumulated dust and debris, this room looks just like it did when Marion Carll lived in the house. This ornately carved piano must have played some beautiful music over the years.
Before technology brought about the radio and other means of playing music, instruments like the piano were a big part of domestic recreation and social life. Families would gather around to listen and sing along, as someone entertained the household with their musical talents.
Assortment Of Historical Objects
Various glass bottles sit atop many pieces of furniture in the house. Vintage bottles like these are now snapped up by collectors hoping to own an unusual piece of the past. Some contained medicine, and others contained common household staples like the large bottle of olive oil.
The blue booklet at left reads: "Program of the Thirty-Third Annual Sea Girt Interstate Tournament." This competition was put on by the Association of American International Riflemen. The 33rd event would have taken place in 1926.
Frozen In Time
This cobweb-covered alarm clock has hands that are frozen in time at 2:54. Next to it rests a glass bottle that once held C. C. Parsons' Household Ammonia, a popular household cleaner.
Vintage treasure hunters hoping to investigate the Carll homestead for themselves are out of luck. After Sansivero documented these artifacts, the house was emptied. "The valuables have been cleared out now, and both security and cameras keep watch on it 24/7," he says.
Cage Crinolines Line The Attic Storage Room
Not only does the farmhouse have a basement, but it also has storage areas in the attic. There are beds in here too, indicating that this room was also used for sleeping -- possibly for household staff.
The walls have several steel cage crinoline petticoats hanging from special hooks on the wall. This style of underskirt became extremely popular throughout Europe and North America after first being patented in April of 1856. These appear to be in great condition given their age.
Still Life Portrait From The Past
The artificial flowers in this domestic arrangement have held up well over the years, their colors still vibrant and cheerful. A teacup rests next to the flowers as if waiting for someone to reach over and take a sip.
The upholstered furniture here hasn't endured as well, although it looks like it was once a comfy place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea. It's scenes like this that caused photographer Bryan Sansivero to say, "More than any other house I've explored, this one felt completely like stepping back in time."
The Desk Of A Lifelong Educator
This was likely Marion Carll's desk. Born in the farmhouse in 1885, she attended a one-room schoolhouse when she was young. Carll attended high school in Jamaica, Queens, before moving back to Commack and working in education for the rest of her career.
She frequently invited students to come visit the farm in order to learn about local history and farm life. A Commack grammar school was renamed the Marion E. Carll School in 1957. As we know, Carll generously bequeathed the farm to the Commack School District.
Multiple Outbuildings On The Site
There are multiple buildings on the nine-acre farmstead, including a privy (outhouse), a garage, smokehouse, milk house, carriage house, horse barn, sheep barn, and four additional smaller barns.
This is the interior of one of the barns. Bryan Sansivero says that the antique farm equipment in the building helped to show the property's history as a working farm. In Marion Carll’s will, she specifically requested that all the farm’s outbuildings be maintained "as historical museums."
What Was Kept In This Safe?
A locked safe can arouse curiosity about its contents, and this old one from the past is no different. It was manufactured by Cincinnati-based Hall's Safe Company, founded in the 1800s.
This one is etched with the name "A.J. McCarthy, D.D.S." and an online search indicates that he was a faculty member at the University of Buffalo's Department of Dentistry. It's not clear how the safe ended up on the farmstead.
Fireplaces Throughout The Home
As was common in homes built in the days before central heating and cooling were available, the Carll residence had fireplaces in multiple rooms. Many of them are still in great condition, such as this marble fireplace in a sitting room.
The fireplace would have provided a warm welcome to the person who sat in this corner, reading a book or chatting with company on a cold winter's night. If not for the wallpaper peeling from the walls, this is probably a pretty good idea of how the room looked in Carll's time.
"History... Just Lying Around Everywhere"
Sansivero says, "this particular house stood to me out because of the history that was just lying around everywhere.” Every room held a new treasure to discover like this blue-and-white China set still in remarkably good condition.
There are several other artifacts in this kitchen scene, such as an oil-burning lamp and a tea kettle. The ceiling in this room has decayed and is now falling in, appearing ready to collapse completely.
