Seven to Save 2000

The A. Conger Goodyear House was constructed in 1938 by Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978), an internationally renowned American Modernist architect. The Goodyear House was designed with a flat roof and floor-to-ceiling glass walls, typical of the Modernist Movement, and with deep roof overhangs that were inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. It sits atop a hill and once overlooked a number of acres of the rolling Long Island countryside. However, with Long Island’s current real estate boom, the land is being privately developed for large residences, and the Goodyear House itself may be sacrificed for new construction.

Stone designed the Goodyear house for A. Conger Goodyear, president of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and a great collector of art. The house contains a compendium of signature devices incorporated a year earlier in his design for the 1937 MOMA building in mid-town Manhattan. Stone’s design provided a central gallery space for their collections. Stone also created the overhanging eaves of the roof to shade the glass walls from the summer sun.

In the late 1970s, the Goodyear family donated the property to the Long Island Institute of Technology for use as the President’s House. The Institute turned over ownership in 1997 to the Wheatley Construction Company, a Long Island development company. While building luxury housing on the property, workers from the construction company have been using the Goodyear House as their project headquarters. The house is in good condition; however the owner still plans to demolish it for additional new construction after the housing development is complete.

The Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (SPLIA) has been working with the construction firm, asking them to sell the Goodyear House to a buyer who would preserve the building. SPLIA has also been trying to notify potential buyers and others about the significance of the property.

"The house is an architecturally significant early masterpiece of Stone’s, and it is of enormous value to historians for its reflection of how European Modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright effected modern architecture in the United States," says Robert MacKay, Executive Director of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. "The building has not received the scholarship it clearly deserves, nor contemporary recognition. This masterpiece of domestic architecture was designed by the same man who created the Kennedy Center, the American Embassy in New Delhi, and 5 Columbus Circle in New York City."

According to Scott P. Heyl, President of the Preservation League of New York State, "The beauty and architectural significance of modern design is often difficult to communicate effectively to the general public. Because it belongs to the recent past, some don’t understand that it is still historic. This is especially true of buildings such as the Goodyear House, which was built in a starkly contemporary style only 62 years ago. But, now is the time to ensure the protection of these buildings, so that future generations can witness the changes in American history, culture and architecture."

Contacts:

Robert MacKay, Executive Director, Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 631-692-4664

Scott P. Heyl, President, Preservation League of New York State, 518-462-5658, ext. 19