To the casual passerby, 2 Bay Avenue is simply an elegant Larchmont Manor waterfront home, peeking above the privacy of its privet close. If its walls could talk, however, they could tell a much more intriguing story.
Built in 1938 directly on the shore of Long Island Sound, much living has taken place here by residents who no doubt loved the lifestyle it offered them. In its 76 years, the home has had just three owners. The land the house occupies was purchased from Rudolph J. Schaefer, of the brewing family behind "the one beer to have when you're having more than one." Mr. Schaefer commuted by boat from Larchmont to his brewery on Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront, located at Kent Ave. and North 9th street in the heart of the neighborhood's hip modern-day north side.
The house that stands today was built by Eulalie C. Hanson, which is interesting for the time both in that she was a female homeowner and that no modern information exists about her. In 1975, the second owner became Leonard C. Yaseen, a real estate executive who prospered providing market research data to commercial buyers of real estate. Somewhere along the line, his family began collecting art. At one time, a Jackson Pollock, a Monet, a Paul Klee and a Picasso charcoal could all be found in the house. When the art trove was sold at auction in 1991, it amassed a total of $4.8 million; the most expensive work, Italian surrealist Giorgio de Chirico’s “The Delights of the Poet,” garnered $2.42 million.
The third and current owner, Russell E. Windsor, is an Orthopedic Surgeon in New York, who as a rower at Georgetown cultivated an affinity for being on the water. Purchasing the stone and shingle classic in 1991 with his wife, Terri, they raised three children who attended Mamaroneck High School and all graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. They added a state of the art wine cellar and they completed a huge remodeling project, which opened up and expanding the house to better frame the scenic vistas it enjoys of the Sound it enjoys from virtually every window in the house. From dawn to dusk, the views are awe inspiring.
Who will be the fourth owner to add their name to its pedigree, and what will their story be?