Some Parts Of The Farmhouse Were Better Preserved Than Others
We saw an attic room earlier, and now here's a hallway that’s also located on the top level of the house. This area of the home was probably used for storage and as living accommodations for the household staff.
Entire chunks of the ceiling have come down, the walls are stained, and debris covers the floor. Although it’s quite a mess, this long-disused hallway holds many clues to the past.
A Closer Look At Another Fireplace
In this room, a woman in a dress peers out from a portrait, perched above a well-preserved fireplace mantle. Two additional portraits adorn the walls: one of a child hanging to the left, and one featuring a child and dog on the right.
A teacup rests on the mantle as if it was just placed there by someone in passing. This photo also offers a glimpse of some lamp cords, electricity being one of the few modern conveniences enjoyed by Ms. Carll during her years here.
On The National Register Of Historic Places
Despite the property's state of decay, the Marion Carll Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. There are more than one million properties on the National Register.
To be considered for inclusion, a property has to meet at least one of four criteria: it must make a contribution to the major pattern of American history, be associated with significant people of the American past, have distinctive architectural characteristics, or be "likely to yield information important to prehistory or history."
Old Photos Offer Historical Clues
These photographs of the Carll family give us a closer look at the people who called the farmstead home. Although unidentified, their clothing makes it clear that they were well-to-do.
"Going through many photographs and documents gave us glimpses into the family's history, and how they lived in the past," says Sansivero. These precious artifacts were spread out across a table in one room of the house, and are now safely stored off premises.
Old-Fashioned Charm
According to the Marion Carll Preserve, a non-profit organization that aims to "restore and sustainably manage Ms. Carll's gift in perpetuity while honoring the conditions of her will," the only modern utilities on the property are electricity, oil heating, and two bathrooms.
This photo shows an ewer and its base on a bedroom dressing table. These items were used to store water and to wash in when running tap water was unavailable. Ms. Carll's home truly is a peek into the past.
Farm Transportation
Here's another shot of one of the Carll farm's many outbuildings. This one shows a sleigh and a wagon, which would have been pulled behind a horse. There's also a wooden plow in the foreground, to the left of the sleigh.
Like the other equipment found in the barn, these historic relics of transportation offer an intriguing look at how the various outbuildings would have been used on a working farm.
Reflecting On The Past
Long before home makeover television shows turned America on to putting shiplap wall paneling everywhere, clapboard was commonly used to cover walls. Clapboard was usually made of split oak, and in New England, it was typically hung vertically, as we see here in one of the Carll home's washrooms.
Only the house knows all the things that have been reflected in this gold-framed mirror over the years -- a secret it will never be able to share.
Before Clothing Was Store-Bought
Here is Ms. Carll's sewing machine, exactly where she left it. Since the property houses several barns, it's likely that the wool pictured here was harvested from one of the farm's own sheep.
Ms. Carll appears to have been an avid clothing maker, given some of the dress forms found throughout the property. We also see another lamp with an electrical cord. This would have allowed Carll to continue her sewing past nightfall.
Humphrey's '30' Tonic
Empty glass bottles of medicines and household cleaners are situated throughout the house. This close-up shot of a fireplace mantle shows a bottle containing a medicine called "Humprey's 30." The label indicates that the tonic was used for “simple disorders of the bladder and bedwetting.”
The company, based in New York City, also manufactured a Tonic #6 for Cholera, a Homeopathic Veterinary Remedy for animals with indigestion, and many other concoctions.
A Trove Of Reading Material
It's natural that an educator and historian like Marion Carll would have been an avid reader. There are several bookcases throughout the home. This case is made of crates that once held "Splendor Sunkist Oranges" from the San Fernando Heights Orange Association in San Fernando, California.
We see a well-used dictionary, a book about government, one called Modern Europeans, and many more. Most of them appear to be in fairly good shape considering their environment.
Take A Closer Look At The Bottles
A close look at this assortment of vintage glass bottles shows something surprising: one of them held Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, a product still available today! It’s used to treat constipation, heartburn, nausea, upset stomach, and general indigestion.
