The spectacular Spanish-Revival mansion and museum of William K. Vanderbilt II in Centerport, New York, is one of the few remaining Gold Coast estates on the North Shore of Long Island. The mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a time machine to a rare and privileged way of life along the Gold Coast, which once held the largest concentration of wealth and power in the United States.

Now the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, the 43-acre Eagle’s Nest estate is a popular historic, cultural and scientific destination for regional visitors. The newly renovated, state-of-the-art Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium – with an advanced Konica Minolta projection system, full-dome video and surround-sound – offers visitors a thrilling, immersive experience that takes them to the outer reaches of the Solar System.

The Vanderbilt includes a marine museum, wild-animal habitats and dioramas, and galleries that exhibit collections of natural-history specimens, as well as cultural artifacts from Africa, Asia and the South Pacific.