The Vanderbilt Museum on Long Island, New York, is housed in the mansion once owned by William K. Vanderbilt II (the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the New York Central Railroad and the Staten Island Ferry). “Willie K.” was an avid sailor and collector. He traveled around the globe, collecting artifacts and natural history specimens, some of them gathered from the ocean floor by Willie K. himself.

The Vanderbilt Museum and its associated attractions has something for everyone: Beautiful sprawling grounds for the horticultural enthusiast, an insect collection for the entomology buff, a Spanish Revival mansion known as the Eagle’s Nest for lovers of architecture, taxidermy for the natural historian, a 3,000-year-old mummy for those interested in antiquities, and best of all a huge collection of marine specimens. The “Hall of Fishes” boasts one of the largest privately held collections of marine specimens in the world, including a 32-foot-long mounted whale shark, the largest taxidermied fish in the world.

A vast and eccentric collection, centered around Vanderbilt’s magnificent house and estate, it mirrors the mind of a man who was curious about everything and could afford to investigate it all.

We explored the Vanderbilt on Obscura Day - Marth 20th, 2010