"The Estates Of The North Shore

The Garden City Historical Society President Brian A. Pinnola, center, thanks residents and guests who attended the Society's lecture and book signing featuring local author Paul J. Mateyunas, left. Mateyunas is pictured here with staff members of Coach Realtors, which had underwritten the evening event: from left, Manager and Associate Broker Stephanie Cullum, Denise Wells, Herta Kapp, Cheryl McAuliffe, and Joanne K. Adams, who is also past president of The Garden City Historical Society.

The Garden City Historical Society recently welcomed author Paul J. Mateyunas to its Museum for an informative lecture and book signing of Mr. Mateyunas's new book, North Shore Long Island: Country Homes, 1890-1950. The lecture was graciously underwritten by Coach Realtors, 116 Seventh Street, Garden City, 746-5511. Historical Society guests were treated to light refreshments and hors d'oeuvres following the lecture.

Mr. Mateyunas's lecture and slide presentation took the Society's guests to the opulent North Shore mansions of the early Twentieth Century that were synonymous with society and grand scale living. The virtual tour featured mansions in many Nassau County communities, including Roslyn, Muttontown, Glen Cove, Oyster Bay, Brookville, Wheatley Hills, Sands Point and Woodbury. The tour also visited Old Westbury, one of the earliest communities settled by the estate families, the birthplace of American polo, and the heart of the region during the Golden Age, a fascinating period in our area's rich history. Mateyunas's 356-page book also includes exquisite photographs of the mansions, most now a part of history, and biographies of the architects of the day.

Schooled in the arts both in the United States and Italy, Mr. Mateyunas described his interest in the grand mansions and their interior furnishings from his early youth. He has become a noted North Shore historian whose expertise lies in art, design and architecture. His interest in preserving and educating people about Long Island's Country House era has led him to work as a restoration consultant and in real estate for Daniel Gale Sotheby's Inter-national Realty, Locust Valley, where he specializes in assisting his clients buy and sell old estates.

Mr. Mateyunas uses his knowledge of the Island's rich architectural and social past to write about local architecture for Elements magazine and as an author for Acanthus Press. He has been curator of several exhibitions and often lectures on the subject while finding time to fundraise for several nonprofits and charities of which he is an active sup-porter.