// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Vanderbilt Museum say to the art? "You're a valuable exhibit.

	William K. Vanderbilt Estate-Eagles Nest
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Location within New York Location within the United States
Location	180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, New York 11721
Coordinates	40°54′18″N 73°22′4″W / 40.90500°N 73.36778°W
Area	43 acres (17 ha)
Architect	Warren and Wetmore
Architectural style	Spanish Revival
MPS	Huntington Town MRA
NRHP reference No.	85002545 (original); 100006094 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 26, 1985
Boundary increase	February 2, 2021

The Vanderbilt Museum is located in Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Named for William Vanderbilt II (1878–1944), it is located on his former 43-acre (17 ha) estate, Eagle's Nest.

History

William K. Vanderbilt II's will provided for donation of his property to the county, with provision that the mansion and grounds be used for a museum for his marine, natural history, and ethnographic collections; the natural history institution was established during 1950. Developing a museum that interprets Vanderbilt's life, times, and collections, the county constructed a planetarium on the grounds during 1970.^[2]

Eagle's Nest began in 1910 as a small English cottage and was expanded over the next three decades into a 24-room Spanish Revival mansion designed by Warren and Wetmore.^[3] Since the 1930s the mansion and the museum has been home to what is probably the mummy of a young woman who was originally buried at Deir el-Bahari.^[4] She was originally purchased by Vanderbilt II in 1931 from an antiques shop located in Cairo.^[4]

The museum complex, operated by Suffolk County, includes the mansion with furnishings and fine art, a marine museum with marine and natural history specimens (butterflies, birds, shells, mammals and fish), a curator's cottage, a seaplane hangar, a boathouse, gardens, and a collection of ethnographic objects (firearms and swords, ship models, and European, Asian and African objects). The museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26, 1985.

Living history tours

Occasionally, the museum offers a "living history tour" of the museum. Acting in costume, the staff enacts a performance about the era of the Gold Coast socialites, drawing on information gleaned from Vanderbilt's personal journal and historical archives about other owners and workers. ^[5]

Planetarium

The planetarium opened in 1971. It became "the forerunner, the prototype of so many others that were subsequently built around this country,” said Mark Levine, director of the planetarium and associate professor of astronomy at Hofstra University.

In 2013, the planetarium reopened after a major renovation that replaced the roof, carpets, and seats; and upgraded the gift shop, lobby, ticket office, and other interior and exterior features. The planetarium includes a Konica Minolta GeminiStar III projector, full dome display projector, and surround-sound technology.^[6]^[7]

The planetarium features an observatory that is open to the public on Friday nights. The observatory has a 16" Meade LX200R, and utilizes a roll-off roof design.^[8]

Gallery

View toward the main house
Courtyard of the main house
View of the grounds and Northport Bay from the main house

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
↑ NYS Parks & Recreation (n.d.). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York MPS Vanderbilt, William K., Estate-Eagles Nest. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 29, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)
↑ "The Vanderbilt Mansion & Exhibits". Vanderbilt Museum. Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
1 2 Stout, David (November 1, 1995). "CAT Scan for 3,000-Year-Old Mummy". The New York Times. ProQuest 109506889.
↑ "Living History Tours: Time Machine Trip to 1930s Gold Coast". Vanderbilt Museum. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
↑ "The Planetarium". Retrieved December 5, 2012.
↑ Lederer, Tom (March 8, 1987). "Vanderbilt Museum Takes A New Path". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
↑ "Vanderbilt Space Observatory | Planetarium On Long Island, New York". Vanderbilt Museum. Retrieved April 13, 2024.

External links

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[nrhpdoc-2] NYS Parks & Recreation (n.d.). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York MPS Vanderbilt, William K., Estate-Eagles Nest. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 29, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)

[3] "The Vanderbilt Mansion & Exhibits". Vanderbilt Museum. Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum. Retrieved September 5, 2026.

[stout-4] 1 2 Stout, David (November 1, 1995). "CAT Scan for 3,000-Year-Old Mummy". The New York Times. ProQuest 109506889.

[5] "Living History Tours: Time Machine Trip to 1930s Gold Coast". Vanderbilt Museum. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.

[6] "The Planetarium". Retrieved December 5, 2012.

[7] Lederer, Tom (March 8, 1987). "Vanderbilt Museum Takes A New Path". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

[8] "Vanderbilt Space Observatory | Planetarium On Long Island, New York". Vanderbilt Museum. Retrieved April 13, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks New York City Outside New York City
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal

This page was redesigned at the edge.

A page that knows where it met you.