F. Scott Fitzgerald’s groundbreaking book The Great Gatsby is celebrating its 100th birthday this week, and we can’t help but reminisce on NYC’s influence on the classic tale.
Particularly right outside in Long Island, the area known as the “North Shore” or the “Gold Coast” served as huge inspiration to the namesake West Egg and East Egg neighborhoods in the book.
The coast is well known for its sprawling estates and grand mansions built during the Gilded Age and early 20th century, which became a playground for America’s wealthiest families (like none other than Jay Gatsby).
Industrial magnates like the Vanderbilts, Guggenheims, and Phipps constructed opulent homes that rivaled European palaces over the years, reflecting their immense wealth and influence.
“The Gold Coast” and The Great Gatsby
The relationship with Long Island’s small Roaring Twenties towns stems all the way back to the very beginning where F. Scott Fitzgerald himself lived in Great Neck, Long Island, from 1922 to 1924.
It was here that he found inspiration for The Great Gatsby, his masterpiece that explores themes of wealth, love, ambition, and the elusive American Dream.
The novel’s fictional settings—West Egg and East Egg—are directly modeled after real-life locations on Long Island’s North Shore.
West Egg represents Great Neck, where Fitzgerald himself lived among the nouveau riche who had made their fortunes in industries like entertainment and finance.
East Egg symbolizes Manhasset and Sands Point, home to families with old money who upheld traditional social hierarchies and values.
This divide between “new money” and “old money” a central theme to the novel’s plot, which then gets showcased frequently by the extravagant parties hosted by Jay Gatsby in the lavish mansions.
These very parties mirror the lavish gatherings held in Gold Coast mansions during the Roaring Twenties—a time when wealth was flaunted as a symbol of success. Combining the real-world dynamics into his fiction, Long Island’s Gold Coast forever will be immortalized by the personification of West & East Egg.
Gatsby’s Gold Coast mansions
Plenty of The Great Gatsby takes place in these grandeur estates, and they’re all inspired by real life mansions on Long Island’s Gold Coast.
Check them out below and how you can even visit them today!
Oheka Castle
Above all, Oheka Castle in Huntington, NY is said to have been the exact mansion that inspired Jay Gatsby’s.
The 127 room estate is the second-largest private residence in the United States and features a grand staircase inspired by the Château de Fontainebleau in France, along with formal French gardens designed by the Olmsted Brothers.
Back in the 1920s, it served as a frequent party spot amongst society’s most elite company, and seemed to fit the bill as a symbol of wealth and ambition that embodied the famous character.
Today, the estate serves as a hotel and event venue, where visitors can spend the night, take mansion tours, or even get married.
🏠 Learn more about Oheka Castle
Old Westbury Gardens
Fictionally, on the other side of the sound (where Daisy Buchanan’s green light sits at the dock) is Old Westbury Gardens.
This magnificent estate with 173 acres of gardens, temples, and ponds is said to have been the home that inspired Tom and Daisy Buchanan.
The “cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion” that Fitzgerald describes it as in the book completely fits the description here, and the opulent furnishings and English antiques and artwork offer that “old money” vibe that is synonymous with East Egg.
Nowadays, the estate is open to the public for mansion tours, events, and movie filming.
🏠 Learn more about Old Westbury Gardens
Hempstead House
While less directly tied to an individual character’s residence, the grandeur estate that is the Hempstead House to this today remains as one that inspired the book.
It’s a Tudor-style mansion that oozes with Jazz Age opulence, even boasting a walnut-paneled library and Palm Court.
With its towering granite and limestone exterior, vaulted ceilings, and lavish interiors filled with European antiques, Hempstead House mirrored the wealth and sophistication of East Egg society as depicted in the novel.
Visitors can strut the premises via guided walking tours nowadays, and there’s plenty of Gatsby feel to go around.
🏠 Learn more about Hemstead House
Mill Neck Manor
Also not directly referenced in The Great Gatsby necessarily, Mill Neck Manor is yet another extravagant luxury mansion that inspired Fitzgerald’s depiction of East Egg society.
The Tudor Revival-style mansion overlooks the Long Island Sound (which maybe inspired the Daisy’s green light on the dock) and features European-imported fireplaces, rare wood paneling sourced from England, and other details that resemble old-money families like Tom and Daisy Buchanan.
Today, Mill Neck Manor serves as a historic site and event venue, hosting fundraisers such as its annual “Great Gatsby at The Manor” gala. These events celebrate the Jazz Age with period-themed décor, music, and costumes, allowing visitors to experience the glamour of the 1920s firsthand!
🏠 Learn more about Mill Neck Manor
Travel Tips To Get To “West Egg and East Egg”
There are a few ways to get out to Long Island’s Gold Coast and browse the towns that inspired West Egg and East Egg.
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By Car: Driving is the most convenient way to navigate the Gold Coast, as many estates and attractions are spread out. Try taking the Queensboro Bridge into Long Island, as Nick Carraway does in the novel, for a memorable entrance.
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By Train: The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) provides easy access from Manhattan to key towns like Great Neck and Manhasset (West Egg and East Egg). From there, taxis or buses can take you to nearby mansions and preserves.