The phrase "milk of magnesia" was first used in 1872, by an English pharmacist named Charles Henry Phillips. His sons ran the company for a few years after his death, but the brand name has been owned by Bayer since 1995.
Another Rare Electric Convenience
We've seen that Ms. Carll had electric lighting in her home, and here’s another rare modern amenity she kept: a table-top fan. It rests here on a console table in front of badly stained wallpaper, most likely in a hallway.
There are also some books and a newspaper in this scene. The larger green book is titled Dogs for Profit by Rowland Johns and Leonard Taylor, and the other is called The Basics of Breeding, with the single name Whitney listed as the author.
For more photos from Bryan Sansivero, visit his official website www.bryansansivero.com.
Curio Cabinet Just Filled With Antiques
Here's a larger shot of the clock and bottle scene we saw earlier. This curio cabinet is covered in a variety of interesting antiques. There are a ceramic horse and a rabbit here, and lots of medicine bottles. Most of their labels are too disintegrated to read, unfortunately.
The bottom shelf holds some maps and wooden crates, including one labeled "Kirkman's." The smaller bottles seen in these crates might have held spices such as salt and pepper.
An Avid Seamstress
This blouse on a shirt form and the box containing spools of thread were found in the home's master bedroom, which is where Ms. Carll slept. She appears to have been a very good seamstress based on the clothing and sewing equipment found throughout the house.
The shirt, although stained from years of exposure, contains extensive embroidery work and detailing -- clearly not the work of a novice tailor. Perhaps Ms. Carll herself wore the blouse.
The Dining Room
Here, we see the home's dining room, still completely furnished. There's a china hutch to the left, Ms. Carll's desk, some extra chairs, and the dining table which is covered with artifacts.
The modern garbage can off to the right indicates that someone might have been trying to clean up the home, or perhaps it was placed there to catch water from one of the ceiling's many leaks. The property is completely closed to the public, so it would have been brought there by someone with official access to the home.
Surrounded By History
Ms. Carll's love of history carried over into her everyday life. The issue of The Northport Journal dated Thursday, March 30, 1952, included this recounting of an event hosted by her at the farmstead.
The "Tercentenary meeting of the Commack Committee was held Thursday evening with Miss Marion Carll. Many interesting antiques were displayed and the conversation on old time events was greatly enjoyed." She was also known to host local schoolchildren for demonstrations on history and farming.
More About The Carll Family
According to Preservation Long Island, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting the area's cultural legacy, this photo of Marion Carll dates to the 1950s. The organizations' website provides this additional information about Carll and her family.
"The Carll family has family deep roots on Long Island, including ties to Sagitikos Manor, which Marion's ancestor, Timothy Carll, purchased from the Dutch colonial Van Cortlandt family in 1706; ownership of Sagtikos Manor eventually passed to the Thompson family of Setauket, then the Gardiner family, while the Carlls continued to be prominent members of communities in and around the Huntington area."
Nominated As An "Endangered Historic Place" In 2011
In 2011, the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities listed four sites on its annual list of endangered historic places. The Carll Farmstead was one of them. Robert C. Hughes is the historian of Huntington, near Commack. He nominated the site, and had this to say about the historic property in a New York Times article.
"It's a wonderful time capsule not only because of the collection of buildings but also because of their contents. Attention must be paid to this property, and money must be raised."
The Farm's Future
The Commack district's director of community relations, Debbie Virga, says that the Marion Carll Farm committee has been meeting with the school board and local residents to discuss ways to preserve the historic home. Virga says that Commack is lacking open spaces and that the farm would be ideal as a public park.
Cynthia Clark is a member of another group working to save the Carll Farm. She told a local news outlet, News12, that she worries that some of the proposals being presented "may not preserve its historic nature according to Marion Carll's wishes." Clark's proposal "includes a working organic farm, an education center and making the farm a restored historic site."
The Huntington Historical Society
People who are interested in learning more about Marion Carll, her family, or their amazing historic property, can visit the nearby Huntington Historical Society. The Society houses two volumes of books containing historical information about the Carlls.
