Henry B. Joyce, Director of Planting Fields Foundation Speaks at the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society

To kick off its 2010-11 season lecture series, the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society has invited Henry B. Joyce, Executive Director of Planting Fields Foundation to speak on Coe Hall, the 65 room Tudor Revival mansion located in the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park.  In his lecture, Mr. Joyce will discuss the mansion's history while addressing the challenges and strategies involved in making historic sites inviting, interesting places to visit.

Before coming to Oyster Bay, Mr. Joyce was Chief Curator at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.  Prior to that, he was curator of the Duke of Bedford's Collection at Woburn Abbey in England, Director of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum/Parsons School of Design Graduate Program in the History of Design, and Director of the Kykuit project to open John D. Rockefeller's mansion in Tarrytown, New York.

Planting Fields Foundation preserves and interprets the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park as the premier public garden and Gold Coast estate by educating, enriching, and entertaining the visiting public. Since 1979, the Planting Fields Foundation has worked in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to staff, interpret, and preserve Coe Hall and the historic structures and landscape features throughout the former estate. The arboretum is comprised of over 409 acres of greenhouses, rolling lawns, formal gardens, woodland paths, and outstanding plant collections. Original historic estate buildings remain, including Coe Hall.

The lecture, which takes place on October 13, 2010 at 7:30 pm, will be at the Sands-Willets House, located at 336 Port Washington Boulevard, Port Washington, NY.  Admission is $8, $4 for Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society members.  Light refreshments will be served.  For more information, call 516 365-9074 or visit our website, www.cowneck.org.