A Palace On the Water

Today's mystery photograph, at top, appears to show an impressive waterfront estate or hotel from about 1900.

The photo is from a collection of uncaptioned images by postcard photographer Henry Otto Korten held at the Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University.

History Answers

A few readers identified the ``History Mystery'' of April 4, above, as Arcadia, the 50-acre estate of Charles F. Stoppani on Great South Bay in Bayport. Among them was Irma Reilly, a member of the board of directors of the Bayport Heritage Association. She noticed that the photo is similar to one in the organization's ``Bayport Heritage'' publication.

The main house, at the foot of South Ocean Avenue, was built in 1888 for Stoppani, a trading and shipping magnate. It was occupied for many years by the Stoppani and Cox families, but no longer exists.

The older building on the right was the farmhouse of William Smith, a farmer and boat builder, who owned about 125 acres of bayfront property. The photo is from the files of the Nassau County Museum, Long Island Studies Institute, but had no caption information.

Other guesses were hotels in Amityville and Southampton, and a clubhouse of a West Sayville golf course.