According to the organization's website, "Edwin L. Soper (1917-1990) collected information about local families and their allied lines. He donated copies of his material on a regular basis and upon his death the remainder of his material was donated to the Resource Center." Soper bequeathed both books about the Carlls to the Society.
The Huntington Historical Society Owns A Historic Sewing School
Huntington, New York, near Commack, is the site of one of the country's earliest vocational schools: the Huntington Sewing and Trade School. It taught sewing and housekeeping lessons to young women, and also taught trades to local young men. Perhaps the school, which was built in 1905, helped to inspire Ms. Carll to sew.
In 2017, the building was renovated thanks to assistance from philanthropist Doris Buffett, the sister of financier Warren Buffett. It now serves as the archival facility for the Huntington Historical Society.
Marion Carrl's Legacy
The hamlet of Commack was growing rapidly in the early 1960s, and the school bearing Ms. Carll's name was closed. But as noted in the local paper Smithtown Matters, her legacy did not end with the school's closing.
Her "legacy was not the Marion Carll School, her legacy was community involvement, commitment to education, love of Commack, its residents, and the Marion Carll Farm," reports the paper. "It was in this spirit that Marion Carll left her farm and its cherished possessions to the Commack School District."
For more of Sansivero's photos, please visit his Instagram page. And read on for another mysterious abandoned home that he photographed, this one in New York City.
How Does An Abandoned Mansion Remain Fully Intact And Completely Filled With Mystery In New York City?
New York City is one of the most populated cities in America with over 8.5 million residents. You would think that as skyscrapers are built up and rent prices skyrocket to accommodate the quarter-million people who move there each year, there isn't any room for secrets. Where would they hide? From deep inside the cavernous subway tunnels (which are constantly under construction) to the tippy top of the Empire State, there's seemingly not an inch of the five boroughs that have gone unexplored.
Not a whole lot is known about this abandoned mansion just a few miles outside of the bustling heart of Times Square, yet it remains almost entirely untouched. Photographer Bryan Sansivero made his way through the abandoned property and delivered a collection of beautifully haunting images.
Photographer Bryan Sansivero Unlocked The Mystery Behind This Abandoned Home
This mansion would still be lying unknown, unseen and decaying just outside of Manhattan if it wasn't for the New York-based photographer Bryan Sansivero. Sansivero specializes in capturing scenes of urban decay, focusing mostly on abandoned buildings. In 2008, he shot an award-winning movie about a crumbling psychiatric ward in Kings Park, New York called Shadows of Kings Park.
The film showcased what he does best – making people pay attention to things that have been long forgotten. Sansivero managed to gain access to the 57-room mansion and photographed the interior.
This 57-Room Mansion Has Been Abandoned For 40 Years
The expansive mansion is a crumbling relic of an era. After being built in the late 1930s, it was last inhabited in the 1970s. That was over 40 years ago. No one knows why the original owners of the property left or why no one else has moved in.
The mansion expands across 57 rooms with an indoor tennis court and bowling alley. It's in a prime location, and the perfect type of property to transform into a hotel (and make some serious bucks), yet it's been left to decay.
The Current Owner Likes To Watch Grand Properties Crumble
This gorgeous mansion was certainly grand in its heyday. Who lived there and what they did for a living to afford or need a 57 room household remains a mystery, but we do know it was at some point, well taken care of. While it may appear abandoned now (and in quite a hurry, at that), the property does have an actual owner.
According to reports, the mansion is owned by an unnamed wealthy property owner who regularly buys large mansions and leaves them to deteriorate. The owner has apparently purchased a number of lavish homes and left them all to rot.
The Mansion Rests On A Six Acre Estate
It's not just the interior of this sprawling mansion that is impressively gigantic. Though the actual home boasts 57 rooms, the mansion stands on six entire acres of property. The mansion is almost like an entire city wrapped up in a neat, little box.
