Courtesy of toptenrealestatedeals.com
In the 1960s and ‘70, the Bee Gees were rock ‘n’ roll royalty. Three brothers: Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb even rivaled the Beatles for a few years for record sales and popularity. The Long Island waterfront home where Robin lived in the 1970s and ‘80s is for sale. On almost seven acres, it was built in 1926 and named “Kenjockety,” which is Native American for “Far from Noise.” Robin’s former home is priced at $12.9 million.
Originally built as a wedding gift from lumber-magnate Arthur H. Fleming to his daughter, Marjorie, the home was designed by Bertrum Grosvenor Goodhue, who designed over 30 prominent Gothic and Spanish Colonial-style buildings in the early 1900s, including St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, the Chapel at West Point, the Nebraska State Capitol and the Rockefeller Library at the University of Chicago. Fleming spared no expense when it came to his daughter. From location to landscaping, not a detail was overlooked. Sited on a bluff on almost seven acres, Kenjockety has views of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor across Long Island Sound. Grounds contain a greenhouse, swimming pool, a one-bedroom cottage with a wood-burning fireplace, a large deep water dock designed for large yachts, and over 500-feet of beachfront. The beachfront is protected by a new seawall.
Purchased last in 2011 by its current owner, Kenjockety has undergone nine years of refurbishment at a cost of over $7 million, though never lived in by the latest owner. The interior has ten fireplaces, seven bedrooms, seven full baths and three half baths. As expected of grand houses of the era, rooms are large but still warm and inviting. The impressive foyer has a solid mahogany-coffered ceiling, marble-tiled floor and large fireplace. Both the formal living and dining rooms have wood-burning fireplaces and there is a winter garden room that opens from the living room. Loaded with character, two surprises are a hidden powder room in the bookcase of the library and a hidden built-in bar on the other side of the library with a sink and wine refrigerator. Walls throughout the structure have Venetian plaster, and wood used in all the rooms is mahogany, including the custom-closet systems. In addition to the public rooms, there is a third-floor home office, a game room, and a totally refurbished kitchen with a breakfast room. Like almost every room in the house, the kitchen breakfast room overlooks the gardens and water.
With roots in England and Australia, the Bee Gees hit it big in the late 1960s with songs such as “To Love Somebody,’ “Massachusetts” and “Holiday” but saw their popularity wane in the early 1970s. In 1975, they moved to Miami and relaunched the group with their new disco sound, made forever famous with their soundtrack for the movie Saturday Night Fever. One of the best-selling albums of all time, Saturday Night Fever won five Grammy Awards with songs including “Staying Alive” and “Night Fever.” After Maurice died in 2003, Barry and Robin continued to perform occasionally, both individually and as a duo, until Robin became ill. Robin was one of the many celebrities who have been drawn to the area, including Christie Brinkley, Billy Joel, Angelina Jolie and Jerry Seinfeld.
Listing agents for the Kenjockety estate are Bonnie Williamson and Lauryn Koke of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Photo credit: Tyler Sands, Sands Media House
Source: www.danielgale.com
