It was in high school that Andrew Cronson, the founder of theManhasset Historical Society, realized his passion for understanding the history that surrounded him.
“I wish I could say it was a positive occurrence that sparked it,” he said, but instead it was the destruction of Inisfada in Manhasset, once one of the largest private homes in the United States which was later converted to be a Jesuit retreat house.
Cronson said he was the last person permitted to photograph the interior of the historic mansion in detail before it was demolished and redeveloped.
“This really brought home to me that our history is so fragile out here,” Cronson said.
Cronson took it upon himself to create the Manhasset Historical Society this year to advocate for the preservation of historic sites in the community, and he has already assembled a board of over 20 members.
Architects Michael Devonshire, Laura Heim, Sussan Lari, Tony Wood and urban planner Jeremy Woodoff are consulting for the society, Cronson said.
He became involved with the Great Neck Historical Society in 2021 after a plan was proposed to replace the Tower Ford auto dealership with an apartment complex.
“It was slated to be demolished — this beautiful Tudor-revival building with so much history and really renowned within Great Neck,” he said, shaking his head.
Cronson said he helped lead a campaign petitioning the Village of Thomaston to designate it as a landmark, and in 2022, it succeeded.
But now, Cronson is turning his attention to his childhood home of Manhasset.
Source: LI Press