There are a bowling alley and indoor tennis court, but if sports aren't your thing, the home allegedly had two bars and a private library. It's almost as if whoever lived there never needed a reason to leave. Perhaps they didn't, except for the very first (and last) time.
Whoever Lived In The Mansion Left In A Hurry
Nothing about this gorgeous, sprawling mansion seems like it was sold the normal way. There's something so utterly suspicious about the way it was left behind. Whoever originally lived in the estate left in an absolute hurry. Perhaps the original owners died suddenly in an accident leaving the home to be auctioned off.
Maybe they were running from the law. No one will ever know, but the home is preserved almost completely intact with closets full of shoes and clothing. Children's toys and furniture are left in places or scattered throughout the home like the owners didn't have time to pick up after themselves.
At Least One Woman Lived In This Home
There's not a whole lot we can deduce about the former inhabitants of this home, but we do know at least one woman lived here because she left nearly her entire shoe collection in the bedroom. Based on the type of shoes she wore, we can guess that she didn't do much physical activity, and had a very conservative style.
Her shoes are mostly slingback kitten heels in muted color like nudes and grays, save for a pair of green sling-backs and colorful, heeled peep-toes. There's not a sneaker in sight, we're guessing she didn't use the indoor tennis court too often. It's also likely she had children.
What Happened To The Children Who Lived In The Home?
We know a woman lived in the mansion, but she also may have been a mother. The interior is littered with things only a child would own like baby dolls and other toys. In the foyer, by a large spiral staircase, a vintage baby carriage in near-mint condition rests abandoned.
This leads us to believe there were multiple children in the home: a baby and younger children, perhaps of toddler age. The children had to be old enough to play with dolls and at least crawl around to leave their toys about the living room.
One Of The Children Was School-Aged and Enjoyed Golf
Though we know that this was home to multiple children, with one being a baby, we also know one of the children was school-aged. This image appears to show a boarding school trunk. It was typical for wealthy families to send their school-aged kids off to boarding school rather than attending public school.
This child also probably enjoyed playing a few rounds of golf with pops because this photo shows a carrying case for golf clubs. Of course, an abandoned home wouldn't be complete without a creepy painting of a child. Was this perhaps a portrait of the little boy who used to live here?
Were Some Of The Children Home-Schooled?
Images from this forgotten home show that maybe when these kids weren't at boarding school, they were homeschooled. It was quite a large house, so there was a room for almost everything. This room shows three child-sized desks that are typical in modern school rooms.
There's even a small antenna TV and alarm clock. Paint from these walls is slowly chipping off, exposing numerous paint jobs, from white to cream to a grayish color. Was the mother of this home a strict mom who made her kids study when they were home from boarding school? Was she their teacher?
The Library Still Has All Of The Shelves Filled With Books
The family who lived in this home didn't have time to pack up their books before they left, but they were definitely avid readers. If that wasn't evident from the schoolroom, which definitely shows that the family places high importance on education, it's evident in the library. In the private library, books fall off the shelves and rest on an ornate desk.
There's also a couch so family-members could read in comfort. Over the years, some of the books have lost their pages, which sprawled across the floor, but the room's wood paneling is still pristine.
The Ballroom Was Left Almost Completely Intact
Though the mansion rests just a few miles outside one of the busiest cities in the world, it's been almost completely untouched by trespassers. There's an odd bit of graffiti here and there, but hardly a single portion of this property has been defaced or destroyed by anything other than age.
In fact, this giant, sun-filled room is almost in pristine condition save for a tiny spot of graffiti, chipping paint and a cracked mirror. The family even left the opulent blue rugs, the floral window-toppers, curtains, expensive grand pianos and a suitcase perched atop a couch. Did they not have enough time to pack?
This Indoor Tennis Court Is Now Resting Space For Garbage
The home's indoor tennis court is perhaps one of the most stunning pieces of the property. The entire ceiling is covered with gigantic, expansive windows that let in tons of natural light. It's as close as you can get to being outside but still having the temperature controlled (New York winters can be fierce, but the owners of this house wanted to play tennis year-round).
