Celebrate the Holidays with an Elegant Dinner in William K. Vanderbilt II’s Waterfront Mansion

A Rare Opportunity to Experience the Gold Coast Life of a Lost Era

Festive Evening Set for Saturday, December 11

The halls will be decked, the tree lighted, and the Vanderbilt family's dining room, decorated with centuries-old art treasures, will await special guests. On Saturday, December 11, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum invites you to celebrate the holidays with an elegant, progressive dinner in the Vanderbilt Mansion, overlooking Northport Harbor. Seatings will be at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.

This is one of the Vanderbilt's most popular and coveted events. The evening, which has become a Vanderbilt tradition, is a special occasion to enjoy an intimate experience with friends and to kick off the winter holidays in Vanderbilt style.

The event offers a rare opportunity to dine at a beautiful, landmark American estate and to enjoy an evening from an era when the Vanderbilt family lived at "Eagle's Nest" and entertained guests that included Hollywood stars, captains of industry and European royalty.

The evening, with live music, will begin with wine and hors d'oeuvres in the Memorial Wing of the Vanderbilt Mansion, in the collections galleries. After a brief tour through Mr. Vanderbilt's festively decorated living quarters, guests will be seated for a leisurely dinner in the glass-walled, Northport Dining Room Porch, overlooking the harbor lights. Dessert follows in the Lancaster Room, with a side trip to the Library and the Moroccan Court.

Tickets, at $100 per person, may be purchased by calling the Vanderbilt at 631-854-5579, or on the museum's website: www.vanderbiltmuseum.org. American Express, Master Card and Visa will be accepted. Guests will have a choice of three main courses, and the reservation deadline is December 6. The Vanderbilt will make every effort to accommodate guests and their parties. Early reservations are strongly encouraged.

The dinner will cap the Vanderbilt's celebration of its centennial year. William K. Vanderbilt II purchased 20 acres of land for his "Eagle's Nest" estate and mansion—now home to the Vanderbilt Museum—in May 1910.

William K. Vanderbilt II's Legacy of Exploration and Education

A century ago, the global explorer, adventurer and railroad heir Willie K. Vanderbilt, as he was known, hired a famous architect to design and build his summer home. "Eagle's Nest" eventually grew to 43 acres, becoming one of the grand, storied, Gold Coast estates.

The Vanderbilt— built in three stages from 1910 until 1936—is a unique combination of historic estate and mansion, marine and natural-history museum, planetarium and park. The spectacular estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Vanderbilt Museum annually welcomes 100,000 visitors, who include 50,000 schoolchildren.

In the 1920s and 1930s, William K. Vanderbilt II circumnavigated the globe twice in his ocean-going yacht, and brought back significant collections of natural-history specimens—birds, fish and invertebrates—as well as ethnographic artifacts from Africa and Asia. He pioneered auto racing in the United States, established the Vanderbilt Cup Races, spurred the development of the American auto industry, and built the prototype for the first toll road, the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway on Long Island.