Though this giant tennis court was probably frequently used and well-maintained, it's become a home for junk rather than a place of entertaining. Old tables, fans, and debris from the crumbling walls litter the room. There's even an abandoned car, turning this space into a regular old junkyard.
The Home Is A Time Capsule For Victorian Design
Though the 1930s were synonymous with art deco and the '70s were known for gaudy shag carpets and brown-tones, the mansion's owners favored Victorian interior design. This is evident from the furniture and accents in this crumbling room.
Victorian design was favored in the mid-1800s to early 1900s, and marked by bold prints, dark patterned wallpaper, ornate details and rich jewel tones. It also often contained elements of the Gothic Revival like the arched shelving or decorative pillars in this photo. The gold finish and ornate carvings in this room's trophy cases also give a nod to Victorian design, which is a unique choice for a family in the 1970s.
The Home Has Been Decorated Through The Ages
The owners of this home probably lived here a long time, and the property was probably kept in the family from the '30s all the way to the '70s. This is evident in home's interior design. Though many of the rooms reference Victorian Design, this photo of chairs pretty much shows design through all of the eras.
There are bamboo chairs which mark the '30s and '40s art deco movement. There's curved, ornate wood detailing showcasing Victorian style. There's the bold colors of the '50s and '60s midcentury modern, and the mustard and brown-tones typical of '70s style.
The House Is Not Immune To The Elements
In this stunning photo, we see a rocking horse. It was likely favored by one of the toddlers who frolicked around the home. The horse rests between two vintage couches that are deteriorating because the house is still subject to the elements.
Though a curtain still covers the large window to the right, it's not enough to stop the chilling New York winter from creeping into the home. The floor is covered with a sheet of snow, which reminds us that eventually, nature will take back the property unless someone steps in to shut it out.
The Owners Of This Home Were Quite Musical
Back in the 1930s when this property was built, television was new. In fact, it was invented less than a decade prior and by the '70s most families enjoyed sitting in front of the tube watching nightly programming. Unlike most Americans, the owners of this house hardly had a TV in sight (though there was just one, which we'll get to later).
Instead, there's an abundance of musical equipment. The ballroom has two grand pianos (one is pretty standard for a mansion, but two means someone in the family definitely played). There are also what appear to be accordions in one living space, and a smaller keyboard, speaker and record player in a different room.
The Fireplace Shows Expensive Paintings And Furniture Left To Decay
The creepiest part of this mansion was how quickly the owners appeared to have left. This room, which shows no evidence children has not one, but two TVs (if you look closely there's a screen all the way to the left). There's no fancy, comfy couch for kids to sit and watch, which leads us to believe this is where the adults enjoyed their programming.
Expensive-looking chairs are placed in viewing distance near the fireplace, which was probably way more effective at heating a room of that size than a regular heating system. Heating was probably a challenge in the winter considering the home's size and it probably was extremely expensive (not that you're counting pennies if you live in a house this big).
A Player Piano Sits Abandoned Next To A Chair
Player pianos are a rare sight in 2017, but even in the '70s, they were exceedingly unpopular. In fact, sales for these instruments peaked in 1924 and the stock market crash of 1929 nearly wiped out their entire production. The player piano is a relic of a time where electrical amplification didn't exist.
Clearly, the owners of this home did have electrical amplification, as is evident with their TV sets and record players. This was likely an heirloom passed down in the family or perhaps this home was owned by an older individual or number of families who lived there for generations from when it was built in the 1930s to the 1970s.
Why Did The Owners Leave So Suddenly?
The owners of this home up and left, but not before trying to renovate the property. Snapshots of the interior show a ladder left standing and sheets protecting the floor from the paint. Perhaps the owners first tried to repair the property before selling it and decided the renovations just weren't worth it. Maybe the new owners bought the property after the original owners left in a hurry attempted to renovate it, and decided it just wasn't worth the cost.
Maybe someone got bankrupt right in the middle of it all, as a mansion of this size takes millions and millions to upkeep. We'll probably never know the real story behind why it was mysteriously left in the condition it's in. For more of Sansivero's photos, please visit his Instagram page.